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Source: (consider it)
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Thread: Catered Church Dinners
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Anglican_Brat
Shipmate
# 12349
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Posted
Good idea or bad idea?
Instead of the traditional church potluck, one idea is to have church dinners on special feast days catered.
The pros:
1) Generally good catering companies will guarantee safe food practices so there is less risk of food poisoning.
2) It reduces people's stress who either have to cook or buy the food they might bring in a potluck.
The cons:
1) The cost. Inevitably, because catering companies are expensive, people will be expected to pay upfront and generally it is substantively more than the usual $5 dollar donation you might justify at a church potluck or a pancake breakfast. (Perhaps about $20-30). That might not be so expensive in terms of a good restaurant, but it might be a tad much for a church dinner.
2) The impersonal nature of the event. Because the food is prepared by caterers, the church loses the personal touch that comes when people prepare food with the intention of building community.
Anyone with any experience of having their church dinner catered rather than a potluck?
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Posts: 4332 | From: Vancouver | Registered: Feb 2007
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Rowen
Shipmate
# 1194
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Posted
Can I boast?
My church runs a small catering business through the Adult Fellowship. So any food is yummy. Church events are free. But outside events are charged.
An excellent fund raiser.
And boy, are they super organised.
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"May I live this day… compassionate of heart" (John O’Donoghue)...
Posts: 4897 | From: Somewhere cold in Victoria, Australia | Registered: Aug 2001
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RuthW
liberal "peace first" hankie squeezer
# 13
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Posted
The church I work for has a couple of people in the congregation who each have catering businesses, so when they have a meal catered, it's still personal because it's being done by a church member. And the church has a fund for covering the costs for members who can't afford to pay their share.
Posts: 24453 | From: La La Land | Registered: Apr 2001
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Sober Preacher's Kid
Presbymethegationalist
# 12699
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Posted
The UCW does the dinners that aren't pot-luck. Catered dinners like that would get you laughed out of our Church Council. The most we'll go for is hot beef sandwiches brought in for the Annual General Meeting so that we can get a quorum.
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Posts: 7646 | From: Peterborough, Upper Canada | Registered: Jun 2007
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Uncle Pete
Loyaute me lie
# 10422
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Posted
Shouldn't this thread be in Hell?
![[Big Grin]](biggrin.gif)
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Even more so than I was before
Posts: 20466 | From: No longer where I was | Registered: Sep 2005
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Arethosemyfeet
Shipmate
# 17047
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Posted
How many incidents of food poisoning or catering-induced stress have you encountered to make you think that quadrupling the cost of your shared meal is worthwhile?! ![[Eek!]](eek.gif)
Posts: 2933 | From: Hebrides | Registered: Apr 2012
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Gee D
Shipmate
# 13815
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Posted
We had a catered Parish Dinner this year for the first time. There were many contributions by parishioners in setting up tables, floral decorations and the like. It did take the major work away, and this meant that all parishioners attending were able to be a part of the Dinner for the whole evening. This was a big plus. On the negative side, the cost was much higher, but then again, there were no problems involved in dividing the payment amongst those providing food. We made sure that those who were gluten intolerant had a special meal, and that there was a totally vegan meal for the 1 parishioner who is on a vegan diet for allergy reasons. Any such special requests had to be made when booking and paying.
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Not every Anglican in Sydney is Sydney Anglican
Posts: 7028 | From: Warrawee NSW Australia | Registered: Jun 2008
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Boogie
Boogie on down!
# 13538
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Posted
We have a luncheon club every month and a meal on Christmas day for those who would otherwise alone. Social services and meals on wheels provide the names for us. We have five teams of caterers (volunteers) all have been trained at the local catering college and keep their food hygiene etc certificates up to date.
Church meals are catered by the same teams. (Two of which are all male). The food is fantastic and we almost never have potlucks (or 'jacob's join' as we call them).
I'm not on any of the teams - chief bottle washer me - we have a 3 minute dishwasher.
![[Smile]](smile.gif)
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Garden. Room. Walk
Posts: 13030 | From: Boogie Wonderland | Registered: Mar 2008
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Dennis the Menace
Shipmate
# 11833
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Posted
We do both on a number of occasion throughout the year. The last one, a catered one, was for our Christmas Dinner. We tried a different caterer from previous times but will never use that one again. This one of the down sides, trying an unknown caterer. for the price the meals were very ordinary.
