The Mount Olivet Lutheran Church of Plymouth began serving meals at the start of December 2019. As of mid-January, the site served 250 meals in its first five weeks. Diners from our other dining sites are showing up and they continue to have volunteers signing up to serve. The opening of the new dining site is part of a multi-phase initiative for Mount Olivet called “Be Open.”
The first phase is called “Open Grounds.” Because the congregation abuts French Regional Park, they entered into conversation with the Three Rivers Park District and other organizations to create a “healing walk” for the community. Near the labyrinth is a community garden that will connect to the next phase of their vision: open tables. It’s through Open Tables that the garden will provide fresh food for the weekly meal.
“In a similar manner to the general public pedestrians the experience Mount Olivet by walking by, using the parking lots, or by visiting the labyrinth, we are going to meet members of the community that are new to Mount Olivet via the regular Loaves and Fishes meal,” said Mark Schmidt, Council President. “How cool would it be to develop a tradition of a shared community meal plus a 15-minute time of meditation and contemplation every Monday evening?”
If you would like to volunteer at Mount Olivet, go to our Public Dining page to sign up.
