The Great Cherokee Pancake Day Race, 2015

February 10, 2015

Dear St. Paul’s Family,

Come next Tuesday, February 17, our return to the new kitchen and dining hall will be complete.

That is the date that we will once again be observing The Great Cherokee Pancake Day Race and Shrove Tuesday Luncheon, after a long two-year hiatus.  It was three years ago this month, a week after the Pancake Race of 2012, that a fire destroyed our lower level church facilities.  Every year since, we have debated how or if we might continue the pancake race tradition we started in 2009, but we could not figure out the logistics of hosting it on our campus and doing the event justice.

So, next Tuesday will be a joyous moment for our congregation and our community. Not just because it culminates our return to the kitchen and dining hall, and not just because it resumes an event that for three years had gained Cherokee regional notoriety and news media coverage. But after major floods two out of the last three years, the closing of a major employer here in town, and numerous private and community-wide setbacks that have drawn our spirits downward, it will be great to celebrate all that is best about living in Cherokee: community pride, care for each other, fortitude through tough times, and a willingness to have a good old fashioned fun time. 

As a reminder of what the pancake race is all about:  Next Tuesday, February 17, a crowd of women dressed in skirts, aprons, and head-kerchiefs will race 415 yards in possible freezing temperature, while carrying a cast-iron skillet and a pancake.  In a Shrove Tuesday tradition harkening back to Olney, England since 1445, contestants will begin with a flip of a pancake in a provided cast-iron skillet, and conclude the race with one more flip.  And standing at the finish line,  greeting these heroines in house dresses, will be yours truly, ready to award the winner with the traditional “Kiss of Peace” accompanied by the words, “The peace of the Lord be always with you.”

This is also a worthwhile fundraiser.  After the Shrove Tuesday service and awards ceremony in the sanctuary, we will gather for a pancake supper down in the Dining Hall, where folks can leave a free-will donation.  All of the proceeds will go to support the food pantries at the Christian Action Program, Mid-Sioux Opportunities, Inc., and the Trinity Lutheran Church food bank.  The idea that other people’s food pantries will be replenished on a day usually set aside for cleaning out your own is deliciously ironic. And it is always great to see churches cooperating together with an ecumenical spirit.  Clergy from the Presbyterian, Evangelical Free, and other churches will all be present to help officiate some part of the race. 

All you have to do is sign up to help!  If you are a women who would like to run the race, or if you would like to put together a team of people to run it as a relay, registration forms are available at the church office or by visiting our exclusive website at www.pancakerace.com.  If you would like to help with set up, clean up, or cooking pancakes, contact John Cook, Jenny Burroughs, or a member of the Adult Class. At the very least, come watch the race, attend the brief worship service, and be generous in your donation at the pancake supper. None of this happens without the passion and energy of lay people like you.  

So, women, get ready to start your pancakes!  See you next Tuesday!

Grace and Peace,

Magrey  

The Rev. Magrey R. deVega

St. Paul's United Methodist Church

531 W. Main St.

Cherokee, IA  51012

Ph:  712-225-3955

Email:  mdevega@sp-umc.org