Windsor — Come for the food, stay for the company.
That’s the draw of the free breakfasts hosted Monday through Friday, from 7-10 a.m., by the Rachel S. Harlow United Methodist Church in Windsor.
“A lot of the people that come in, it’s not so much that they need to be here,” Pastor Earl Dionne said in an interview on Tuesday morning at Rachel’s Kitchen, the name given to the large room with an attached kitchen below the worship space of the Main Street church. “They can sit around and talk to friends or make new ones.”
There’s no need to demonstrate financial hardship to have a free meal. “We’ve never made it about money,” said Dionne, who staffs the meals and makes baked goods along with church member Barbara Loyer. “It’s about community.”
The church is named for a former Windsor resident, Rachel Harlow, who in the late 1800s donated money to build it.
“She saw the need,” Dionne said. “Back then, this was the only church that ran three services on Sundays.” The church did very well “until the factories shut down,” he said. “This was the blue-collar church.”
Outside the church hangs a sign that reads, “A church for the community,” and a visiting pastor once posed the question, “What does it mean to be a church for the community?”
In response, members of the church brainstormed ideas for mission work. “And we kind of came up with this,” Dionne said of Rachel’s Kitchen.
The breakfasts, which cost the church about $2 per person per meal, started in January. They thought it would take six months to raise enough money to start. It took a month and a half.
“We had some very amazing grants and donations we weren’t expecting,” Dionne said.
‘Being More Socially Active’
Like many other churches, in the region and beyond, the Methodist church is facing a declining membership. While it has 25 members, only six or seven regularly attend services. That made Dionne and others reflect on the role the church can play in the community.
Religion is not promoted at the breakfasts, though Dionne welcomes discussions that patrons wish to start. Instead, by focusing on the community — something everyone is part of, everyone can relate to — a network of support and companionship is being built. “I like meeting and working with people,” Loyer said.
Being a Christian is more than just attending a service one day a week, Dionne said. It’s about practicing those ideals in the community.
“We’re being more socially active,” he said. “Churches just have to be willing to change.”
During the first few months, only three or four people stopped by the breakfasts each morning. Then word began to spread. Now, as many as 38 people have attended in a single morning. The goal is to serve 100 meals a week, Dionne said. Currently, they’re at about 80.
“The last week of the month is always busy,” he said, when public assistance starts to run out. “It kind of evens out the rest of the month’s numbers.”
A Regular Following
Windsor residents Joe Delisle and David Moodie attend nearly every day. Both spoke highly of the offerings — and of the people they’ve met.
“It took me a while to come over,” Moodie said, but once he did, “I felt comfortable.”
During the summer, children were regular attendees. While most breakfast-goers live in Windsor, residents from West Windsor, Cornish, Ascutney and Proctorsville, where Dionne also serves as a pastor, have dropped by.
Community is what draws Windsor resident Anne Philippe to the breakfasts a couple of times a week. “It’s nice to see the people from the village,” she said. Philippe said she enjoys trading stories with others who have lived in the area for decades. “I came for the food. I stayed for the company.”
There is quite the selection: bagels, Pop-Tarts, bananas, coffee, jams, juices and coffee, among other items. And then there are the muffins. “Once we started making our own muffins, those became all the rage,” Dionne said.
Carpenter Walter Farnsworth, of Windsor, said he stops by on his way to work. “I sure like coffee and muffins,” he said. “It’s company too.”
It’s what Dionne likes to hear.
“We’ve certainly got a following of regular people that come in,” Dionne said.
There have been times when Dionne and Loyer were worried that they won’t be able to afford to continue, but the money always seems to show up.
“We expect that’s the way it’s going to be in God’s house,” Dionne said. In addition to leaving monetary donations, some attendees bring in food as well. “It all helps and it’s all appreciated.”
Where they would like more help is with volunteers. Currently, Loyer and Dionne are both there on Mondays, and then alternate days the rest of the week.
“And somewhere in between we make muffins,” Loyer said.
How do they measure success?
“Knowing that you’re doing something good,” Dionne said. “There’s people that come in who truly wouldn’t be able to eat without this. ... What we’ve done in just a year is just amazing.”
Editor’s note: For more information, visit the Rachel’s Kitchen Facebook page or call 802-674-3443. Liz Sauchelli can be reached at esauchelli@vnews.com or 603-727-3221.