This is no less true along the Grand Strand, where repast and religion are intertwined in congregants' minds. These communal meals serve purposes from meetings to weekday services, from reaching new members to fulfilling social obligations. These church folk are well-fed, they say, body and soul.

Getting back to church

It's Cool Salad night at Conway's Kingston Presbyterian Church.

The spacious fellowship hall on the banks of the Waccamaw River is filled with hungry parishioners, ready to beat the heat with some light summer fare. Two dozen salads, each made by a member of the congregation, are artfully arranged on a long table.

There's a delectable orzo and shrimp concoction with black olives. . Tangy German potato salad with bright spring onions. A clever antipasto with chickpeas and feta. And scrumptious fruit salad made with an old family recipe from Hester Medlen, a beloved elder member of this church.

Small helpings of each salad are placed on paper plates, and quickly carried back to the tables for feasting. A woman takes a forkful and chews it slowly, savoring the intricate flavors. "Mmm… I wonder who brought this!" she muses.

"Part of the fun is trying to figure out who made each dish!" says Barbara Davis, a church elder. Indeed, the congregation includes so many accomplished cooks that they've assembled a handy little recipe book to help raise funds.

The bowls for make-your-own sundaes are cleared, and the parishioners begin to sing at a brisk, cheerful pace. Soon, they are requesting hymns by number - upbeat old tunes like "Onward Christian Soldier" and "Nearer, My God, To Thee".

According to pastor Don Stiens, Wednesdays are regular supper nights for the historic church. "Folks are busy out in the world, he says. "This gets them back into church, in a less formal way."

Through summer's end, parishioners will dine on potluck suppers each week. Between September and May, however, there's just one covered-dish feast per month. The other Wednesdays feature meals prepared by teams in the church's large kitchen.

Each team has a budget of $175, with which it must feed between 70 and 90 people. Diners are charged just $3 per meal, with a maximum of $10 per family. Barbecues, chicken bog, and chili nights are common – but every now and then, an ambitious team prepares something elaborate.

"About once a year," says Stiens, "somebody makes French pork loins."

A tremendously big party

When he talks about Catholic enthusiasm for food and fellowship, Father Gerald J. Ryfinski refers to the Book of Luke.

"Jesus eats his way through the whole Gospel," explains the priest of St. Mary's Catholic Church in Georgetown. "What we look forward to in the afterlife is that Eucharistic banquet – a tremendously big party!"

Though no regular meal is served at the church each week, Ryfinski estimates that Sunday brunch is a regular tradition for about two-thirds of his parishioners. "If you go to Mass, you automatically go out afterwards," he says.

"On Fridays during Lent, we have a soup supper after the Stations of the Cross," he added. Lent is a period of abstinence from meat for Catholics. The meatless soup – lentil, vegetable, potato, or some other hearty variety - is made by the parishioners and usually served with cornbread.

As sacramental priest at St. Cyprian, another Catholic church in Georgetown, Ryfinski performs a Spanish mass on the fourth Sunday of each month. Though the Catholic church represents only 3% of churches in South Carolina, as opposed to 20% in the rest of the country, Ryfinski says that the Catholic Hispanic community in his parish is growing. This, he reports, has given rise to delectable Latin potluck meals, featuring tamales and other traditional fare, after the Spanish Mass.

Family night

The Yellow Page ad for Loris First Baptist Church is one of the few that actually mentions supper. Every Wednesday night at 6:00 PM for over ten years, the church has gathered its community together for food and fellowship.

"We've had it for years, and everybody loves it!" says Ruby Cook, church secretary.

During the school year, Family Night is a big event at the church each week. "We try to have something for everybody – supper, choir, and Bible studies for adults and kids," says Cook. Hungry parishioners are charged between $1.50 and $3.50 per meal; carry-out plates are $4.50.

About 100 people attend each Wednesday's supper, which is usually catered by a local restaurant throughout the school year. During the summer, casual hot dog suppers replace the catered meals.

"We believe in eatin' here!" Cook laughs. "It's good fellowship."

27 potlucks

Pastor Cameron Keyser jovially speaks of his tenure at St. Peter's Lutheran Church. With an average worship attendance of 220 hungry parishioners, mostly early retirees and young families, he is a busy man.

