My wife and kids are part of a local homeschool co-op that gathers on most Fridays. Since joining a year or so ago, it has doubled in size. There are many more families that homeschool in our county than are a part of this co-op. In fact, we have heard of other co-ops that are already in place.
In our era of institutional mistrust, many families have opted out of government schooling. Our family obviously sympathizes with the worldview that children should be primarily socialized and educated by the family unit. We don’t think poorly of those who are committed to public schooling; we just see things differently. And we aren’t the only ones. We suspect maybe up to 15% of local families of young children are homeschooling.
This is a space that is dominated by mothers, and for good reason. My wife has gotten to know many of these mothers. They have play dates. They send one another messages during the week and maintain an ongoing Facebook Group chat. Most of the mothers are professing Christians. Some of them are affiliated with churches, but many lack such a framework.
My wife, Sara Beth, has noted along the way that many of her friends in the group allude to struggles with time and energy management, food prep knowhow, nutrition, responsible food consumption, parenting, and conflict management, among other common struggles for mothers. Yet the setting of the co-op is too demanding for them to substantially engage these topics.
Last year, my wife discovered a woman who prepares a dozen or so meals in one session. The YouTube channel is called Acre Homestead. She spoke to me about it, and the idea stuck in my head. Then as she was speaking with me about one mother who seems constantly overwhelmed by the stress of motherhood, I wondered how much having meals pre-prepared would potentially impact this woman’s life. Sara Beth readily acknowledges just how much stress daily food prep causes, and I believe she handles the stress better than most.
What if all these women suddenly had three or four dinners in the fridge/freezer that they could easily pop in the oven for their families each week? What if these meals were nutritious and locally sourced? What if they could prepare these meals together in a setting of mutual support between them, aimed at building up relationships in Christ?
This is how my mind works. I get an idea and then let it flourish. Sometimes I just don’t think it is realistic, but other times, I think it fits with reality. I really do believe there is a genuine interest on the part of mothers to feed their families well, to build up friendships with women who are trying to be Christians, and to free up time to be more emotionally available during the week. Some ideas are just excellent. I think I have had an excellent idea. I’m not going to call it a vision, but I will call it an excellent idea.
Anyway, while it is a good idea, I know better than to imagine that it can get started with my casting a compelling picture and giving it to the group. Such an effort would require organization and coordination, things in which I am gifted, but I am logistically constrained by many other commitments. Moreover, this will be a decidedly female space; I don’t think it would be right for a male to manage a female space. Meanwhile, I happen to know of a mother who needs a part-time gig and with whom I have worked on a community-oriented committee. She is solid and faithful.
I hope the theological case for this is self-evident. Food is central to faith. Christ said that his flesh was ‘true food’ and his blood ‘true drink.’ He called himself the ‘bread of life.’ During his life and ministry, much of his preaching and teaching was at dinner settings. After his resurrection, he was ‘made known through the breaking of bread.’ Of the two sacraments, or ordinances, that he gave, one of them is a holy meal (the eucharist). One of the four things the early church did together regularly was to eat together in each other’s homes. When we are equipping people to eat well and frequently, we are doing holy work.
Moreover, removing stress from the household is only and ever good. Childhood wellbeing directly corresponds with the stability of the household unit. Composed and happy mothers are of great benefit to children. Moreover, the saying “happy wife, happy life” is in place for a reason. Removing stress from domestic arts is of great benefit to everyone in the household.
I brought the idea of this part-time position to the Nowata First United Methodist Church board. They liked the idea, but they were also reluctant to spend any extra money on new things, as we have just written a large check in order to disaffiliate from The United Methodist Church denomination. They encouraged me to raise my own starting funds for such a ministry.
The ministry will be modeled to be self-sustaining. The crew will pay for their own food, assigning costs to cover how many meals they make for themselves, then sharing the cost of additional meals made for families in emergency situations. Over time, I hope that they actually make additional food to be sold for profit at local farmers’ markets. We’ll see what is feasible.
To get off the ground, I think it would be good to secure $7,000 in initial funds. That would cover six months of part time wages, plus the initial cost of ingredients. After about five months of paying for this ministry, the church board would reconvene to determine if it shows the promise and bears the fruit that would justify continued funding. At that point, the church would then fund the ministry with general church funds. I am not a pastor that likes to regularly push for second-mile giving. I think church members should tithe and then live within their means. But sometimes I think it is a pastor’s job to push towards an uncomfortable place and lead the way. I believe in this idea so much that Sara Beth and I will just pay for it ourselves if nobody gives. But I hope you’ll consider giving to give this ministry a chance.
If you would like to see the job description I have drafted for this position, you can see it HERE.
If you would like to give online for this purchase, click HERE.
If you would like to mail a check, you can send it to PO Box 129, Nowata, OK 74048. That’s the church address. Put ‘Food Prep Ministry’ in the Memo line so we know how to file it.
Also, please pray for this ministry. We are looking at astronomical child obesity rates in this nation. Single motherhood is very common, and mothers are more alienated and isolated than ever. Children and families are awash in worldly narratives that fly in the face of the new life offered in Christ, and more spaces need to be created where those narratives don’t hold power. I think this idea will effectively over wholeness and transformation in dozens of families in dozens of ways.
The church cannot and (in my opinion) should not create change in society by legislating things from the top-down. Rather, we transform the world by being transformed ourselves and then creating spaces for transformation among those whom Christ is calling. I believe Christ is working within homeschooling networks to raise up children who will become the adults who help us to reconstruct our society after deconstruction has taken its toll. It begins with measures like this.
I will be sending a check for you to use as you choose for any project.