Church co-founder Ellen White wrote extensively on matters of spiritual growth, family life and health reform. She advised in her writings that health topics are a way of beginning a conversation about spiritual health.
With this advice in mind, deaconesses of the Startup Church in Sultan, Wash., decided to present a health program for the church and community. This health outreach program was planned by head deaconess Velma Collings, and Lynell Andelian assisted.
The church held a three-hour vegan cooking class on Oct. 20, 2013. During the class, four teams of two people each presented four vegan recipes. Mary Ann and Larry McGhee demonstrated how to make a vegan lasagna. Kari and Aunna Burns showed how to make a vegan pizza. Brad and Lynell Andelian shared a recipe for hummus and crackers. Riikka and Sabrina Petersen served a bean burger on a bun with all the condiments. Samples of the demonstrated recipes yielded a full-fledged vegan dinner.
Charlene Pallo creatively decorated the tables, and Jasmine Petersen gave away her home-baked bread for door prizes. Jean Ludwig recorded the event to create DVDs for sharing. Between demonstrations, Sabrina Petersen presented helpful health nuggets.
In all, 35 people attended the vegan cooking school in Startup. The cooking school provided an opportunity for church and community friends to learn healthy ways of cooking and to become reacquainted with old friends from surrounding towns.
