Hallowed be thy gumbo: South Mississippi church’s secret recipe a hit for 40 years

One Hattiesburg church’s name is synonymous with great gumbo, so why not take advantage of that reputation to raise money to help people?

The Episcopal Church of the Ascension has been dishing up its secret-recipe gumbo for more than 40 years.

Legend has it that a Cajun transplant moved to Hattiesburg in the ‘70s and held what is believed to be the city’s first crawfish boil at the church.

“As I’ve heard the story repeated, truckers found out that it was happening and got on their CBs and told one another and truckers were getting off the interstate and blocking the roads around here to drive through this parking lot to get boiled crawfish,” the Rev. Jenny Newman said.

After some years, a drought caused crawfish prices to rise significantly so the church shifted to gumbo, which it has been making ever since.

The gumbo, made with chicken, sausage and shrimp, is made twice a year — in November and January — with more than 1,000 quarts produced each time. It takes a week to prepare and package the gumbo before it is frozen and stored in freezers at the church.

“We have a mailing list of about 1,000 people,” Newman said.

Those on the mailing list get postcards to remind them when gumbo is available so they can reserve their supply.

“People love it,” Newman said. “It’s a really good gumbo.”

Parishioner Ken Cantrell has been involved with making the gumbo almost since the beginning.

“I think I missed the first cook,” he said.

He explained what makes Ascension’s gumbo so popular.

“Gumbo is popular already to start with,” Cantrell said. “We’ve built a reputation — we try to hold the quality of it. We don’t take any shortcuts.”

Cantrell said the freshest ingredients are used in the gumbo and the same recipe is followed each time.

“Of course when you buy the ingredients, they are going to vary just a little bit, but consistency is a priority for us,” Cantrell said. “If you bought some the last time, the next time you buy it, it should be exactly the same.”

Some of the gumbo is given away to students at the University of Southern Mississippi and to welcome new faculty at the university. Others are given to people in need. Proceeds from the gumbo sales go toward the church’s local outreach ministries and the operating fund. The church raises somewhere close to $20,000 from its gumbo sales.

“We use it to actually feed people in the neighborhood, but then we also use it to fund the work that we do,” Newman said. “We really focus here in our community.”

When temperatures dropped well below freezing earlier in January and county emergency management decided not to open shelters, city officials reached out to the church to see if it could help. Newman said the church donated 8 gallons, which helped feed some of the unhoused or inadequately housed. The rest was donated to Christian Services.

“We were happy to help contribute,” she said.

In addition to the gumbo fundraiser, this year Ascension is working with Trinity Episcopal Church and the Domestic Abuse Family Shelter in holding a barbecue buffet dinner to raise money for the shelter. The event will be from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Feb. 26 at Murky Waters. Tickets are $25, available at Ascension or Trinity.

Ascension’s famous gumbo will be going on the road this weekend to the Jackson area, where it will be available for sale during the 197th annual Council of the Diocese of Mississippi, held this year at St. Andrews Episcopal School, north campus, 370 Old Agency Road in Ridgeland.

In Hattiesburg, quarts are $16, available at the church, 3600 Arlington Loop. To purchase gumbo or for more information, call 601-264-6773.