Brat Sale

press release: Good Shepherd Lutheran Church – A local church will use its most unique resource to help sell brats this Memorial Day weekend to raise money for a local non-profit.

Good Shepherd Lutheran Church will use its Holy C.O.W. (Church on Wheels) to sell brats on the corner of Raymond Road and Whitney Way Sunday, May 30 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. to raise money for the Children’s Wisconsin Essential Needs Pantry, which supports Early Childhood Education in the Meadowood neighborhood.

The Holy C.O.W. looks like a food cart but is actually a certified new-start congregation in the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America which happens to serve food.  

“We’ve been waiting since the pandemic started to get the truck and unleash it to its full potential,” said Good Shepherd Director of Facilities and Outreach Rick Thomas. “Being able to use the Holy C.O.W. to support the remote Brat Fest is a great way for us to showcase our ministry and help a local non-profit.”

The C.O.W. is covered in shrink wrap which makes it look like a Wisconsin heifer, and its horn was modified to sound like a cow in the field. It wasn’t fully functional until a mobile kitchen was installed last year.

“We’re going to use the Holy C.O.W. to get out into the community and outside our four walls to build relationships and explore the intersectionality between faith and food,” Thomas said. “We need to get out there and get the church out to people … where they’re at as opposed to expecting them to come to us.”

This summer, members and residents will see the Holy C.O.W. in action at more than 50 local events, providing meals and offering new opportunities to worship. More than a dozen volunteers – also known as the Moo Crew – will work to make it happen. The C.O.W. will also provide free meals every other Monday throughout the summer at the church’s Madison location. Thomas says food is a great equalizer and has the potential to break down barriers.

“People connect through food and we’re used to that as human beings,” Thomas said. “The Holy C.O.W. allows people to feel like it’s a safe space and approachable and allows the opportunity to have conversations that we would never be able to have with people coming through our doors.”