CHICORA — Pastor John Pistorius of St. John's Reformed Church provides more than food for thought on Sundays at the 145-yearold Chicora church. He can offer a home-cooked meal.

The nondenominational church at 334 W. Slippery Rock St. puts out a free lunch after its 11 a.m. service for anyone who cares to drop by.

“Typically the lunch is between noon and 12:30 depending on when the service ends. That's determined by praises and prayer requests and the sermon,” said Pistorius, who has been pastor at the church for the past nine years.

“We don't require people to come to the service to have lunch,” he added.

Pistorius said the origin of the Sunday lunch began several months ago when he; his wife, Christina; and some of the deacons of the 40-member congregation went out to lunch at a local restaurant. The tab came to about $75.

Pistorius said, “My wife said 'Why don't we do that at the church? We can feed a lot more people for that price.'”

So the pastor and his wife, and church deacon Bert Burnside and his wife, Courtney, put up the funds every week, and Christina Pistorius cooks the food in the fellowship hall in the church basement during the service, which is piped down to her via speakers so she can listen.

“She enjoys making the food. That's her ministry. It's really an extension of what we do upstairs. Feeding the soul and feeding the body go hand in hand.”

“Jesus fed the hungry. When we take care of the needs of other people, it becomes ministry to the Lord himself,” he said.

The meals generally consist of a main course, salads, fruits and whatever other dishes people may bring to the meal.

“Usually we have 25 to 30 people around four tables. Anybody can swing by,” said Pistorius.

The pastor added while his wife tries to plan meals at least three weeks ahead, the size of donations and what donated food has been brought to the church dictates what gets served.

“We walk by faith and trust that God will provide,” the pastor said.

Bert Burnside said, “We support the lunch. We think it is a good idea to have fellowship outside of just sitting in the pews.”

“It's a good idea to get people to discuss things,” he said.

Burnside said, “For me, the strong part is we want to be part of the community. I'm sure there are some in the community that would appreciate a meal.”

Pistorius said feeding people is part of his ministry. He is also a volunteer at the Petroleum Valley Ministerium Food Cupboard.

People can skip the service and show up for lunch, he added.

While the lunch will start with Pistorius asking for a blessing, there is no proselytizing included along with the meal.

“In Jesus' ministry, he fed people. He didn't demand that you come to a service. He shares with his friends. It was a natural part of his ministry,” said Pistorius.

Sharing food dates to the earliest days of the church, he said. “In the beginning, it was natural. People gathered around a table.”

If someone decides to come back to attend a service after having lunch, that's fine with Pistorius, but that's not the meals' objective.

Pistorius said while one or two of the lunch attendees were really in need of a meal, the majority “were just looking for fellowship.”

“I try to get around to each table to talk,” he said.

“I hope it will catch on,” he said of the Sunday meal. “I would like to see more churches. It would grow the Body of Christ.”

“We will continue it as long as the Lord provides, and so far he's been providing,” said Pistorius.