The Peace Lutheran Church in Bessie is hosting a “Bratfest” dinner Oct. 21 to continue the tradition of the originator of the event, the Trinity Lutheran Church.
Trinity Lutheran in Clinton closed in August of 2021 due to a dwindling membership made worse by the pandemic. Many of its members migrated to Grace Lutheran in Weatherford or Peace Lutheran in Bessie after its closure.
Now those that have taken up membership at Peace Lutheran have decided to reinstate the annual “Bratfest” tradition.
Every year Trinity Lutheran would have a celebration of German cuisine and heritage by serving bratwursts, sauerkraut and German potato salad.
According to Nina Morris, a member at Peace Lutheran, the Bratfest was begun by Dave Rollins and the recipes of Ruby Radke, both deceased. Back at Trinity Lutheran, the church used to have a noon meal and an evening meal, a silent auction, baked goods and other homemade items for sale. They started the event for the sole purpose of using the proceeds to fund a scholarship that would be given to Lutheran high school graduates attending college. Morris said Peace Lutheran will be doing things a little differently.
“We will be having a ‘Bratfest’ dinner where we will be serving the same recipes from Trinity Lutheran,” she said. “However, unlike Trinity we will only have one meal from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m.
Tickets can be purchased ahead of time for $15, providing ticketholders with a full meal and dessert.
Those that wish to opt out of the traditional bratwurst can substitute it for a hamburger. An additional burger or brat can be added for a fee of $5.” There will be seating inside or outside (weather permitting) and a silent auction happening alongside the event where attendees can bid on quilts sewn by the Peace Lutheran Church’s members. It will be held in the basement of the church and organizers ask people enter through the church’s east entrance.
The proceeds from the Oct. 21 Bratfest will be split three ways amongst Peace Lutheran’s charitable works of choice. Both the Mission House in Clinton and the Judah House in Cordell will receive donations, while a third of it will go toward the Peace Lutheran’s Laundry Ministry, a program started where they pay for the laundry of those in need at the Clinton Laundromat.
The recipes passed down through the years prep food for approximately 300 people, so Peace Lutheran wants to see a lot of friendly faces enjoying their German cooking because they’ll have plenty of it.