Beaufort community celebrates 10 years of dinners in Washington Street Park
A circle of neighbors joined hands in a circle to pray under the tin roof of a modest shelter in Washington Street Park on Friday.
"Thank you for planting this seed and how it has grown," Tammy Cargill prayed.
Each Friday night for the past 10 years, Beaufort residents have come together for free community meals in Washington Street Park.
Volunteers and neighbors celebrated the milestone Friday evening. Organizers expected rain to keep some of the crowd away, but a group of about 30 shared memories of the weekly event and the promise of food.
The suppers started with the help of Henrietta Goode, Steve Brown and a few others. The free meals are organized by downtown churches and volunteers. A menu is planned and word circulated about what is needed during a given week.
"Some Fridays, we didn't know where the food was coming from," Goode told the group. "God made it happen. Folks just came in, and the love came with them."
The dinners are open to anyone but have become a gathering place for the Northwest Quadrant neighborhood. After the prayer Friday, the neighbors worked their way down a line of folding tables holding soup and hot dogs, doughnuts, cake and sweet tea.
They ate at four picnic tables under the shelter as children ran circles through the park and squealed on swings.
"It's just a slice of brotherhood," said Cargill, who coordinates the dinners. "Everybody comes together and, for that time, we're family."
In the early years, the park's shelter had no lights and required a portable set up with spotlights and extension cords. The city has since provided lights.
The gathering has spun off other goodwill efforts. A group known as "Friends with Wheels" offers rides to those with doctor's appointments and emotional support to those dealing with medical ailments.
There is a program to give bikes to those with special needs and volunteers who provide health screenings, flu shots and dental services.
During the warmer months, there have been ice cream trucks and bounce houses for the children. One night it was so cold that the group built a fire between two trees.
At Christmas, everyone receives gifts and, during the cold months, volunteers pass out blankets and coats. The ministry is Christ-centered but not always in overt way, Cargill said.
"We try to be a friend and meet a need, if it is possible," she said.
After much of the group had walked out of the park gates toward home, Goode and others shuffled through printed out photos of past dinners, noting the many faces of those no longer living.
A volunteer noted that much of Goode's homemade vegetable soup remained in the pot after everyone was gone.
"I'll give it to somebody," Goode said.
Follow reporter Stephen Fastenau at twitter.com/IPBG_Stephen.
Related content:
- Help sought to maintain Friday dinners in Washington Street Park, June 3, 2013
- Supporters ask city council's help to upgrade Beaufort's Washington Street park, March 15, 2011
This story was originally published January 15, 2016 at 8:31 PM with the headline "Beaufort community celebrates 10 years of dinners in Washington Street Park."