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Breaking bread and sharing stew

By Lisa Andersen

Thursday, November 12, 2009

One week, it might be spicy split pea soup; another week vegetable curry. But regulars know what to expect at the Ecumenical Christian Ministries (ECM) each Thursday at lunchtime: a hot vegetarian meal, a table stacked high with free bread and the chance to break bread with lots of people.

Every Thursday from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., the ECM sponsors an all-vegetarian lunch for anyone in the Lawrence community.

“ECM is a campus ministry, there is no specific membership or worship service and we are open to all faiths or no faiths,” said Shannon Gorres, ECM administrative assistant.

Attendance and volunteers include faculty, students from a variety of different organizations as well as others living in the Lawrence community. The lunch serves about 200 people each Thursday.

Reverend Thad Holcombe, pastor at the ECM, said the tradition started in the spring of 1999 with about five or six people from ECM, KU Environs and PETA members all having lunch together. Shannon Martin, one participant, had the idea to open the lunch to everyone in the community. Within a few semesters, the group had reached 20 people and continued to grow to its current size.

“It introduces people to vegetarian dishes, though most people aren’t vegetarians,” Holcombe said. “It’s a place where people can organize, and it helps to humanize the University.”

Student coordinators Miles Gray and Lauren Ashman, Wildwood, Mo. Junior, run the Veggie Lunch. They recruit volunteer cooks each week. Volunteers begin preparation on Wednesday nights.

“Wednesday evening two different volunteers come in,” Gorres said. “They do the grocery shopping themselves and cook about three to six tubs of food for two hundred people. They put tablecloths up to give a home-feeling to the meal, so it’s not just cafeteria style.”

The meal varies depending on the cooks.

“They have had Indian and Italian food, stews, rice dishes and Southwestern food — I’m amazed at the kinds of things they come up with,” Holcombe said.

ECM does not have a problem finding volunteers within the Lawrence community.

“Volunteers are generally people who have enjoyed the Veggie Lunch for several weeks or months over a semester,” Gorres said.

After the meal is over, attendees wash their own dishes in the kitchen in communal tubs.

“Its another time of fellowship and conversation; its just another part of the community building process,” Gorres said. “The main point is for people to meet new friends and have good conversation.”

Attendee donations pay for the lunch. Only local food is served.

Holcombe said he feels the Veggie Lunch serves its intended purpose.

“It’s important for people to have a place to pause,” Holcombe said.

After cleanup, if the weather permits, attendees are free to play or listen to music on the lawn of ECM. Andrew Storer, Overland Park sophomore, likes the atmosphere of Veggie Lunch.

“There are so many cliques, people don’t always break out of the norm,” Storer said. “It’s a good way to get people from different areas and organizations to bond.”

— Edited by Brenna M. T. Daldorph

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