"I've been here for 2ฝ years – that's 27 potlucks," he laughs. "When we have potluck, we end up with a variety of ethnic food – some Pennsylvania Dutch, because we have a lot of people from Pennsylvania, New York, and Ohio – and a lot of German – sauerbraten, Southern style!"

In the fall and winter, members of the Pawley's Island church have a food-oriented event every month or so. Summers mean cookouts and barbecues, sometimes right after church.

"Lutherans come out for worship faithfully each Sunday, but if you want to get them out at any other time, you've got to feed 'em," Keyser says, with gentle good humor. "Or at least give 'em some coffee."

A close-knit community

On a warm Saturday morning in early July, the Popular Community African Methodist Episcopal Church in Conway is trying something new.

Three months ago, parishioner Earline Woods was invited to a prayer breakfast at St. Paul AME Church in North Myrtle Beach. She came home to Popular Community certain that a similar event would find success in her own church.

Today, some two dozen members of this closely knit congregation have gathered for a prayer breakfast in the fellowship hall. Though not as well attended as hoped – after all, many church members have made the long journey this weekend to the Hemingway family reunion in New Jersey – the participants read passages from Scripture with enthusiasm and fervor.

As the verses are recited, volunteers prepare breakfast in the church's kitchen. Handy Willard, a chef at Cagney's and assistant manager of Conway High School's cafeteria, turns bacon on the huge Vulcan stove while Gertie Moore, a housewife, butters toast and pours fruit salad into a bowl. Nearby, Vasena Livingston, who is a cook at the Popular Sportsman Club, keeps an eye on a big pot of grits while she stirs the tomatoes.

After a spirited climax, the Scripture reading comes to an end. The parishioners sit down to eat the simple, hearty breakfast.

Reverend Matthew Furness is already planning for the next Saturday morning feast, a back-to-school prayer breakfast in August. Though the Marion native has headed the church for just a year and a half, he is making significant strides in helping the young people of this little community. One-on-one tutoring to help children raise test scores has already been implemented.

"In order for us to reach out, we'll have to have more of these breakfasts in the future," he says. "The more we pray, the less we have to say."

'All Baptists like to eat'

"All Baptists like to eat. We're famous for eatin' and meetin'!" laughs Mary Lee Cooper, member of the hospitality committee of the Garden City Baptist Church. Cooper says her church has an outreach program in which food figures prominently, thanks to parishioner Jim Herron.

"Jim comes in and cooks a meat, two vegetables, bread, and dessert. It's a ministry, and we don't charge. As a result, we've been able to reach the community, and we feed an average of 60-70 people every Wednesday night!"

About half of the regular attendees are members of the church, according to Cooper, while the other half, including many youths, are non-members.

Herron obtained his culinary degree after he retired, explained Cooper, and the meals he prepares consist of hearty, homestyle fare. "Sometimes he makes fried chicken, pork chops, meatloaf, ham… with peas, snap beans, squash, or potato salad." Herron also creates a big dessert. "He does a wonderful blackberry cobbler. The kids' favorite is banana pudding. He found out they love it, and he makes it a lot!"

The groceries for each week's supper are purchased by Herron, with donations from another church parishioner. Herron receives no compensation for his cooking efforts.

"We are very blessed to have him," says Cooper.

Bibles and breakfast

Every Tuesday morning between September and May, Chuck Gresham and 15 or 20 other men gather at the historic Prince George Winyah Episcopal Church in Georgetown. Their objective: breakfast and Bible study.

Gresham, a member of Prince George for 25 years, says the men got together about 3 years ago to organize a study group for discussion of Bible verses that are read in church each Sunday. "But there was no time suitable during the week except early mornings," he explains.

The group established a routine. "We sign up in pairs on a clipboard for two Tuesdays in a row. Generally, one pair brings an entr้e, another brings fruit and orange juice," Gresham says. "The entrees vary – some guys don't do a lot of cooking, so their wives send them in with great breakfast casseroles with eggs, sausage, and cheese." Some bring pastries from local bakeries. Others bring trays of sausage biscuits from fast food restaurants.