We have a caterer in our congregation but for several reasons she and her crew were not available this year.
On the other hand, all the 'pot luck' dinners we have had have been great, no food poisoning and a good variety of food. Everyone brings their dish already heated and wrapped in towels and is served promptly. The 'pot luck' affairs are usually by invitation only so the numbers and attendees are monitored closely.
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"Till we cast our crowns before Him; Lost in wonder, love, and praise."
Posts: 853 | From: Newcastle NSW Australia | Registered: Sep 2006
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North East Quine
Curious beastie
# 13049
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Posted
Originally posted by Ruth W:
quote:
The church I work for has a couple of people in the congregation who each have catering businesses, so when they have a meal catered, it's still personal because it's being done by a church member.
We are in the same fortunate position. Also, the local butcher will give a discount if he's providing all the meat.
We don't often do full dinners, though, it's usually soup-and-pudding with church members told what to bring.
Our last catered dinner still involved church volunteers providing flowers, folding napkins into fancy shapes, setting the tables, hanging balloons around etc etc.
Posts: 6414 | From: North East Scotland | Registered: Oct 2007
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Twilight
Puddleglum's sister
# 2832
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Posted
Potluck church dinners can be a wonderful time of fellowship or they can be the last remaining, truly sexist side of the church experience.
I think some women have actually quit going to church because the leaders took for granted that after working hard at their jobs all week, spending Saturday on cleaning, laundry and shopping, the women would somehow look forward to attending church on Sunday while, at the same time, preparing a gigantic pan of scalloped potatoes and keeping it hot under the pew until noon. And that doesn't even take into account the kitchen politics over whether or not those potatoes contained onions and the whispers that caused Mrs. Green's meatballs to remain untouched while all around it lay emptied platters.
I like the idea of occasional catered meals but using the general fund to pay for them. The idea of some church members feeling they can't join in because they don't have the money seems too sad.
Posts: 6817 | Registered: May 2002
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Anglican_Brat
Shipmate
# 12349
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Posted
I have heard one reason for catered dinners is the potential for liability in terms of potlucks in which people can't control the food that's being brought.
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It's Reformation Day! Do your part to promote Christian unity and brotherly love and hug a schismatic.
Posts: 4332 | From: Vancouver | Registered: Feb 2007
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the giant cheeseburger
Shipmate
# 10942
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Twilight:
Potluck church dinners can be a wonderful time of fellowship or they can be the last remaining, truly sexist side of the church experience.
I think some women have actually quit going to church because the leaders took for granted that after working hard at their jobs all week, spending Saturday on cleaning, laundry and shopping, the women would somehow look forward to attending church on Sunday while, at the same time, preparing a gigantic pan of scalloped potatoes and keeping it hot under the pew until noon. And that doesn't even take into account the kitchen politics over whether or not those potatoes contained onions and the whispers that caused Mrs. Green's meatballs to remain untouched while all around it lay emptied platters.
Hmm, that's an interesting understanding of a potluck lunch.
The understanding I'm used to is that each person/couple/family brings a dish that is large enough to feed themselves and at least one more person. Whether that means that it's a sexist institution is entirely down to how those families operate.
When I was growing up and our church was smaller (we don't really do potluck any longer, see below) it seemed when these happened that it was mum doing it sometimes, dad doing it most times and as we grew older I (eldest son) started doing it sometimes, depending on what else we were doing over the course of the weekend. But that probably reflects the fact that dad had lived independently of his parents for a few years longer than mum before they got married, and by her own admission he's a better cook to this day.
As our congregation has grown, and the Uniting Church in general has started to take duty of care seriously (including food safety) the potluck seems to be dying out when it comes to our congregation-wide events, and the major food poisoning episode recently at another congregation in Adelaide will only hasten this. We have switched towards having a central form of organisation for the relatively rare post-service lunches and the weekly Friday night meals that are part of the youth community's worship gathering. For the Fridays, we have a team of volunteers who have received proper training in food handling, and are led by a former professional chef. Ingredients are included in the budget, which is assisted by a couple of very generous local businesses, so there is also no expectation for anybody to pick up the tab for everything. For the other more rare post-service lunches on Sundays, this is delegated to one of the small groups to organise, again with ingredients being paid for.
