Sandwich Board to celebrate ministry of 'Peanut Butter and Prayer'

Peanut butter and prayer.

What do they have in common you ask? In March 1985, a small group at Trinity Episcopal Church, 218 E. Benton St. in Aurora, met five hungry people in their neighborhood and offered them what they had - peanut butter sandwiches. Thus began the Sandwich Board, now a multi-church ministry committed to feeding individuals and families in need in our community. Sandwiches have given way to a hot, well-balanced meal offered every Thursday out of Trinity's kitchen.

Challenges over the years have been met with creativity and cooperation. When our vintage oven died this past year, putting this work at risk, ministry members pooled their resources to purchase a new one.

Through a generous grant from the Fox Valley Community Foundation, the Sandwich Board plans to upgrade the old stove soon as well. With 5,900 meals served in 2016, this ministry fills a vital need in our community. For many, this is a place to come, not only for physical nourishment, but spiritual as well. It is a place where they can come and know they will be respected and accepted.

On Thursday, March 16, the Sandwich Board, together with the guests served weekly, will commemorate 30-plus years of ministry with a celebratory service officiated by the Rt. Rev. Jeffrey D. Lee, Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese Chicago, followed by another nutritious meal, provided by the churches dedicated to this work - St. David (Aurora), Trinity (Aurora), St. Andrew (Downers Grove), St. Mark (Geneva), Grace (Hinsdale), St. John (Naperville) and St. Charles (St. Charles).

As Bishop Lee noted when the Sandwich Board celebrated 25 years, "What happens here is it's hard to tell who is a guest and who is a server. Everybody receives. We talk about that all the time in the church that it is in giving that we receive. This is … where you actually get to discover that it works."

To learn more about the Sandwich Board, visit www.trinityaurora.org/Sandwich_Board.html.