St. Paul Lutheran to hold chili cook-off to benefit underprivileged

For the last three years, New McKendree Church in Jackson has hosted annual large-scale packing days -- where thousands of meals get boxed for the largest meal-packing, not-for-profit organization Feed My Starving Children -- and this year St. Paul Lutheran Church in Jackson is getting involved by hosting its second annual chili cook-off starting at 10:30 a.m. Sunday.

FMSC is an organization that raises funds and packs meals to ship all over the world to children who are malnourished, and according to St. Paul Lutheran Church Pastor Eric Longman, it's the biggest organization of its kind.

"We became aware of that and came alongside them to assist with that project, and several other local churches are too," Longman said. "We did the chili cook-off for the first time last year, and this will be the second time we've done it. The money we raise with this event goes to support our overall FMSC outreach effort," Longman said.

Longman added that contestants will provide the chili, and individual church members are responsible for donating all other food items.

"To be a contestant for the cook-off, it's a $5 entry fee. And in addition to the chili, participants can also enjoy hot dogs, desserts and drinks, all for a freewill offering," volunteer Lynn Schreiner said.

According to Schreiner, four judges will award the best-tasting chili, along with an award for the People's Choice Chili.

"Each chili entry will have a container placed in front of it, where people can donate pocket change, checks, or dollar bills, and that amount will determine which entry wins the People's Choice Award," Schreiner said. "And 100 percent of it all goes back to FMSC."

Church member Dawn Hoffmann, Longman and Schreiner said they hope to have more entries than last year.

"The overall congregation fundraising goal we set for FMSC is $5,000, and we know we're going to surpass that," Longman said. "The chili cook-off last year, if I remember correctly, contributed about $350 to that total."

In addition to the cook-off, St. Paul Lutheran is also planning other fundraising events for FMSC this year such as a bake sale in Feb., and an event involving M& M's that raised almost $2,000 last year, according to Longman, Hoffman and Lynn.

"We have three pastors here, and our mission statement is: belonging, becoming, and building ... So, a lot of what we do is focused on living out our faith in the community and beyond the walls of the church itself," Longman said.

More information for this Sunday's FMSC fundraising event can be found online at www.stpauljackson.com.

jhartwig@semisosurian.com

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223 W Adams St, Jackson, MO 63755