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If I give a homeopathy advocate a really huge punch in the face, can the injury be cured by giving them another really small punch in the face?
Posts: 4834 | From: Adelaide, South Australia. | Registered: Jan 2006
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Gwai
Shipmate
# 11076
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Posted
Our UMC church still does lovely potlucks, and I am glad we do because it feels more from the congregation that most bought food would, as well as being cheaper--we'd never eat together hardly if it had to be catered--but I too don't see the sexist angle. Maybe that's because in my church, some excellent cooks are male. Perhaps still more female cooks probably, but Hank's baked goods are to die for, and nobody thinks Jill or Belinda cooked because it's their jobs. We think she cooked because she enjoyed it and she's good at it. etc.
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They are fools eternally.
Posts: 11914 | From: Chicago | Registered: Feb 2006
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Belle Ringer
Shipmate
# 13379
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by the giant cheeseburger: ...each person/couple/family brings a dish that is large enough to feed themselves and at least one more person. Whether that means that it's a sexist institution is entirely down to how those families operate.[/QB]
I have never heard the "your family plus one" limitation. It makes sense, usually we are just told "bring a dish," many of the singles and poor I've known through the years don't go to pot lucks because they can't afford to bring a whole casserole, and families bring a dish that may be less than their family eat partly because people eat more at pot lucks than at regular meals.
Current Methodist preacher usually says "bring a dish, but if you can't bring anything, come anyway." Nice. (Except this week he said "everyone bring your Christmas leftovers," didn't think to tell the rest of us "if you didn't have a big Christmas gathering with plentiful food and leftovers, come anyway.")
One nearby church has had the church provide the meat -- could be turkey or beef brisket or chicken -- asks people to bring the sides. I don't know if it's catered or cooked by a few church women, but it has made a difference of not running out of food for those at the end of the line. I haven't seen totally running out, I have seen the last few people limited to two or three remaining items, the other 20 dishes cleaned out.
I haven't heard of food poisoning in the mishandles food sense, but ingredients can be an issue. One friend can't breathe if she eats MSG, which is in lots of packaged foods people use as ingredients. Some who are on sugar-free diets use fake sugars assuming they are doing everyone a favor but others need to avoid fake sugars. Some need to avoid wheat or milk or tree nuts. Pot lucks would be "safer" if people posted a card with the ingredients next to their dish!
Anyway, partial catering such as just the meat, or an inexpensive catering dish such as a big pot of spaghetti, pot luck the salad and desserts, are options.
But the variety of pot lucks is fun, too.
Posts: 5830 | From: Texas | Registered: Jan 2008
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Angloid
Shipmate
# 159
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Posted
The city centre parish where I used to work had many volunteer caterers (some professionally so) amongst the congregation, and hence various home-catered events throughout the year. But we always had at least one parish lunch annually in a nearby restaurant. Many places in the UK do a Sunday lunch for less than Ł10;the price didn't seem to put people off. I think if I was organising one now I would explain the basic cost per person but ask for a contribution that they could afford, trusting that we would cover the costs thanks to others' generosity.
It's important to have some social events that allow the usual volunteers to have a day off. Anything on church premises would make that difficult (as well as restricting numbers if space is limited).
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Posts: 12927 | From: The Pool of Life | Registered: May 2001
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HCH
Shipmate
# 14313
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Posted
One danger of a potluck is that several people will bring the same thing. Another is that some categories of food will be entirely neglected. To avoid these possibilities, you need for someone to keep track of who's bring what and (very diplomatically) suggest bringing something else. This can be quite a headache.
With a catered meal, you have far more control over the menu, but you need a good count of how many people will attend, as you are paying for them by the head.
A middle ground some churches have available is to cook the dinner at the church using volunteer labor, but not all churches have the facilities or the personnel.
Posts: 1540 | From: Illinois, USA | Registered: Nov 2008
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Garasu
Shipmate
# 17152
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by HCH:
One danger of a potluck is that several people will bring the same thing. Another is that some categories of food will be entirely neglected.
And yet... in my experience that never happens. YMMV
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"Could I believe in the doctrine without believing in the deity?". - Modesitt, L. E., Jr., 1943- Imager.
