On Thursday, March 15, the First Presbyterian Church in Great Bend will be holding their famous recipe Irish Stew and Pie Supper. The stew will be served in the Fellowship Hall of the church at 24th and Washington from 4:30 until 7:00 p.m. Tickets are $6 (pre-kindergarten free) and will be available at the door. Carry-out can be purchased and picked up at the northeast church entry.
In the early 1950’s Ed Bartley, then owner of the Mayflower Café in Great Bend, started cooking at the church for the Presbyterian Men’s Association weekly luncheon and the original recipe for the stew began with him. The annual St. Patrick’s Day Irish Stew Dinner offered to the public began in 1963 and has been a major event every year since.
Funds raised by the Irish Stew Dinner support Boy Scout Troop 157, which is sponsored by the Presbyterian Men’s Association. Also donations are made to a variety of local and nationwide mission and disaster assistance programs as well as local church needs.