Church to host Harvest Dinner

By Staff | Nov 9, 2016

Deb Frysinger

The First Community Congregational Church is celebrating the fall season with a special Harvest Dinner on Nov. 12 starting at 5:30 p.m., with the meal at 6 p.m.

Pastor Deb Frysinger said on the menu is the church’s famous southern fried chicken, with homemade mashed potatoes, gravy, green beans with bacon, and biscuits.

The cost is $8 for each dinner, and dinners can be purchased for carry-out.

To purchase dinner tickets, call 239-369-1615 from today through Friday up until noon.

There are plenty of free parking spots at the church, and the dinner is being held in the main dining room.

MEL TOADVINE The cooks for three upcoming dinners at First Community Congregational Church are, from left, Vicki Frackman, Barb Kintzer and Kay Gulmy. They are preparing the Harvest Dinner on Nov. 12 and will prepare the free anniversary dinner in December.

“You’re in for a great dessert, too,” she said. “We’re having cherry cobbler, all included in the one price.”

Preparing the dinner will be the church’s cooks, Vicki Frackman, Barb Kintzer and Kay Gulmy, all church members.

Earlier this month, the church received 4,000 pumpkins for its annual pumpkin patch. Any leftovers ones are available for sale, Frysinger said.

All proceeds from the sale go to the Helping Hands Ministry, which consists of a food pantry, produce pantry, bread and soup kitchens every Friday, senior ministry and food giveaways.

Frysinger said the church pays 18 cents a pound to the Harry Chapin Food Bank for the food it buys, which it passes out to thousands of eligible recipients.

She added that the food bank has noted that the church is the largest senior ministerial group in Florida to receive food and the largest one in Lee County.

“We’ve served around 12,000 to 15,000 people six days a week over the past year,” Frysinger said. “It’s all run by 41 volunteers who stagger their hours.”

On Thursdays, seniors fill the waiting areas of the church to receive the free food. To be eligible, their incomes must be no more than $1,176 per month.

First Community was the first church in Lehigh. Frysinger said the other churches met at First Community while their places of worship were being built.

The land for the church was given to it by the Lehigh Corp., which gave land to most churches as it developed the town.

She noted that Leeland Heights Boulevard was constructed due the church’s location.

To kick off its upcoming 60th anniversary, the church will host a free dinner on Dec. 3 starting at 6 p.m. Frysinger said the congregation is asking for donations to help pay for the meal.

“The very first meal to help raise money for the church in 1956 was composed of meat loaf, mashed potatoes and gravy and a green bean casserole,”?she said.

“There were no houses near the church in those early days,” Frysinger added.

The first congregation consisted of 125 members and over the years it grew to 270.

She said the church has always rented out space to new congregations over the years. Currently, it is renting out the sanctuary to two.

“At our dinner in December, we will have the Lehigh Band, which will provide music while our guests eat. We are already beginning to set tickets aside for those who want to come,” Frysinger said.

“While it is free, the visitor must have a ticket to get in,” she said. “It also gives us information on how many people will be here to eat so we can provide enough food.”

On Nov. 18, the church will host a community spaghetti dinner at 6 p.m. It is also free.

“We do this once a year to say thank you to the community for the support we get,”?Frysinger said. “Call for tickets.”

Entertainment at the spaghetti dinner will be the country music band Hot Buttered Nuggets, whose members play the banjo and other homemade instruments.

“These are instruments from the hills,” she said. “If you like old country music like bluegrass, you’ll love this band.”

The First Community Congregational Church is at 200 Leeland Heights Blvd.

: MEL TOADVINE The cooks for three upcoming dinners at First Community Congregational Church are, from left, Vicki Frackman, Barb Kintzer and Kay Gulmy. They are preparing the Harvest Dinner on Nov. 12 and will prepare the free anniversary dinner in December.