The Feast of St. John

In northeast Brazil, June is a time to celebrate a successful corn harvest, express gratitude for the rainy season as it draws to a close, and recognize the Feast of St. John. There’s dancing, music, fireworks, bonfires, paper parachute balloons, and many corn delicacies to enjoy.
Here on James Island, Brazilianuts and the James Island Presbyterian Church (JIPC) are teaming up to host a St. Johns Day brunch to benefit Hands of Christ (HoC) on Saturday, June 22. Brazilianuts’ Chef Teca Thompson, Pastor and HoC Director Tammy Gregory Brown, and JIPC Outreach Director Henry Meeuwse are all very excited about putting on the church’s first-ever benefit meal.
Corn is the star ingredient of the brunch. Here in the land of grits, hush puppies, and cornbread, this sounds like a surefire hit. Guests can expect fireworks of flavor in sweet corn pudding dusted with cinnamon (Canjica), hominy corn stew (Mungunzá), yucca coconut cake (Bolo de Aipim), steamed plantains (Banana de Terra), salted beef (Carne de Sol), coconut-stuffed manioc pancake (Tapioca de Coco), yucca casserole garnished with dried beef (Escondidnho de Charque), fried white cheese, and Brazilian sweet potatoes. Beverages available with the brunch are passionfruit juice, guava juice, coffee, milk and water. While dining, guests will hear authentic Brazilian recorded music, including the Xaxado (sha-SHA-dew) style. Folklore says that the word “xaxado” derives from the soft shuffle of its dancers’ feet on sandy ground. Rhe music’s core instruments are an accordion, triangle, and zabumba bass drum.
By attending the Brunch, guests can feel good about trying a new cuisine, meeting new people, and 100 percent the event’s proceeds going to a local cause. HoC is an non-profit headquartered at Westminster Presbyterian on Sam Rittenberg Boulevard in West Ashley. It’s made up of multiple Presbyterian congregations coming together to meet the basic needs of our community’s children.
HoC has projects happening all year, but starting in midsummer, their focus is back to school. They buy and collect uniforms and supplies; they also accept donations. From the end of July to late August, member churches are designated as distribution centers. At the centers, any K-8^th grade child can pick up grade-appropriate school supplies and shop for two uniforms — one new, and one gently-used. In order to help the most children possible, children can visit a center just once before school starts. Last year, HoC helped 4,300 children in the area. Once schools starts, HoC continues to be an emergency resource for replacement uniforms and other needs local schoolchildren have. The night before the Church distribution centers open, July 28, HoC has a multi-choir concert scheduled for 5 p.m. at St. James, located at 1314 Secessionville Road on James Island.
Chef Teca and Fatima, have had a busy, exciting 2013 so far. The two previous dinners sold all their tickets, helping local charities like the Trident United Way MUSC Campaign and the Lowcountry Food Bank. They have made lots of friends, their following is always growing, and opportunities to share Brazil’s rich and diverse cuisine keep developing, like MUSC’s International Bazaar and James Island’s Sunday Brunch Farmers Market.
 
Tickets for the event are $20 and available by calling 795-3111. James Island Presbyterian is located at 1632 Fort Johnson Road. For more information on Hands of Christ and how you can help visit hoc-sc.org. For more information about James Island Presbyterian visit jamesislandpresbyterian.org.