A few of the men enjoy cooking complex breakfasts in the church's kitchen. Gresham himself has prepared eggs benedict, pancakes, waffles, bacon, grits and biscuits. Though 7:00 AM might seem a little early, it's perfect for Gresham, who eagerly anticipates each week's meeting.

"I am definitely well-fed – spiritually and physically – at the end of the morning," he said.

Friendly competition

When Reverend Kenneth E. Floyd of the Prince Chapel Missionary Baptist Church in Loris decided late last year that his church needed a monthly family fellowship supper, his goal was to keep it simple.

But the event, held on the last Wednesday of each month, has evolved into something quite elaborate. "We used to just have a prayer service," says Shawana Pasley-Shaw, clerk at Prince Chapel. "Now we include a full worship service for people who can't get to church on Sunday." With an average attendance of 75 people, the service is a joyous event, filled with preaching, praying, and beautiful old spirituals that some parishioners remember learning from their grandmothers.

The service isn't the only thing that has evolved, according to Pasley-Shaw, who describes her church as small but very active. The congregation's good-natured competitive spirit has helped make each supper an exciting event.

"Different auxiliaries are responsible for bringing the food," Pasley-Shaw explains. "The ministers team up with the trustees and compete with the kitchen committee, which produces extravagant meals. The Missionary Society brings a variety of food, because one of the members is an experienced chef."

When it's time for the younger members of the church to prepare the meal, they usually just bring deli sandwiches, says Pasley-Shaw. "But the elder ladies love to cook – biscuits, homemade soups, homemade pound cake!"

In June, the congregation was treated to chicken bog, cooked by Dr. Floyd himself in a big cast-iron pot. For a recent Wednesday night supper, the church's Usher Committee prepared fried chicken, macaroni and cheese, potato salad, and string beans.

"It keeps us in suspense," Pasley-Shaw laughs. "We just never know what we'll be eating!"

"Shabbat shalom!"

It is Friday afternoon, and Nina Elmalih calls out a Sabbath greeting to the visitors entering her restaurant. She does not stop to chat, for she has work to do. In a few hours, the sun will set, and the Jewish Sabbath will begin.

Elmalih is a member of the Chabad Lubavitch Synagogue of Myrtle Beach. As owner of Jerusalem Restaurant on Withers Drive, the only kosher eatery and grocery in South Carolina, she plays a valuable role in the lives of the city's Hasidic Jewish community.

Her hands deftly toss ingredients into the pot for cholent, a complex stew whose base ingredients are meat, potatoes, beans, whole wheat, and hard-boiled eggs. A member of the synagogue has asked Elmalih to cater a Shabbat meal for the congregation, as an offering for a sick child. "Jews believe that donations earn the giver a blessing," she explains.

Elmalih's Shabbat catering services, for which she charges $150 for a complete meal including bread, salads, fruit, and beverages, are in frequent demand.

After the prep work is completed, Elmalih takes the cholent pot to the synagogue kitchen, where it will sit in the oven on very low heat for the next 15 or 20 hours. When they are peeled, the whites of the hard-boiled eggs will have turned the color of caf้ au lait.

As the men of the synagogue read from the Torah on Saturday morning, the stew's rich fragrance wafts into the room. It is removed from the oven by the rabbi himself; the ingredients are transferred to separate bowls and taken to the tables. The oven will stay on until three stars are visible in the Saturday night sky.

"When Shabbat begins, we must not cook, drive, turn on or off the lights or oven," explains Elamih. Such actions involve an active use of electricity, which serves the same function as fire. With 38 other activities, the kindling of a fire on the Shabbat is melachah, or exercising control over the environment. Jews must refrain from taking part in any of these activities during their day of rest and spiritual enrichment.

The Shabbat is the most important ritual observance in Judaism. It is eagerly awaited throughout the week, and greeted with joy when it arrives. The Saturday meal, featuring cholent and a traditional braided egg bread called challah, is a significant part of the day.

"In order to have something warm, we cook something we can leave on the fire for a long time," says Rabbi Yossi Naparstek, who officiates at the synagogue. "Variations of this dish are eaten all over the world after services. When cholent is cooking, we say it smells like Shabbat!"