Posts: 889 | From: Surrey Heath (England) | Registered: Jun 2012
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Olaf
Shipmate
# 11804
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Posted
$20-30 for a catered meal? Highway robbery! I often am involved with planning catered meals at work, and have never paid over $8.00 per person. It's good comfort food, plenty of it, and our favorite catering companies even set everything up for us and provide paper/plastic table service if desired.
Posts: 8953 | From: Ad Midwestem | Registered: Sep 2006
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Gramps49
Shipmate
# 16378
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Posted
Our congregation has done both. At one time we had a caterer in the congregation. She would put on a good spread at a very reasonable cost (around $6.00 to $8.00). Sometimes we would have Subway bring in a very long sandwich. We have had Pizza Hut Deliver.
On the other hand we have also had potlucks. One of the potlucks everyone enjoyed was a chili cook off. We had Venison Chili, Beef Chili, Chicken Chili, Non meat chili. The rule was the cookers all had to be men, and every one had to bring in at least a small crock pot full. We signed up enough men to ensure that there was enough for everyone. As I recall, the youth of the church provided pies for dessert. And I also recall we ensured all the chili was hot enough by pretesting with a meat thermometer.
Posts: 2193 | From: Pullman WA | Registered: Apr 2011
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Anglican_Brat
Shipmate
# 12349
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Olaf:
$20-30 for a catered meal? Highway robbery! I often am involved with planning catered meals at work, and have never paid over $8.00 per person. It's good comfort food, plenty of it, and our favorite catering companies even set everything up for us and provide paper/plastic table service if desired.
Canadian congregations tend to be smaller than American congregations (reflecting the gap in population between the two countries), and so the price gap might be a reflection of that (A larger economy of scale means lower prices for everyone)
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Posts: 4332 | From: Vancouver | Registered: Feb 2007
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Heavenly Anarchist
Shipmate
# 13313
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Posted
We occasionally have potluck, sometimes order in fish and chip suppers or pizza, but more commonly we have a group of volunteers cook a complete meal. As we are a multi-national church (22 different nationalities counted on Christmas Day) we sometimes have themed celebrations such as Bollywood or African night with traditional dishes cooked for us. No shortage of volunteeers wanting to demonstrate their skills! Ticket prices are between Ł5-10 depending on the need to pay entertainment such as ceilidh band or salsa or Bollywood teachers, and we have discounts for family groups and those on benefits, students etc. We do have the advantage of numbers though, we'd expect over 100 people to a church 'do'.
I love the idea of a chilli cook off
In the summer we bring our own picnics and go and sit in a park together after church, hangers on without food are always provided for.
20-30 dollars sounds a lot to me. I find church parties to be a great time of bonding and it would be a shame to exclude anyone.
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Posts: 2831 | From: Trumpington | Registered: Jan 2008
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Belle Ringer
Shipmate
# 13379
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Anglican_Brat:
quote:
Originally posted by Olaf:
$20-30 for a catered meal? Highway robbery! ...have never paid over $8.00 per person.
Canadian congregations tend to be smaller than American congregations..., and so the price gap might be a reflection of that (A larger economy of scale means lower prices for everyone)
For $20-30 I can cook spaghetti with meat sauce for 30 people, or beans and rice for 40, and make a profit. But if the caterer comes and stays to serve the food, then you are paying for people time in addition to paying for the food.
Instead of that expense, which is more than I usually pay for a decent restaurant meal, why not send for pizza or Chinese, or hire a deli to make a tray of sandwiches.
OR, offer the money to someone in the congregation who would like to make a profit at making a big pot of spaghetti and meat sauce.
Or rent a restaurant for a private party, with a pre-selected menu of 3 choices, the bill should be lower than $20 per person!
Posts: 5830 | From: Texas | Registered: Jan 2008
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cliffdweller
Shipmate
# 13338
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by HCH:
One danger of a potluck is that several people will bring the same thing. Another is that some categories of food will be entirely neglected. To avoid these possibilities, you need for someone to keep track of who's bring what and (very diplomatically) suggest bringing something else. This can be quite a headache.
Or you just say, "that's what happens at potlucks." Go with it. It's part of the charm.
The church I serve was enamored with the catered dinner, and I agree it has it's place. But it can be expensive and doesn't have quite the same opportunities for fellowship.
When we began a program to reach out to our neighbors-- of a different economic and ethnic group-- we found potlucks were wonderful. Our neighbors loved being able to contribute, and to share their culture thru food. It gave us something to talk about around the table, a way to begin the conversation.
