Pathway to Christ Church sells sticky buns to raise funds
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McELHATTAN -- Emma Swinehart began making sticky buns in the basement of the old McElhattan United Methodist Church, alternating between the church and the fire hall, around 1973.
Emma used the original Monkey bread recipe given to her by her daughter-in-law but tweaked it with her very own special secret ingredient.
Over the years, she passed her secret recipe on to her daughters, Helen Wheeler and Jane White, who now leads the congregation of the Pathway to Christ Church in making several hundred loaves of tasty sticky buns.
Many members of the church work diligently, coming in at different shifts on Friday and Saturday anywhere from 2:30 a.m. and working most of the day, as they butter pans, cut dough, pour the secret gooey goodness, and render the final buns on the trays to fill the many orders. Friday, the group put out approximately 109 loaves of sticky buns and Saturday another 120 loaves.
Not all loaves make it to the customer, as occasionally there are those slight accidents when a loaf is accidentally dropped on the floor. Even the trash is blessed with a sweet treat occasionally.
Speaking of "oh, no" moments or things going wrong, when the gang started baking the first batch of buns the pilot light on the oven went out, not once but twice. "Oh No!" But never fear, all around the maintenance man, board member, perisher and dough cutter came to the rescue and got the oven up and running.
"I have been a pastor here at Pathway to Christ Church for almost 2 years, and the hard work of this congregation never ceases to amaze me," said Pastor Laura Gilbert.
She further added, "The sticky buns have been a tradition in our church for many years but it's more than just baking, it is about fellowship. I could not be more proud of this congregation, and how well we work together. And every sticky bun is made with love. My prayer for Pathway is that we never stop growing and that we continue to always do God's will. Come out and see for yourself, we truly are a family! To God be all the glory!"
All proceeds from the sticky bun sales for this event will go to the Church paving fund.