Central Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) held a Community Visioning Retreat in the church fellowship hall Saturday. The retreat presented the opportunity for conversation between the church and community to help them partnership and thrive.

Located on four acres on Westside Dr. in Dallas, Central is home to a community dog park, Connecting Point of Park Cities (a day program for disabled adults), host to various 12-Step programs, a yoga studio and co-working space. 

The church mission is to partner with neighbors to experience the transforming love of Jesus Christ. To achieve these goals, Central features community outreach and charitable endeavors as well as welcoming folks in to the church for a variety of reasons.  Some of those reasons include a safe and friendly place to learn and network, develop new skills and promote personal growth.

Food and fellowship have always been a vital part of Central’s values.  Examples include after-worship fellowship on Sunday mornings and Tuesday’s 11:30 a. m. community lunch.  A recent cooking class on the basic use of the popular appliance, the Instant Pot, was a such a success that a second one has been requested by the community and is in the planning.   

Recently partnering with Central is Chanise Condren of Electric Kitchen. Chanise cooks and follows a vegan meal plan.  During the retreat she shared that since choosing the plant-based food lifestyle, she has lost over 100 pounds and feels great.

Following Saturday’s morning session, Chanise served some of her delicious recipes for lunch.

The vegan black beans were perfectly seasoned and beautifully garnished with healthy vegetables and herbs. Organic chips were topped with taco filling, substituting Jack Fruit for the traditional meat.  People were amazed by the “queso” made from cashews.  (Recipe follows)

If you would like to learn more about what Central has to offer the community, call the church and tell the office that you would like to have lunch and tour the building, visit Sunday morning at 11 a.m. for morning worship or bring your dog to church Sunday at 9 a.m. for “Church in the Dog Park.”  All are welcome!

Nacho Cheese Sauce

1/2 cup roasted & salted cashews (soaked overnight)

2 cups chunky salsa of your choice

2 cups veggie broth

1/2 red bell pepper

1/2 jalapeño (remove seeds to decrease heat)

4 TBSP Nutritional Yeast (Add more to taste)
1 TSP Salt

1 TSP Pepper

2 TSP Garlic Powder

2 TSP Onion Powder

-Add all of your ingredients to blender

-Slowly add veggie broth water from the cashews in to thin the sauce out

-Pour sauce into a small pan and heat

-Stir sauce as it heats for 2-3 minutes

-Return sauce to blender, and blend until creamy

-Pour into a serving dish and enjoy with your favorite tortilla chips!