Messiah Lutheran to host German Food Festival on Nov. 1

MADISON – Messiah Lutheran Church will pay homage to the German roots of the Lutheran church with its annual German Food Festival.

The food festival on Nov. 1 will be open from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Messiah Lutheran, 7740 U.S. 72 W. in Madison.

“We are excited to welcome the community to Messiah Lutheran Church for our fourth annual German Food Fest,” Event Chair Dana Burton said. “This event offers something for everyone.”

New for 2025, “First, we are rolling out a newly expanded lunch menu,” Burton said.

The menu now includes specialty house-made bratwursts, schnitzel, spaetzle, German potato salad and more.” (This bratwurst is a type of German sausage, produced with finely chopped pork and beef. Schnitzel is a traditional German dish; the pork cutlet is pounded into a thin serving and then breaded and fried. Spaetzle is a ‘short’ egg noodle with a texture like dumplings.)

Tasty side dishes will be sauerkraut, along with pretzel with cheese sauce.

The delicious dessert choices include apple strudel, strawberry Linzer cookies, buttery spritz cookies and cakes in recipes for Black Forest, Double-Crust Apple, Danube Wave, Bee Sting and German Fruit Cake.

In addition to soft drinks, beverage choices will include draft beer, available in Oktoberfest, a traditional German lager, and Hefeweizen, a hazy German-style wheat beer.

“Guests can enjoy live music in our festival hall with lunch, and families with young children can visit our bounce house and ‘Bubble Garten,’” Burton said.

“We look forward to sharing food, fun and fellowship with our neighbors,” Burton said. “Eat traditional German food, listen to German music, and let the kids play in the not-so-German bounce houses.”

This event also supports several charities:

* Shepherds Fold – Will receive a portion of event proceeds from sale of food, beverage and T-shirts. Shepherds Fold is a reentry program for Alabama men who were formerly incarcerated (shepherdsfold.org). The organization equips participants with skills, training and education necessary for successful reintegration into society. The goal is to reduce recidivism.

* Lunches for Learning – This program provides nutritious school lunches to children in rural Honduras. Messiah Lutheran donates all proceeds from its Handmade Market.

* Lutheran World Relief – This charity focuses on sustainable development projects and disaster relief. The relief fund receives 100 percent of proceeds from the church’s quilt sale.

For more information, visit mlutheran.org.