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Dinner had serving of friendship By Dani Dodge of the Mail Tribune TALENT -- A free community dinner in Talent meant more than pizza and spaghetti to the hundred or so people who feasted Friday. For one woman, it was a warm, comforting end to a difficult year. "My husband and three other people in my family died within three months of each other this year -- I'm all alone," said June Pruett, 79, of Talent as she finished her meal. "But all us widows got together and decided rather than be alone we would get together and come down here. "This is one of the most wonderful things that ever happened in Talent." The lunch at the United Methodist Church was put together solely with donations from the community. Nearly 30 merchants and individuals contributed everything from pizza to peanut brittle. Forty volunteers, including Mayor Marian Telerski and Councilwoman Joi Riley, helped cook pasta and pass out meals. Three people did most of the planning: John Pine, a retired ship captain; Nancy Slocum, a full-time university student, part-time Ashland public works employee and single mother; and Alice Knotts, a Methodist minister beginning a new ministry in the Talent/Phoenix area devoted to multi-culturalism and service to the community. Pine hit upon the idea for the meal only three weeks ago, he said. "Alice and I were talking and I suggested this hall (at the United Methodist Church) be used for a meal for folks who may not be getting enough to eat or may just be lonely," said Pine. "We thought a lot of people tend to be forgotten after Christmas." Both Pine and Slocum live near the church and see many low-income people every day, they said. There is no free-meal program in Talent or Phoenix. "One meal might not make a huge difference, but it's a start," Slocum said. Knotts thought it would be a good way to kick off her church's service in the community. `I'm starting Rogue Rock, a new church for people who want their Bible study to spill over into community service and build positive community relations in a multi-cultural society," Knotts said. "I want to meet and work with the kind of people who care about the community enough to support and come to a dinner like this." Knotts returned to the Rogue Valley last year after working and studying in other states. At the Iliff School of Theology and University of Denver, she studied religion and social change, specifically focusing on how Christian women were instrumental in desegregation. "Now I come to this valley, more racially mixed than when I was a child, and it's time for us to walk through those steps here and learn to live together," she said. Knotts is hoping to attract people of every color, culture and sexual orientation to her services, she said. It's important for people from different groups to share together, as they did at the dinner. "Sometimes when I talk to Hispanic people in the valley, I learn about conditions I don't hear about in the press or from friends," she said. "I'm setting out to make friends with people of different backgrounds so I can become more aware myself." Anyone interested in Rogue Rock can register for introductory services being held at the United Methodist Church Jan. 12, 13 and 14. For more information, call 488-2770. Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 2000, Medford, Oregon USA