Bread, borscht, baked goods and more!

All were in abundance at Bethany Mennonite Church on Saturday as NOTLers returned for the beloved borscht and brown bread sale, this year in-person once again. 

Co-ordinators Sue Weier and Linda Van Bergen were excited to see just how well sales went.

By 10:30 a.m., the baked goods table was nearly empty and borscht was going fast.

“I thought it was 12 o’clock but it’s only twenty to eleven,” said Weier. 

In previous years, the church would have had a sit-down dinner with borscht being served and available for purchase.

Throughout the pandemic, slight changes were made, including holding a drive-through sale for the last two years.

Despite the changes, Pastor Herb Sawatzky said the sale remained popular.

“When we did it as just takeaway outside, the first year, we sold out in 45 minutes,” he said.

Back in person but without a sit-down dinner, this year’s sale was still a great success, he said.

“Borscht is one of our heritage meals and it’s a Mennonite dish that appears to be liked by non-Mennonites,” said Sawatzky. 

“This event is something that our church community loves to do and it seems to be well received by Virgil and Niagara-on-the-Lake as well.”

The money raised by the Triple B Sale will help fund quilt-making that about a dozen church volunteers complete.

The quilts are regularly donated to scores of impoverished countries around the world via the Mennonite Central Committee.

“They’ve gone to people in pretty terrible situations, including those who have died of HIV. They like to be buried in them,” said Sawatzky. 

“It’s very meaningful.”

After Saturday’s success, Van Bergen hopes that a sit-down dinner will be back soon. 

“We hope (the dinner) will be back in person next year. We have people thinking about it already.”