Saturday, May 9, 1998

Breakfast on Beech celebrates second anniversary

By LORETTA FULTON / Abilene Reporter-News

Two years and 12,609 servings later, breakfast is still the most important meal of the day at BOB's.

On May 15 Breakfast on Beech Street, known around town as BOB's, will celebrate its second anniversary.

On that day in 1996, seven volunteers showed up at the Beech Street entrance of First Christian Church to fix breakfast for three people, who possibly were eating their only meal of the day.

By May of this year, those numbers have grown to a total of 132 volunteers, divided into daily workshifts, serving an average of 40 people a day, Monday through Friday.

In April, 1,020 breakfasts were served, a record to date.

The reason the volunteers get up early enough to prepare breakfast and begin serving it at 6:30 a.m. is simple.

"Thank you, God bless you -- it sure was good," one man tells the cooks as he leaves.

That's all the "pay" the volunteers need to keep coming back every day.

"It's a lot of fun, and it's rewarding," said Mary Sawyer, who has been with the program since the beginning, serving as a Friday volunteer.

The program is sponsored by four churches -- First Christian, the Episcopal Church of the Heavenly Rest, First United Methodist Church, and First Central Presbyterian.

Each church staffs one work day with volunteers. Friday is "ecumenical day" and includes volunteers from various churches and students from Abilene Christian University.

In addition to the free breakfast, the recipients can pick up a sack lunch to take with them when they leave. There is no charge for either meal, with the $1,200 monthly budget being covered by donations from the four churches and individuals.

The program was the brainchild of Jack Henderson, whose brother's church in Edmond, Okla., sponsored a similar ministry.

"We copied everything," Henderson said.

Even the name is similar. The Edmond program is called Breakfast on Broadway or BOB's. Similarly the Abilene ministry is Breakfast on Beech Street, or BOB's.

"We stole the menu from Edmond, too," Henderson said.

On Fridays, Henderson gets to the kitchen about 3:45 a.m. to start cooking bacon for that's day's specialty, omelettes.

"It takes a long time to cook six pounds of bacon," he said.

Although the breakfast is the selling point of the program, with many people eating before going off to a job, sack lunches also are provided. Each contains a sandwich, cookies, fruit, and a Bible verse.

John 6:35 may greet one of the recipients: "I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me shall never be hungry, and whoever believes in me shall never be thirsty."

Those verses may or may not be read. But the people who leave BOB's with a full stomach and well wishes from cheerful volunteers carry the message in their hearts.

"This is what Jesus told us to do," Sawyer said. "That's what we're here for."