Penn Township church's cookbook fundraiser leans on 'history of serving really good food'

Deana Rugh looks fondly on the days of serving delicious food to the Penn Township community from First United Church of Christ’s kitchens.

Penn-Trafford soccer players used to stop by the Penn Township church during its biannual country breakfast — fueling up for Saturday morning practice with eggs, pancakes, ham, sausage, bacon and hash browns.

Community members enjoyed a taste of summer flavors during the church’s annual strawberry festival, held the first Sunday in July. Those brave enough to finish an ice cream sundae with all of the fixings would receive a sticker.

But as the church’s population continues to age, the traditional community meals have come to a close, Rugh said.

The loss of in-person events during the covid-19 pandemic did not help the situation, she said.

“Those two to three years of covid were hard on our congregation, in that people had already started making plans, getting their life busy again and not reserving the time to hold those types of events at our church,” said Rugh, 58, of Penn Township.

Leaning on its culinary roots, the church is raising money for its operations by selling cookbooks featuring members’ favorite recipes — including tried and true classics and modern flavors.

“We thought ‘This ties back to our history of serving really good food out of our church kitchens,’” said Rugh, a lifelong church member.

About 300 drink, snack, dessert and entree recipes fill the cookbook’s pages.

Recipes for chicken noodle soup, homemade noodles, jambalaya, Mediterranean shakshuka, shepherd’s pie, sugar cookies and blueberry iced matcha lattes are some of the highlights, said Jean Bohince, cookbook chairperson.

“There’s still a place in society today for cookbooks,” said Bohince, 69, of Penn Township. “I know that there’s Pinterest out there and I know that you can use All Recipes online.

“But there’s no substitute for a good cookbook in your hands that you can write notes in, that you don’t have to refresh your screen on your phone (to read).”

Funds generated by cookbook sales also will support the church’s charitable efforts. For more than 20 years, the church has donated quarterly to community causes, Rugh said — including local veterans organizations, fire departments and ambulance stations.

Community outreach is another goal of the fundraiser, she said.

“It shows people that we’re still here, we’re still vibrant,” Rugh said. “It invites them into the church.”