Jordan U.C.C., 1837 Church Road, Allentown, held its biannual dinner 4-7 p.m. Oct. 3 in the social hall.

Instead of its typical ham or pork and sauerkraut dinners, the committee of 20-25 volunteers decided to try a roast beef dinner this fall.

One of the lead volunteers Jerry Beidler smoked the beef for six hours and the aroma did not disappoint the steady crowds who moved through the social hall.

Guests received roast beef slices, mashed potatoes, carrots, green beans, salad, roll, coffee, tea and homemade desserts.

Volunteers Janice and Tom Stephens took care of prepaid tickets and tickets sold at the door.

They also sold tickets for the quilt raffle for the church bazaar taking place Oct. 11.

Another lead volunteer Jerry Berger worked the kitchen preparing the sides for the meal.

Overwhelmingly, the comments about the mashed potatoes included “amazing,” “incredible” and “the best I’ve ever had!”

Inquiries about the secret to the mashed potatoes only received smiles and the fact it is a “secret recipe.”

Berger’s wife Truann was the lead volunteer in charge of the dining room.

She and her volunteers bussed the tables, washed and dried dishes throughout the time period.

Working with Berger, William McCay and his wife, Ruth Ann and Carmine Gagliardi and his wife, Cheryl were all smiles in the kitchen as they moved quickly to clean and dry the silverware and plates.

They shared that volunteering allows them time to spend together while serving the church.

Volunteers Jack Sulzer, Cheryl Sinclair, Kathy Flickinger and Truann Berger also served the line of guests.

Beidler said this event is called the “men’s dinner.”

The men’s group includes about 15 men from the church who meet every Friday morning at the Trivet Diner.

Beidler said “the men felt the women tend to do most of the cooking, so we wanted to step up and do the cooking for this event.”

The event began with a ham dinner in fall and pork and sauerkraut in the spring.

Although the crowds appreciated roast beef is now part of the rotation, no one meat choice appears to be more or less popular than the others as far as supporters are concerned.

When asked about which meat dinner is most popular, Michael Schmoyer, of Schnecksville, said, “It’s about fellowship and gathering.”

The men might have handled the meat of the dinner, but the women were still the bakers.

The table of desserts included a variety of cakes and pies, all of which were homemade.

Standing at the table, the aromas of homemade desserts filled the air.

Richard Blank, of Emmaus, chose the chocolate cake with chocolate icing.

He spent some time deciding, though, because they all looked and smelled appealing.

Volunteers Gail Hertzog, Sharon Coulter and Carol Heller were busy refilling the dessert tables throughout the dinner.

This is the fifth year for the dinners and over 250 meals were served.

Money raised from the event pays for the food and materials for the meals.

Profits are used to support church projects such as repaving the church parking lot.

Profit from this dinner will be used to remodel the kitchen in the social hall.

If you missed out on this delicious opportunity, you can check the church’s website for future dinner dates.