Har Sinai Congregation to assemble 1,250 meals in two hours for Paul's Place

On Sunday, Nov. 16, from 12:30 to 2 p.m., Har Sinai Congregation congregants of all ages will get together at the temple in Owings Mills to prepare a week’s worth of meals for the soup kitchen at Paul’s Place outreach center in Baltimore. Congregants will prepare 1,250 meals in less than two hours.

“This might just put us in the record books,” said Arleen Shepherd, chair of the event. “Last year we took three hours to assemble the casseroles. This year we’ll do it in two.”

The task to feed 200 for a week is accomplished through a series of stations arranged around the room. Each station prepares a day’s worth of food, from lasagna to chicken tetrazzini. Volunteers cook, assemble, wrap, clean up and deliver.

What does it take to feed 200 daily for a week? In addition to plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables, Har Sinai congregants have contributed 100 jars of pasta sauce, 100 cans of cream soup, 90 pounds of pasta, 40 pounds of chicken, 40 pounds of beef, plus everything else it takes to make 50 casseroles.

“There’s no greater gift than doing for others,” said Patrick “Shep” Shepherd. “Plus, Holy Casseroley’s a multi-generational program and everyone gets to know each other in the process. Ages 9 through 90 work together and become fast friends.”

Har Sinai Congregation in Owings Mills is the oldest continuously Reform congregation in the United States. The Congregation consists of 400 families and offers Religious School, family programming, youth activities, adult education and social action activities among other congregational life opportunities. Rabbi Benjamin Sharff and Cantor Robert Gerber combine Reform Jewish traditions with innovative worship and learning experiences. Har Sinai Congregation welcomes people of all Jewish beliefs as well as interfaith families.