Hospitality Ministry Group

MEAL GUIDELINES

The Meals Ministry at Cedar Ridge is an excellent way to serve others, share the love of the Lord Jesus, and make a difference in someone’s life. The purpose is simply to help someone in need by providing a ready-made meal. In times of need, it is an incredible blessing to see a friendly face and receive a meal. Organized meal giving centers around significant life events. When a friend is in need, everyone wonders, “What can I do to help?” One answer is to provide a meal!

It is the desire of the Cedar Ridge body of believers to put action to our intent to care for and serve one another, especially in a time of need. Because we are geographically spread out, we need to keep our lines of communication open and not miss someone in need. Hospitality Ministry Group has developed the following protocol to achieve this goal.

There are two instances where Cedar Ridge always provides meals: the arrival of a new baby and the death of a loved one. There are other occasions where meals are considered- crisis’s such as severe Illness, after surgery or hospitalization, etc.- these are evaluated individually. In these instances, we want to be sensitive to what are their actual needs. For example, one member of a family may be very ill, but there are others able to care for that person. When an entire family is sick or incapacitated, meals may likely be considered.

Hospitality Ministry Group Members are not responsible personally for all meals but should be especially sensitive and help bring meals whenever possible, including keeping ears open for news of illness or need and making sure these needs are known.

Hospitality leadership should be made aware of a need, either through a direct request for help by email, phone, or through referral by someone within the church. The coordinator will then will then provide a sign-up request through email (or other social media) to ask for volunteers to provide a meal. This should provide a clear line of communication as we do not want to duplicate efforts with one while neglecting others. Always, many hands make light work!

Guidelines:

The number of meals varies according to the availability of volunteers, but generally, we like to accommodate in the following ways:

• Birth of a Baby: 4-6 meals, every other day
• Death of a Loved One: 3 meals, every other day. If a funeral is held locally at Cedar Ridge, arrange for a community meal after the service or burial for guests.
• Other: Please contact Hospitality MG chair or coordinator to evaluate other situations.
• Personal Preferences:  If you want to personally provide a meal for someone who doesn’t fit any category- that doesn’t “qualify”- you are, of course, welcome to do that!