Agape: What a feelin'!

AGAPE: Wednesday Meals in Elizabeth, an Eye-opener for this Newbie

A well – oiled machine: that’s the phrase that comes to mind when observing what happens at Agape, the hot dinner event that the Presbyterian Church in Westfield serves every Wednesday of the year to people in need. It usually takes place at the First Presbyterian Church in Elizabeth, but while that facility is undergoing renovations, it is being served at the Second Presbyterian Church in Elizabeth.

I’ve heard about Agape for years but never knew exactly how it worked. When I saw it in action at the end of July, I was amazed. At 3:30 p.m., 11 teens and 5 adults loaded the Westfield church’s van with food and piled into cars to drive to Elizabeth. 

While the food was being unloaded in Elizabeth by some of the boys and men, other teens and adults quickly sprang into action to set up the 18 tables with six folding chairs nestled around each one. Plastic table cloths were spread and placemats and utensils appeared from who knows where.

The volunteers clearly knew what they were doing. People uncovered bins of salad, meatballs, bread and cupcakes that were unpacked from the Westfield church’s plastic bins. Teenager Alex Jeffries was the dining room coordinator for the day and broke the middle school and high school students into duos to serve. Others were assigned by Linnette Mercado (in charge for the day) to work the kitchen and some to the “lower kitchen” that I soon learned housed the salad (that PCW members Al and Gail Hein has painstakingly chopped all afternoon at PCW) and dessert, beautifully frosted cupcakes.

Gerard Kieczykowski, the coordinator for this rotation, explained the menu items. “In the summer, we have an easier menu. We usually buy the desserts and get the lettuce and food products ready-made from the Restaurant Depot.”  During the year, he told me, there is a brigade of PCW volunteers who bake cakes and make meatloaf for the dinners.

After the Elizabeth church’s fellowship hall is set up fully and the food is almost ready to serve, the volunteers gather in the sanctuary for last-minute directions and prayer.

After asking each guest if they want coffee, tea or water, the servers bring out the steaming plates of food, this day, a hot meatball sub swimming in tomato sauce and sprinkled with parmesan cheese.

Guests are assigned to seats by the volunteer men who have accompanied the teenagers. As people finish their food and the seat is empty, the call “reserve” goes out meaning that a blue placemat needs to come out for another person to be served in the available seat.

Dennis, one of the regular guests at Agape, goes to the kitchen window and in a booming voice, thanks the “cooks and servers” for a scrumptious meal. The teens stand around him and smile. They say he frequently is the spokesperson for the group that ranges from 250 to a record 360 people. There are usually between 20 – 30 volunteers, but says Gerard, “We have served with as few as 11 volunteers!”

After everyone has been served and just before the closing of the doors at 6:00 p.m. sharp, take home bags are assembled in an alcove near the kitchen serving window. Into the plastic bags go a bag of chips, a meatball sandwich, salad and a cupcake. For the guests who come too late to be served, they are handed the “to go” bag.  After the volunteers (who this day included two women from Fanwood Presbyterian Church) have eaten and cleaned up, we all headed back to the sanctuary to share feelings and memories about the experience.

For most of the volunteers, this was a regular time of sharing with prayer requests from various guests as well as their own.

For this newbie, the day was an eye-opener.  Agape, Christian love for one another, has taken on a new meaning for me.