Muamba Chicken Stew
Article courtesy of The DioLog (Episcopal Diocese of Maine newsletter). ‘You Heard the Song. Now, Cook the Stew:’ Reporters Pick Up on Initiative to Feed Immigrants in Maine The outpouring of help for Maine immigrants during the ICE operation in Maine earlier this winter sparked interest from media outlets close to home and across the country. Reporter Gillian Graham of the Portland Press Herald first reported on how Mainers stepped up to feed and protect their neighbors. “When the Rt. Rev. Thomas Brown…heard members of the immigrant community didn’t feel safe leaving their homes, he said he knew one of their greatest needs would be food,” she wrote. Graham’s mention of the Angolan national dish, Muamba Chicken Stew, and how “churches as far away as Calais” made it for immigrants afraid to leave their homes, piqued the curiosity of Press Herald Food Editor, Peggy Grodinsky, who asked for the recipe. Her subsequent piece focused on the stew project’s back story, which, like Graham’s article, involved Trinity Church, Portland rector Peter Swarr and Bishop Brown. Out in Washington State, Brian Sellers Petersen, co-host of the food-ministry podcast, SpadeSpoonSoul, got wind of the chicken stew project and invited Brown and Swarr to join him and co-host Jennifer Baskerville-Burrows, Bishop of Indianapolis, for an episode of “Triple S.” And the song? Graham’s story also inspired Portland singer-songwriter Jim Sharkey to write a resistance ballad, “Muamba Chicken Stew.” Like the podcast, it’s well worth a listen! |