Each month, more than 40 seniors are treated to a free luncheon at the Roxborough Presbyterian Church, 8230 Ridge Ave.

by Lou Mancinelli

We have all heard the saying, “There is no free lunch.”

Well, there is at least one exception to that rule. The first Monday of each month, more than 40 seniors are treated to a free luncheon at the Roxborough Presbyterian Church (RPC), 8230 Ridge Ave. It's a two-hour affair: games first or like this November, decorating cupcakes, then a big meal. This month it was chicken pot pie.

The people come from various neighborhoods in this area: Chestnut Hill, Flourtown, Roxborough, Manayunk, East Falls. But two autumns ago, at the first gathering of the Senior Lunch Bunch, only nine people showed up. Elgie Hender, who runs her own cleaning service, and her husband Keith, a millwright, who founded and host the luncheon and each month purchase and prepare the food, generally cook for about 45 to 60 people.

“We were elated,” she said about that first luncheon during a recent interview. “We were happy that even one person had showed up.” They packed up the leftovers and shared them with people in the church community—something they still do now. For each luncheon, the Henders cook for 50 people. And according to Elgie, for this November's gathering she “cooked my best pot pie ever.”

A few years before hosting the first luncheon, Hender's husband had wondered if there was something they could do to bring elders in their community together. At that time the Henders had been members of the RPC for nearly 30 years, and their new pastor had talked about different ways of engaging seniors in the community.

Hender's husband had asked her: “Can we dream up a luncheon? What would it take?” So they called Pastor Raymond Garcia. With his organizational help, under the larger umbrella of the Presbyterian non-profit group The Philadelphia Project, the Henders hosted the first luncheon in the church hall at Ridge and Port Royal Avenue in Roxborough.

Each month, 10 staff members from the The Philadelphia Project help the Henders serve the meal. As does Gabe, the fifth-grade-son of the Henders. His presence was essential at a recent luncheon when the group played “Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader?”—a game based on the popular gameshow.

“For the seniors in our area — any area, to be honest with you — I just feel like they're neglected,” said Hender, who's lived in Roxborough for 30 years and turned 50 this month.

“It just amazes me how they react. They just can't believe something is free and that nothing is expected. My husband and I cook with great joy and no contributions monetary-wise and the non profit organization personnel that help each and every month.”

At one luncheon, three woman who had not seen one another in 65 years were reunited. While Hender stressed that this luncheon is about the seniors, it also provides extra community in her own life. Growing up in Manayunk, the eighth-born of 12 children, Hender's grandparents died when she was a young girl. And her own son also has no grandparents. So in a way, this luncheon provides a connection for the Henders family to that older generation.

“I just think the people who come here are amazing,” she said, “and I hope there is someone caring for us when we get there.”

Cooking for 50 people is like preparing for Thanksgiving once a month, but Hender finds it invigorating. But not tiring, she said, when asked. “No. Never. Nope, never. Nope. I never knew that I enjoyed cooking so much.”

According to pastor Garcia, “I seek to serve in a diverse congregation, ranging from socio-economic classes to ethnic make up, from political viewpoints to positions on Biblical interpretation. I believe that the diversity we find within the church is a much greater representation of the diversity we find outside of the church.

“I desire to serve a congregation who recognize their position of influence in the world and desire to share their enlightenment with those who remain spiritually lost. Ultimately I desire to serve a congregation that exists for those not yet a part of it.”

For more information about the free luncheons for seniors, contact Elgie Hender at 215-487-1866. The next one on Monday, Dec. 7, will be geared to a Christmas menu.