Food & Fellowship

Finding Communion Through Meals at HoneyRock

By HoneyRock Center for Leadership Development

August 31^st, 2023

TASTE AND SEE

It's lunchtime. As the heartbeat of HoneyRock life, the kitchen is hitting its stride for the day. As staff lay out trays of steaming Naan bread and sizzling beef, campers from every corner of HoneyRock pour into Chrouser dining hall, ravenous from the morning’s adventures. Utensils clink on wood as “gophers” (the campers who “go for it,” and arrive early) set tables together. After the community gathers in prayer, volunteers from each table surge forward, fetching food for their 10-person table to pass around family-style. A Residential Elementary boy hoists a massive bowl of potatoes toward his table, stepping carefully around wayward campers toting jugs of apple juice. A gaggle of Advance camp girls erupts in giggles as a ketchup bottle emits a fulsome squirt. In this space, thousands of meals have been cooked, conversations had, and friendships formed. From staff cooking scratch meals in the kitchen to campers helping clean tables after a meal, every step of HoneyRock's dining experience fosters a space for community and discipleship.

A Residential "Res" Elementary camper excitedly preparing to pass a bowl of potatoes in Chrouser dining hall.

“Yes, it’s important to feed people, but also the goal is that people leave better disciple-making leaders.”

Whether a staff member is cooking, cleaning, maintaining, or cabin-leading, they are all valued and developed as emerging leaders in ministry. “We bring in the principles of a ministry, like a church, into our kitchen operation, says Chef Thomas Wiley. "We want to be firm and have accountability, but at the same time understand people are learning and they're in a growth place.”

Matthew Frears (Former Food Supervisor and Sous-Chef) briefs Vanguards in the kitchen about the day's tasks.

Vanguards chopping vegetables in the kitchen.

Libby Gerhart (Vanguard '23) preparing rolls.

Whether it's the summer or the school year, the HoneyRock community pauses for a time of prayer before digging in.

Ezri Valencia Marin and Katie Risley (Kitchen Staff) washing dishes in the kitchen.

“People aren't just coming here because they need to get a job. They feel it's a calling, they feel like they're by design supposed to be here, and it's a stepping stone in their life.”

NOT BY BREAD ALONE

Balancing practical service, authentic community, and spiritual growth, the kitchen plays an integral in delivering the quintessential HoneyRock experience. Through the labor of their hands, kitchen workers fix their hearts and minds on Christ as they lead and serve others. Relying on God in the midst of chopping vegetables, washing dishes, and pulling hundreds of pizzas out of ovens is an intensely refining preparation for life after HoneyRock. During the school year, the kitchen is constantly humming with creativity. This is a key time when Vanguard Gap Year students can explore culinary skills while practicing peer leadership and self-discipline at a pace that is less than demanding than managing both a full-time job and school work. Already a place of learning, the kitchen teaches life skills classes every week on topics like discernment, time management, and biblical conflict management.

Claire Haskell and Daniel Heo (Vanguard '22) prepare a special Korean-based meal.

Kenyan Gustafson (OAL '23) labels dietary specific dishes.

Becca Gamlin (Vanguard '23) preparing garlic bread in the bakery.

Jocelyn Eberle (Vanguard '23) and Caleb Ledbetter (Vanguard '23) slicing vegetables in the kitchen.

"The HoneyRock kitchen strives to develop whole and effective people in a clean and organized food service setting.”

PRAYER AND POTATO GOLF

With the day-to-day needs of getting food on the table, how can staff maintain this service-oriented mindset and focus on Christ? The answer lies in rhythms of rest and reflection, tight-knit community, and a clear reliance on God. The kitchen integrates faith with fellowship and grit with goofiness, each enriching the other—there is a time for everything. There is a time for playing golf with potatoes, finger jousting, dance parties, and blasting Latin music in the dish pit. There is also a time for daily quiet time with God, meetings, and debriefs throughout the day. Both are fruitful in keeping staff unified and focused on the vision and purpose of their work.

Olivia Sanchez Moreno and Libby Gerhardt (Vanguard '23)

Sharlotte White, Olivia Sanchez Moreno, and Caroline Housworth (Vanguard '23) show off their kitchen creations.

Qian Lim (Vanguard '22) serves up a special meal of fresh Ramen.

Joseph Kruse (Vanguard '23) prepares to carve the Thanksgiving turkey.

Allie (Vanguard '19) and Sarah Lambert (Vanguard '17) serve alongside each other on the summer kitchen team.

"Everything has a purpose in mind that we do. And that purpose is ministry."

COME TO THE TABLE

Breaking bread together is an essential part of creating community. Especially while feeding campers, this truth is repeated dozens of times a day in the kitchen as the team prepares hundreds of meals. It takes the form of a motto coined by Matthew Frears: well-fed counselors will counsel well, and well-fed campers will receive well. This idea extends to HoneyRock year-round: good food and well-rounded meals help facilitate transformational learning and the building of meaningful relationships. Well-fed leaders will facilitate and guide to their full potential, and well-fed campers and students will better receive the experiences at hand. As such, the caliber of food at HoneyRock is higher than traditional camp food, with more cooking from scratch and diverse menu choices. As homeward-bound campers board busses, the hope is that they will carry with them a plethora of experiences that have brought them closer to Jesus—and food is a vital part of shaping those experiences, Thomas attests.

"Food is necessary. And by making good food, we provide more open spaces for conversation around the table. I love the philosophy behind sitting down and eating together, it is a good time for communion. When you're eating, both of your hands have to be open. So it's like this like sort of natural space where people are more open to conversation. We have a chance to give people more times to connect. - Katie Risley, Kitchen Team Member

Chopped onions awaiting pick up at the start of the meal. All meals at HoneyRock are served family-style at HoneyRock, every table has their own dish to pass.

Meal prep is a part of every day life in the kitchen.

Res Campers enjoy a lunch together, dining family style creates a sense of hospitality and interdependency within the HoneyRock community.

When we eat, there will be dishes. It's all hands on deck.

LEAVING HONEYROCK FULL

Chrouser dining hall enables campers, students, and staff to walk away from HoneyRock filled and energized with good food, the Holy Spirit, and a smorgasbord of new learning experiences. The work that happens in the kitchen and the connections that are made in the dining hall shape the summer, school year, and beyond.

At the end of every meal and season, everyone leaves HoneyRock's table with something different. It could be a work experience that fostered wisdom and resilience. It could be a moment of comfort for a 4th grade camper eating the ever-popular chicken nuggets and mac-n-cheese that the kitchen always serves on the first night of camp. It could be a friendship that sprang up over spilled Tzatziki sauce on the first night of Vanguard. Perhaps it’s a sense of confidence gained when having to say, "Pass the carrots, please" to the person you just met.

At the heart of HoneyRock hospitality is the simplicity of time set aside for nourishment, fellowship, and conversation. Before you venture out into the world on whichever mission you are called to next, take a moment to be filled and refreshed--there is a place for you at the table.