Providing for others Saline County pastor/county board member throws pizza party for the jail

SALINE COUNTY - Saline County Board member Allan Porter said he and his wife wanted to do something special for both those in the Saline County Detention Center and law enforcement officers, so they provided pizza.

A lot of pizza.

The Porters ordered 50 pizzas from Little Caesar's in Harrisburg to be sent to the jail in time for lunch on Friday.

But, it wasn't Porter's goal to simply provide a pizza party. Porter, who also pastored for 35 years before retiring, said he and his wife have been ministering to some people housed at the jail. He wants to help provide spiritual guidance to those who seek to improve their lives.

He quotes the Bible passage Romans 13:14, which says "Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the flesh." (New International Version)

The passage, Porter said, is a call by the Apostle Paul to change the way people live and not to give in to earthly desires.

Porter also said he and his wife aren't looking for praise from others for their work. In fact, he was hesitant to call attention to it.

"We're not doing this to glorify ourselves. That's not what this is about," Porter said. "Rather, we want to give people something to think about."

Porter wants people, especially those who have made mistakes, to know that others still care for them and want to help them.

Saline County Correctional Officer Marty Wilkins, who brought the bounty of pizza downstairs to the jail area and distributed it to inmates, said the pizza was appreciated.

"I think it went over pretty well," Wilkins said.

About 10 of those pizzas went to the common area shared by Harrisburg police officers, Saline County deputies and county dispatchers as well. Officers and dispatchers said they were thankful for the lunch.

"It's an important thing to support our police officers also," Porter said. "They're out there protecting us and put their lives on the line."

Porter also said he appreciated Little Caesar's offering him a good deal on the pizza.

In the end, though, he said it's important to do good works for others.

"We just thought it might help make a little bit of a difference in someone's life," Porter said. "As followers of Christ Jesus, that's what we're supposed to do."