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"Here is the world. Beautiful and terrible things will happen. Don't be afraid." -Frederick Buechner
Posts: 11242 | From: a small canyon overlooking the city | Registered: Jan 2008
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Belle Ringer
Shipmate
# 13379
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Posted
I've only once been to a potluck where everybody brought dessert, instead of a good variety of foods showing up. Two aspects made a difference.
1. It's the only one that had no sign-up sheet. Even when no one is overseeing who brings what, a public access sign-up sheet helps because people self-adjust -- "I see lots of people are bringing dessert, guess I'd better bring veggies instead of brownies."
2. It was at the office. The only easy food to make a day ahead of time and keep at a safe temperature and serve at the right temperature when the food will be brought at 8 AM but not eaten until noon and there's a fridge but no stove, is dessert. (or bread.)
All other pot lucks have been a bit heavy on desserts and a bit light on veggies, but that just reflects USA culture.
Posts: 5830 | From: Texas | Registered: Jan 2008
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cliffdweller
Shipmate
# 13338
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Posted
Rather than a sign-up, the usual process is simply to announce in advance a division based on last name, A-L bring salad, M-R bring main dish, S-Z dessert. Be sure to rotate to the same people don't even up having to provide main dish every time. You still can end up with too many similar dishes, but again, I think the idea of a potluck is exactly that-- it's potluck. Don't stress over it, the idea is everyone contributes something, you take what you get and enjoy the serendipity, even if you end up with all desserts.
I've also done the provide the main dish option, while congregation brings salad or dessert, which is a good middle ground. Singles or people w/o kitchen facilities usually bring something like a bag of chips (what is the Britishism for that? crisps?)
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"Here is the world. Beautiful and terrible things will happen. Don't be afraid." -Frederick Buechner
Posts: 11242 | From: a small canyon overlooking the city | Registered: Jan 2008
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Gee D
Shipmate
# 13815
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Olaf:
$20-30 for a catered meal? Highway robbery! I often am involved with planning catered meals at work, and have never paid over $8.00 per person. It's good comfort food, plenty of it, and our favorite catering companies even set everything up for us and provide paper/plastic table service if desired.
i'd be interested to hear what you got for your $8 per head. At the dinner I mentioned, we paid $35 per head, bring your own wine. For that, we got large antipasto platters, followed by chicken parmigiana with salads, finishing with tiramisu. The caterer finished the cooking of the chicken or risotto and served it, while there were some young people served the platters and pudding. The price was kept down by having fixed numbers of chicken or risotto main courses, the numbers being given to the caterer beforehand.
[ 29. December 2012, 00:19: Message edited by: Gee D ]
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Not every Anglican in Sydney is Sydney Anglican
Posts: 7028 | From: Warrawee NSW Australia | Registered: Jun 2008
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Belle Ringer
Shipmate
# 13379
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Gee D:
quote:
Originally posted by Olaf:
$20-30 for a catered meal? Highway robbery! I ...have never paid over $8.00 per person.
i'd be interested to hear what you got for your $8 per head. At the dinner I mentioned, we paid $35 per head, bring your own wine. For that, we got large antipasto platters, followed by chicken parmigiana with salads, finishing with tiramisu.
We may be talking about several different concepts of "church dinner" on this thread.
Antipasto platters, chicken parmigiana, tiramisu is a level of elegance are utterly foreign to my experience of church dinner. No church I've gone to could afford it.
The local dinner theater pays about $7 per person for food that is served buffet style from huge casserole pans. Think pasta with sauce and some shredded meat, like spaghetti and meat sauce, or pasta with a creamy sauce and shredded chicken. Add a large tossed salad (iceberg lettuce with some bits of carrot or other common raw veggies), a dinner roll, a brownie or ice cream for dessert, water, iced tea, coffee. Simple, filing, inexpensive.
