Catching up while coping with jet-lag does present some challenges and/or moments of hilarity. On Sunday morning I struggled to get names straight and sometimes I gapped completely on who I was talking to or what I was talking about. One of the things I love about the people in my church community is how forgiving they are and how understanding and supportive they can be!
Speaking of community we had another wonderful event last evening that fostered community while generating a little money for the church. This was our second ‘fun and fund-raising” dinner. Our resident kitchen miracle-worker, Janice, cooked up enough lasagne for 70 people. She recruited lots of helpers to make sure the work was shared about and at 5 pm the auditorium was filled with the hum of happy conversation while people chowed down on a delicious dinner.
Church dinners have a long, long history and meet needs on several levels. There are folks who love to give to the church by sharing their gifts and abilities. For decades working in the church kitchen has been a way for people to offer their gifts to the community. Secondly, it is a good way to raise a little money. People have to eat and it seems most people don’t mind paying for a good meal. The hard part, as I see it is getting the church to recognize that they can charge a fair price for the food. So often churches want to undersell and underrate their product. Finally, a church dinner is a great way to provide an opportunity to build community and give people a space to visit and connect. Last night the food was great but so was the networking of friends old and new, during and after dinner. People love the opportunity to visit and last night the BUC auditorium was a place where that could happen.
I am so grateful to the volunteers who came out last night to make such a wonderful evening. We raised a $1000 but more importantly we raised the feeling of community.
