In the early days of COVID, pastors and church leaders wrestled with a heavy question: How do we continue to do ministry even as we are self-isolating?
New Dover UMC came up with an innovative solution: members would make sandwiches in their homes and then drop them off at the church. With COVID precautions in place, volunteers would pack bags with sandwiches, fruit cups, and snacks, then take them to St. Joseph’s Social Center in nearby Elizabeth. Eventually, they expanded their circle of care to include two other nearby nonprofits: “Bianca Flowers” of Plainfield and “Food for Friends” in Rahway. Along the way, two other United Methodist churches, South Plainfield and Centenary in Metuchen, joined the effort. Wawa partnered with the program, donating leftover food for the group to distribute. Over time, the ministry came to call itself “Bread Breakers,” and that name has stuck around to this day.
The Hartford Institute was looking to see how churches were navigating the pandemic and heard about Bread Breakers. In 2022, they visited and wrote an article about the ministry. At the time, Bread Breakers was handing out 700 sandwiches a week. Rev. Chuck Coblentz felt optimistic about the future of post-pandemic ministry: “I don’t know what the church is going to look like when it’s over — nobody does. But I think it’s going to be more powerful than it was.”
His optimism has paid off. Four and a half years later, Bread Breakers is still going strong. Not only is the Bread Breakers ministry demonstrating healthy vitality, but the church is as well. In-person attendance and Sunday School attendance have both increased, as has giving.
On December 8, the 18-member Youth Bell Choir blessed worshipers with their musical gifts as families gathered to praise God together. Rev. Chantell Makarawa, a Mosaic Ministries intern, led the young people in a reflection on Advent. She shared, “Advent means the coming of something very important,” as students sat around her. The church exuded energy and warmth.
Colleen Hill, a video journalist from the Hartford Institute, came to bear witness to it all, recording the story of how New Dover UMC weathered the storm of COVID and emerged stronger than ever. Rev. Chuck Coblentz was delighted to welcome her and overjoyed to share what New Dover had learned with others: “It’s about getting the word out—what we’ve done, and how we can help other communities find the needs in their community.”
For Rev. Coblentz, it was Bread Breakers that truly helped New Dover emerge stronger. He wrote in his own reflection, “We believe that we have been blessed because, rather than attempting to merely survive during the COVID crisis, we saw it as an opportunity to expand our outreach in a time of dire need… From its beginning in the first century, the church has always been called upon to address specific needs in the community around it. How we respond will always determine whether we stand or fall.”
How we respond to the needs around us will determine whether we stand or fall. May God give us the vision to see the needs that are unfolding around us and the courage to respond.