Introduction to Church Cookbooks

Favorite Recipes: This cookbook was published by First Presbyterian Church in Luverne, Minnesota. The exact publication date is unknown, but this particular copy was given as a Christmas gift in 1967. 

"I like you!!!" This note was left inside the cover of Favorite Recipes. The writer of the note, Nellie, is credited with providing several recipes within the book. 

Some have boldly proclaimed that cookbooks themselves are going to “go extinct” due to the ease of finding recipes online.¹ This claim only holds if we take the purpose of cookbooks at face value. Most cookbooks have one clear purpose: to provide recipes. But cookbooks can hold a much broader significance, beyond their practical use. 

It’s easier, after all, to form a sentimental relationship with a physical cookbook than it is the digital alternative.² The community aspect of church cookbooks makes it even more natural to build this kind of connection, especially if the person who owns the cookbook contributed their own recipes. 

It is also true that while women still can’t be ordained or serve as elders in many Christian denominations, women’s clubs and associations in the church oversee food preparation before or after services and organize potlucks. It follows, then, that these groups are also responsible for church cookbooks.³ This association with women’s church organizations and food makes church cookbooks an obvious fundraising tool. In fact, “fundraising cookbook” is a term that is often used interchangeably with “church cookbook."⁴  

At face value, then, it seems that church cookbooks are still common because they allow church groups to raise money and for congregants to find new recipes in a personal way. By zooming in on one specific community, however, we can get a broader perspective on the greater role these cookbooks can serve for church communities.