Posts: 5830 | From: Texas | Registered: Jan 2008
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the giant cheeseburger
Shipmate
# 10942
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Gee D:
quote:
Originally posted by Olaf:
$20-30 for a catered meal? Highway robbery! I often am involved with planning catered meals at work, and have never paid over $8.00 per person. It's good comfort food, plenty of it, and our favorite catering companies even set everything up for us and provide paper/plastic table service if desired.
i'd be interested to hear what you got for your $8 per head. At the dinner I mentioned, we paid $35 per head, bring your own wine. For that, we got large antipasto platters, followed by chicken parmigiana with salads, finishing with tiramisu. The caterer finished the cooking of the chicken or risotto and served it, while there were some young people served the platters and pudding. The price was kept down by having fixed numbers of chicken or risotto main courses, the numbers being given to the caterer beforehand.
That $8 example from upthread was in American dollars though, you have to remember that food prices are much higher in Australia.
For an Australian context, our youth community's weekly Friday nights that started recently (catered in-house by a volunteer team) are kept down to $5 per person, for between 60 and 90 people most weeks. That allows for a good quality and good size main meal, but not dessert (which usually happens in the small groups after dinner), which makes a small profit most weeks and a loss some weeks, depending on how many people come - but the loss is picked up by our community services arm when there are leftover meals that can be frozen and given away. This couldn't be possible without a very good relationship with a couple of local businesses which has been sustained for over 15 years.
We had a couple of youth leadership team gatherings done by the local Subway a couple of years ago. This came to about $5 per person, but the quantity and quality was average and not something that's been continued, for team gatherings we've gone back to "bring a plate."
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If I give a homeopathy advocate a really huge punch in the face, can the injury be cured by giving them another really small punch in the face?
Posts: 4834 | From: Adelaide, South Australia. | Registered: Jan 2006
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the giant cheeseburger
Shipmate
# 10942
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Belle Ringer:
quote:
Originally posted by Gee D:
quote:
Originally posted by Olaf:
$20-30 for a catered meal? Highway robbery! I ...have never paid over $8.00 per person.
i'd be interested to hear what you got for your $8 per head. At the dinner I mentioned, we paid $35 per head, bring your own wine. For that, we got large antipasto platters, followed by chicken parmigiana with salads, finishing with tiramisu.
We may be talking about several different concepts of "church dinner" on this thread.
Antipasto platters, chicken parmigiana, tiramisu is a level of elegance are utterly foreign to my experience of church dinner. No church I've gone to could afford it.
The local dinner theater pays about $7 per person for food that is served buffet style from huge casserole pans. Think pasta with sauce and some shredded meat, like spaghetti and meat sauce, or pasta with a creamy sauce and shredded chicken. Add a large tossed salad (iceberg lettuce with some bits of carrot or other common raw veggies), a dinner roll, a brownie or ice cream for dessert, water, iced tea, coffee. Simple, filing, inexpensive.
The currency issue comes in again, food in Australia is expensive (but we do have an adequate minimum wage) so $7 won't get you much even at a McD's-style deep fried cardboard merchant.
I don't know the specific details of Gee D's church dinner, but it sounds as if it was a deliberately decision that this would be a very special event that wouldn't be coming around regularly.
To have some of those finer meals for church events on a more regular basis is not out of the question if you have a good source of quality fresh ingredients and a willing team of volunteers. The key is to have a couple of very competent cooks in the mix who know how to do things from scratch and can direct the rest of the team well, and at least one person who is good at getting great deals when purchasing ingredients. Done well, this could even turn into an opportunity for the church to reach out to the local community by running cooking classes, so that people learn how to use base ingredients to cook good healthy meals on a budget instead of being trapped into relying on processed crap.
It may have an Italian name, but a chicken parmy is relatively simple to do from scratch, and definitely not expensive. I've used this slightly less-traditional recipe at home which I love because fresh South Australian avocados are so great, and works out to about $9 per meal including fresh salad or potato wedges, even with Australian food prices and my tendency to prefer shopping at our fresh food markets over the soulless supermarkets. I'm sure if I went for more bulk purchases and used cheaper ingredients I could get the cost down to under $5 each.
Tiramisu is also quite affordable if you make it yourself and you're prepared to cut a couple of corners.
[ 29. December 2012, 02:50: Message edited by: the giant cheeseburger ]
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If I give a homeopathy advocate a really huge punch in the face, can the injury be cured by giving them another really small punch in the face?
Posts: 4834 | From: Adelaide, South Australia. | Registered: Jan 2006
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Gee D
Shipmate
# 13815
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Posted
I think that we are talking different dinners. I was talking of a biennial Parish Dinner, with a guest speaker and so forth. The catering was by a local restaurant. Others seem to be talking of a weekly after activity meal - although I would not call Subway or the like a dinner.
