Most churches I’ve attended had potluck dinners and picnics where people bring a dish to share, but some churches have dinners with menus. Sometimes these dinners might be fund-raisers. A hundred years ago churches also held dinners. Here’s some church supper menus in a 1925 magazine.
Those are quite the menus! When our church had fundraising dinners, they were much simpler: lasagna, salad, dessert!
The menu your church uses for fundraising dinners works for me.
I remember potluck dinners at church.
I’ve been to some wonderful potluck dinners over the years. It’s fun to try the different dishes that people bring.
I was thinking that these looked a lot more reasonable then some of the holiday menus you have posted…
Agree – these aren’t as over the top as some of the holiday menus in old American Cookery magazines.
That was fun to see menus from churches from 100 years ago.
I found it fascinating that the editors of old magazine thought of including menus for church dinners.
I think tonight might be a good time for some browned fricassée of fowl!
Maybe I’ll wait until tomorrow (or the next day or the day after) to have some browned fricassee of fowl. 🙂
It was really quite delicious, Sheryl! I looked up a few recipes for it, and then just rather improvised, using my available vegetables and serving over brown rice.
It was delicious, Sheryl. I looked up a few recipes, and then improvised, using all the vegetables I had on hand, made a sauce, and served it over rice.
You’ve sold me. It sounds really good. I’m going to have to make chicken fricassee.
I so very much enjoyed reading these church supper menus, Sheryl, thank you. Fascinating.
It’s nice to hear that you enjoyed this post.
That fricassee of fowl caught my eye, too!
It’s fascinating how some foods have apparently become less popular over the years. Another food on the menus that caught my eye was Steamed Figs with Whipped Cream.
My church does funeral meals and we have about 4 set menus… but none are as varied as these!
It makes sense to have several set menus. The old menu options seem relatively complex.
I agree – we don’t do 5 course meals anymore!!
Sometimes it seems like both the cooks and the people eating the meals had more patience back then.
And maybe more time and a more refined palate!
Interesting. My favorite church meals are potluck. It is truly a taste and test can I please get that recipe.
I also like potluck dinners. Many people make some of their favorite foods for these meals, so there often are some really good foods.
It gives you an excuse to try recipes and then ask for your favorite.
These are interesting to see. I had never heard of hot spiced grape juice before. I remember the church potluck and especially at Easter when we had “Dinner on the Ground”.
Like you, I never heard of hot spiced grape juice before. It made me think of another hot spiced fruit drink. I like to make hot spiced apple cider (waissel) during the Christmas holidays. I’m not familiar with “Dinner on the Ground.” What is it?
It was a fancy name for a church picnic. The potluck food was on folding tables outside. I recall some of the older members eating at a folding table. Young families spread out picnic cloth or blankets and got plates of food and sat on the ground (picnic cloth or blanket) to eat. We called the meal at the middle of the day dinner, so “Dinner on the Ground.” I am not sure why it wasn’t called “Potluck Picnic.”
Thanks for explaining Dinners on the ground sound like a lot of fun.
It was. I remember hunting Easter eggs and playing chase after eating.
I have wonderful memories of church and community Easter egg hunts when I was a child. Back then they used real eggs. People would color an extra dozen eggs and then donate them so they could be hidden. I don’t think that we ever got sick from eating eggs that we found at the egg hunt – though they probably weren’t safe.
We used real eggs back then as well. I don’t remember anyone ever getting sick either.
Love these church supper menus – so dear!
I’m glad you enjoyed this post. I also thought that the church supper menus were interesting.