The Spoon of Doom ...
    ...is Accepted!

The Challenge:  Watch.  Read.

At the end of February, St. Mark’s Lutheran Church delivered the “Spoon of Doom” as a challenge to Pine St. United Methodist Church to participate in a cooking competition. The gage was returned and preparations for the encounter ensued.

The event begins at 5:00 P.M., Sunday, April 19, 2009, in Fellowship Hall, at St. Mark’s Lutheran Church, 142 Market St., Williamsport. Guests are invited to bid for their tickets in a process described below.

Guests will first receive a tasty meal of applesauce, turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, corn, roll and a chocolate dessert. Mayor Campana, County Commissioners Ernie Larson and Jeff Wheeland, local businessman Trey Phillips and Representative Rick Mirabito are VIP servers for the event.

Once the meal has been served, the cooking challenge begins. St. Mark’s team of Pastor Kenneth Elkin, Jackie Kinney and Bernadette Jones face off against the Pine St. team of Pr. Aden Wertz, Cindy Person and Maureen McBride. This is a one-hour competition that will be judged by Chef Michael Ditchfield and two others from LeJeune Chef. Gary Chrisman of Clear Channel Williamsport Radio will deliver a play-by-play commentary of the proceedings. In order for all those present to view the event, First Contact Productions will video the contest to project on a large screen in the Hall. (It will also be streamed live on the web at www.ustream.tv/stmarkschurch for those who cannot attend.)

Bidding for the limited number of seats (70) will begin at 12:01 a.m. on Sunday, March 29, and end at midnight on Easter Sunday, April 12. The highly encouraged way to make a bid is via e-mail to familypromiselycoming@hotmail.com. The Treasurer of Family Promise will keep a flow chart of bids as they come in and will notify bidders if their bids have been topped, at which time they can submit higher offers. The secondary means of contact is to call 570-433-3453, the number of a volunteer of St. Mark’s. Because this involves a delay in getting the bid on the list, this channel is to be used only if one does not have internet access. Bidding for each seat opens at $15.00.

Iron Chef Williamsport has two aims: to raise money and friends for the Family Promise program, and to bring folks together for mutual enjoyment and community-building in friendly competition. Those involved anticipate that this event will be wildly successful. If so, everyone will be wondering where the “Spoon of Doom” will next be delivered.