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Not every Anglican in Sydney is Sydney Anglican
Posts: 7028 | From: Warrawee NSW Australia | Registered: Jun 2008
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Belle Ringer
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Gwai:
You're also talking another level of money though. I have never attended a church that could even afford that even every other year.
And we are talking about a different concept of catering. There is catering by the plate, several days ahead of time you turn in the number of people who will attend, the meal is served on nicely presented individual plates; that's different from catering buffet style from large vats of simple foods.
Both have their place. Although I've never seen the formal sit down catering in a church (only at wedding receptions), it's not wrong if the church can afford it. Great food probably gets more people to come!
I volunteer-worked a fund raising "madrigal diner" in early December, we served meals to sit down dinners, but the cooking and serving were all volunteers. I can see a small church of, say, 30 people not wanting a third of their people stuck working in the kitchen and serving instead of enjoying the company of the others in the room.
If there's a restaurant with a room that can be used for private parties, that might offer more food choices (vegetarian don't eat chicken, dairy intolerant can't eat a dairy cake) at no more cost.
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Gee D
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Posted
It was not paid for by the church, but by those of us attending. The church paid for the clergy and their wives (Sydney remember, women are not licensed by the Archbishop, alas) and for the speaker.
Numbers were given early in the week before the dinner - so many vegetarian and gluten free, one lactose free as well, and the remainder the chicken. The antipasto platters had a variety of vegetables as well as meats.
[ 29. December 2012, 20:28: Message edited by: Gee D ]
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Not every Anglican in Sydney is Sydney Anglican
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Belle Ringer
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Gee D:
It was not paid for by the church, but by those of us attending.
This is very different from the all-church meals open to all for free some of us have been talking about.
$35 (but what is that in translated currency?) is far above the single meal budget for over half of any congregation I've been in. It sounds parallel to the "going to a nice restaurant and a theater" group some churches have. Those who can afford it love it, the majority have to ignore it.
I guess not many things a church does can really be open to all in the sense of accessible to all. Anything at night leaves out the little olds who don't drive in the dark. One friend had to drop choir because she couldn't afford gas to get to rehearsals. Limited accessibility is practical reality even if we say "everyone is welcome."
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Freddy
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Posted
My church used to have community suppers every Friday night. A committee would prepare the meal and people paid a nominal ammount ($5) to go. Attendance would be 300-400. But over the years attendance dwindled, as did volunteers to prepare the meals. Last year we stopped it entirely.
But we do have banquets four times a year prepared by volunteers organized by one of our church assistants who happens to be skilled in that area. Attendance is usually 100 to 200 and we charge $15. Works great.
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"Consequently nothing is of greater importance to a person than knowing what the truth is." Swedenborg
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Gee D
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Posted
Belle Ringer $AUS35 at the present rates of exchange is roughly the same in $US or $CAN. Friday's exchange rate was $AUS1 bought $US1.045 That equates to a similar dinner at a lower-medium price restaurant. If that sounds a lot to you, remember that staff wages are much higher here than in the US, and also as a consequence of that tipping here is much lower. If we went to a restaurant and paid $70 for 2, we'd normally leave a $5 tip. Alcohol prices here are much lower than in the US, with bottles of a reasonable wine starting at $12, and quite a decent bottle costing $20.
$35 here would not get dinner and a theatre ticket - indeed you'd be lucky to get a theatre ticket for that price, although you would get 2 cinema tickets.
Looking back at the thread, there was some ambiguity in the OP, and I took it to be referring to a formal Parish Dinner and others to a much less formal gathering. For a long time, we were unknowingly talking about different beasts.
As to your last paragraph, no matter how hard you try to be accessible, you can't be to everyone. There are those who can't afford the price; those who don't like going out at night and can't arrange a lift from someone; those who can't get to daytime functions because of work; those who can't arrange baby-sitting and so forth. We ended up with somewhere around 165 people for dinner, across the full spectrum of the parish.
[ 30. December 2012, 02:07: Message edited by: Gee D ]
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Not every Anglican in Sydney is Sydney Anglican
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Belle Ringer
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Posted
It's been an interesting thread just to see different approaches in various churches to a church meal gathering.
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