Faith On Every Corner_July 2017_CR

Welcome Table - Feeding the Community
Glen (Bud) and Joy Deck
The Welcome Table program, simply put, is a
concept of feeding anyone in the community who
would like a good meal. It originated from the
Methodist Givens Estates in Asheville, NC. In
September of 2013, First United Methodist Church
in Rutherfordton, NC (FUMC) became the 12th
church in the Western North Carolina Conference
to host a Welcome Table. Glen “Bud” Deck was
asked by the church members to spearhead the
program and oversee the local program. Cheryl
Wallen, Life Ministries Administrator at the
Givens Estates, later met with Bud and other
church members to explain the Welcome Table
concept and gave them valuable information about
how other churches were involved. Bud then
contacted other local churches and held several
meetings to ask them to help support the program.
Emily Yelton, another leader at the church,
researched free meal programs in the area and
discovered that Monday night was an “open” day
for food ministry programs.
There are currently 5 to 6 local churches of different
denominations who share preparing and
serving the weekly meal. Each church is responsible
for purchasing the food, preparation, cooking, and
serving for their assigned monthly meal. Bud set
up a rotation schedule that has each church
responsible for one meal each month. All the meals
are prepared in the kitchen and served in the
Fellowship Center at FUMC. Bud prepared a
manual entitled “Operating the Welcome Table,”
and created and installed the necessary forms and
procedures to ensure the smooth operation of
the program. He is responsible for coordination
between the participating churches.
Programs that serve meals to the hungry are time
and labor intensive. There is management, inventory,
the process of setting up the tables, place
settings, signage, kitchen preparation, and cleaning
it all up afterward. Every Monday morning,
volunteers Emily Yelton, Nanette Edwards, Joy
Deck, and Naomi Yelton get the tables ready with
center displays, table numbers, salt, pepper, prayer
request cards, napkins, and utensils.
9