See what’s cookin’ on Friday nights in the church kitchen

If you’re looking to spice up your Friday night instead of scrolling through Netflix only to find nothing you want to watch, sign up for Cooking with a Cause. When my husband John and I arrived on last Friday evening, head chef Jenny Healy met us at the door with her usual warm welcome. Ren and her daughter Lydia and Christie and her twin daughters Marina and Aria were our fellow sous chefs. 

On this night, the plan was to make and bake up some goodies for harvest treat bags for Rehoboth House residents. Ren and Lydia had pumpkin cakes all baked and ready to frost. Stations were set up across the counters with all the equipment and ingredients we needed. Everyone jumped in, choosing whatever task seemed most appealing. There was frosting to make for the cakes, and whoopie pies and filling to be created from scratch according to Jenny’s mom’s tried-and-true recipe. Before long, production was underway, accompanied by attention to recipe details and happy chatter.

To our surprise, Jenny then called time out for pizza plus salad that Christie made. We gathered around a table to eat together. Jenny then helped us get to know one another, asking questions like “when is your birthday,” and “were you named after anyone?” After supper, we returned to the kitchen to finish our creations – and then everyone pitched in to clean up and leave the kitchen as we found it. It was the very best of church family community time at UCC Norwell.

As we headed home, John and I talked about how glad we were to get to know moms Ren and Christie and their wonderful, creative, energetic kids. When I saw them in church on Sunday morning, it felt good to know their names and a little bit of their stories. And that’s really what Cooking for a Cause is all about.

Contributed by: Betsy Brink​, church member