Community dinner brings people together

IRONWOOD — Wesley United Methodist Church kicked off the first Friday of March by offering a free community dinner.

Head trustee for the church Ronald Ahonen said the church has cooked Christmas dinners for the neighborhood in the past, but has never done something like this before. He said, the mission of the church is to serve and that’s what they are trying to do.

“We hope people come and enjoy the fellowship as well as the dinner,” he added.

Keith Mullikin, pastor of the church, said the church had a food pantry for a number of years, but due to cost, had to shut it down. The pastor said he is hopeful the new event will help peoples not only with their psychical needs, but also their spiritual needs as well.

“We can feed them in more than just food,” Mullikin said. “We can have some fellowship.”

He said most of the food was donated by Pat’s Foods IGA in Hurley.

He hopes the dinner can continue and that it is something that becomes part of the “Wesley family.”

The pastor said that donations are appreciated, but not required.

“This isn’t a fundraiser,” he said. “The donations that we receive every dollar of it goes back into continuing the community dinner.

The church plans on having a dinner next month and he said they will begin creating the menu items in the next couple of weeks.

Having the dinner on the First Friday allows families who may not be in the best financial position to enjoy a meal and go see a movie at the Ironwood Theater, Mullikin said.

“This is about bringing people together,” he said.