Getting church groups to agree on anything can be challenging at best.
Wood County Area Ministries, taking a cue from their neighbors to the north at Perrysburg Christians
United, have found a unifying force as they "Feed the 5,000" this Lent.
"You don’t have to agree on liturgy or practices, in order to feed the hungry," says Erin
Hachtel, director of ministries and outreach at First United Methodist Church in Bowling Green.
The title refers to a miracle of Jesus as documented in all four gospels of the Bible, where Christ feeds
multitudes of people with only a small number of loaves and fishes.
"This is our first year and I’m very excited," Hachtel, who serves as coordinator of the WAM
project, said. "We loved the idea of having something we can work together on."
In contrast, the Perrysburg churches have been active with this idea in one form or another since 1978.

Both programs began last week on Ash Wednesday and will run through Easter.
At Perrysburg, PCU has a regular monthly collection of food from its member churches to supply its food
bank. The Feed the 5,000 puts a strong focus on canned meats, including tuna, which is collected in
addition to the regular monthly staples.
Bowling Green expanded beyond just the meat for collection and looked at the top 10 needs to supply local
food pantries.
The participating churches were asked to focus on a specific item or items, to assure a variety of food
being collected. However, most any canned or dried good will be accepted.
According to Jean Carr of PCU, regular collections supply the PCU food pantry and allows families to get
food twice a month, and individuals in need once a month. The group also has a "crisis
assistance" center which can assist those in need with financial help for utilities, etc.
Hachtel says the biblical story of Jesus’ miracle illustrates for her, what God’s people can do when they
get together and "work together and do great things."
"We want to give in abundance, she said speaking of the 12 baskets filled with food that remained
according to the biblical account.
"We are called to be generous stewards of our resources."
Both operations involve a legion of volunteers and are supported by donations. In some cases the
donations can be gift cards given to families to purchase meats and fresh produce.
"We have very low overhead," Carr said of the PCU operation.
The PCU goal each Lent is always to match or exceed the year, at minimum, in the number of the current
calendar year in pounds food. Thus, this year’s goal is 2011 pounds. Ruth Shaffer, the record keeper
says they collected 2,418 pounds last year, down a bit from some years when they have exceeded 3,000
pounds in donations. The Bowling Green goal is to collect more than 5,000 items during its collection
time. Those items will be shared among five Bowling Green are food pantries.
Shaffer said any canned meat is acceptable, including stew, chili, chicken or any other meat product.
"We even consider Spam as meat," added Shirley Kliest, coordinator of the PCU food program.
The Lenten push for meat as well as the monthly collections are just suggestions, people can donate
whatever they choose, within limits as they have no refrigeration or way to store perishables.
"We are excited to see what can happen when Christians are united in ministry," Hachtel said of
the inaugural Bowling Green effort.
Anyone interested in making a donation in Perrysburg can do so through 11 designated church, as well as a
collection point at Way Public Library.
The churches are: Blessed John XXIII, Church of the Master, First Presbyterian, First United Methodist,
Grace United Methodist, Hope in Christ. St. Rose, St. Timothy’s Episcopal, Shepherd of the Valley,
Stonebridge Church and Zoar Lutheran.
Bowling Green churches participating include: Bowling Green Alliance, The Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-day Saints, Dayspring Assembly of God, First Christian Church, First Presbyterian, First United
Methodist, Peace Lutheran, St. Aloysius Catholic, St. Mark’s Lutheran, St. Thomas More University
Parish, Trinity United Methodist and Vineyard Church.
Individuals and other churches are invited to join forces in either community.