Sunday Bagel Breakfast

The Community Breakfast has been a staple of UUMC for decades. The hot sit-down meal was the talk of the town before Covid hit. Twice a month we served eggs, pancakes, sausage, hash browns, cheesy grits with gravy, fresh fruit, cereal, orange juice and coffee in Fellowship Hall. Aside from the food, UUMC provided a safe and welcoming place for anyone who walked through the door. A place for people to connect with each other.

I started attending UUMC in 2010 and shortly afterwards became part of the regular breakfast crew. I’m not a morning person, but I usually tried to get there by 9am and stayed through cleanup. Around 2018, we added light bagel breakfasts on the 1st , 3rd , and 5th Sundays of each month. We moved upstairs into the Gathering Room where our guests could sit at tables or relax on the couches. The crowd was

smaller and with no hot food to prepare and clean up, only one volunteer was needed. Eventually, I became the volunteer.

At first, only a few people dropped in for a bagel and coffee, and most took it to go. But as the weeks passed more people came in and they started to stay for a bit. I saw a lot of the same faces week after week and eventually learned that a lot of the group came to us either before or after they stopped at the methadone clinic that was around the corner. It was obvious that the free food drew people in, but the sense of community made them stay. I know first hand how important it is to be part of a community of people who are experiencing the same thing you are. When I was waiting for my heart transplant, I lived in the hospital for 7 months. I spent a lot of time with two men who were doing the same thing. Those relationships made a huge difference in the success of my recovery! It’s no different than people recovering from addiction.

Josh started coming in with a group of friends. They would sit around the table in the Gathering Room and have breakfast together. When he was done eating, Josh would move over to the piano and play for everybody. Eventually the friends would leave but he would stay and play until church started. His brother came too and would sit and read books while Josh played. One week the three of us were talking and realized that we were the same age, grew up in neighboring towns, and had friends in common. Aside from their struggles with addiction, these guys were just like me! It could easily be one of my sisters, or my best friend, or even me, in that position. That’s why I’m so committed to serving this population.

When the pandemic hit, we continued to see people walk from the clinic to meet us on the corner where we served bagged breakfasts. Most businesses were closed and work was scarce, but we offered free, nutrient-dense meals to go. We couldn’t offer a place to meet anymore but we did fill a HUGE need for a year and a half with our food offerings. Then, about a year ago, the clinic on Crouse Ave moved to a brand-new building on Erie Boulevard and we lost a lot of our friends. We knew they still needed our help, we just had to find a way to deliver it.

Galyn worked for several months to establish a connection with the program staff at Pomeroy Treatment Center. They were more than happy to partner with us to provide food to their patients. It’s next to impossible to focus on overcoming addiction when you don’t know where your next meal will come from. About 2 months ago, we started bringing 100 bagged breakfasts to the clinic on Sunday mornings. It has been amazing reconnecting with friends I haven’t seen in over a year! 100 sounds like a lot but the need is so great that we have run out of food in under 45 minutes every week! Our challenge now is to rise to meet that need by building our volunteer pool and finding more financial support. I’d like to challenge you to take some time to consider how you can help us feed God’s people body, mind, and spirit.