A recipe for food and faith

Young Chang

In a frozen-food world where mottos on packaging include “just heat”

and “ready in under three minutes,” Kathy Kipp and her church cohorts

decided to promote just the opposite.

If Corona del Mar Community Church, Congregational’s recently

published cookbook, “Gathering at the Table,” advertises anything, it’s

the need to cluster together at mealtimes around home-cooked food and

forge relationships.

“That’s something I really feel like we’ve lost in our culture,” said

Kipp, a member of church, which self-published the 224-page book. “I

think putting your energy into preparing a meal and serving it with love

makes a festive mood with meals.”

The hardback book, which celebrates and supports Christian fellowship,

contains prayers, a Gaelic Rune of hospitality, verses from the Scripture

and even an ancient Greek prayer from the second century.

“It shows that people have been coming to the table and they’ve been

inviting Christ to the table for centuries,” said Lucy Mercer, church

member and editor of the book.

The idea for the book was born last year with congregation member

Carol Hoppe’s much-talked-about salad. She brought it to a potluck and

everyone wanted the recipe. Hoppe printed some copies and handed them

out. Congregants then got to buzzing about how other recipes from church

potlucks should be compiled.

Through last May, Mercer collected recipes from fellow congregants and

categorized the stack into the following: appetizers, salads, soups and

stews, vegetables, pastas, entrees, breads and crackers, oven goodies,

no-bake treats, pancakes, sauces, “sandwiches, beverages and other loves”

and Thanksgiving.

About a dozen members of the church played core roles in assembling

the book and editing, designing and printing it. Another large group

formed the testing committee, said contributor Mary Anderson, to try out

every recipe and report back opinions. Some submitted vintage-looking

photos of children, families, elderly couples and other categories of

people looking festive around a meal table. These photos are scattered

through the recipes and prayers.

“We thought that it’s a documentation of who we are,” Mercer said.

“We, the congregation. It has been a really nice communication tool for

the membership because there are more active people and there are quiet

people, and it allows the quiet people to have a voice.”

Mercer, a former food editor at the Charlotte Observer in North

Carolina, included almost every recipe submitted by her eager

congregation, save for the ones that were too similar. The one exception

would be the book’s three meatloaf recipes -- two of which are titled

“Really Good Meatloaf” and “Wonderful Meatloaf” -- because they each

varied slightly.

About 500 copies of “Gathering” have been printed since mid-November

and sold through the church, Sherman Library & Gardens and other local

shops. Mercer expects to print another 500 and to start promoting the

title in area grocery stores after the first of next year. All proceeds

from the book support the work of the church’s Fellowship Committee.

“Someone once said that when you take in food together, you’re kinda

taking in and all being part of the same thing, in a way,” Kipp said.

FYI

To order “Gathering at the Table” ($17.95), call (949) 644-7400.