One Local church feeds more than appetites

HUNTINGDON, Tenn. — One local church is assisting people in need or those who simply want someone to dine with.

Tuesday night’s gathering of  the Shepherd’s Table was the 4th this year. Organizers say they simply want to do more than feed the body, they also want to feed the spirit.

“He’s a great pastor, he is the reason that I keep coming here because he has got a good sense of humor and he expresses the Lord easily,” said David Carter, an Organizer with the Shepherd’s Table.

Carter described Pastor Arthur Lodge Tuesday night at the First Presbyterian Church. Pastor Lodge originated the idea of the Shepherd’s Table, where anyone hungry or seeking fellowship is invited to have a seat.

“We are feeding folks,” Carter said.

Carter says they have set up a restaurant-style food kitchen.

“And the idea is these folks really cannot afford to go out to the restaurants,” Carter said.

The menu for dinner for Tuesday consisted of baked chicken, green beans, corn on the cob, corn bread as well as peach cobbler and ice cream.

“So what we have done is we set up restaurant-style eating with real plates and real forks. We wash the dishes and they get a meal,” said Carter.

Carter said just when they were preparing to serve the community something unexpected happened.

“We got a water leak just when we started to do this and put this together,” Carter said.

Carter says while organizing The First Shepherd’s Table event nearly 5 months ago, heavy rains damaged their sanctuary.

“We got to digging and we got to looking and there was more damage than what we could see with the naked eye,” Carter said,

Carter said the sanctuary is currently closed off and the church has had to replace flooring and roofing. He also said even though there were setbacks, they are continuing to serve the community.

“The further we go, the deeper we find we are going to get this church back to par,” Carter said.

“We are cultivating the Christian spirit in our community, the whole idea behind loving thy neighbor,” said Carter.

The next dates for The Shepherd’s Table are scheduled for August 21 and September 18.

Doors open at 5:15 p.m. at First Presbyterian Church on East Main Street in Huntingdon.

If you would like to donate to The Shepherd’s Table you can do so by sending funds to their post office box, P.O. Box #651, Huntingdon, TN 38344.