Date for Eight

Last night eight of us gathered for a 'Date for Eight' dinner at one of our members homes. The Presbyterian Churches that we have attended seem to have some version of this to enable members to get together for food, fellowship, and a chance to get to know each other better. We have enjoyed this type of gathering for many years and last night was no exception. We met at Joyce and LeRoy's home and were joined by Ann and Jerry, us and Fred and Puddin. We found out that Puddin is a nickname for Kathleen.

We had snacks, drinks and visited a lot. Dinner was pork loin roast with potatoes, green beans with onions and sauce, salad and rolls. Dessert followed which was a meringue type cake. We had been asked to bring a favorite bible verse and proverb. This proved to be quite fun to share. All had a good sense of humor and we laughed and talked the evening away. This group meets once each month for the next four months and then again in the spring the groups are reformed and you can again have a chance to meet others in the church.

In other churches where there were similar organizations a group might meet for a year or longer. As new members it is nice to meet for the four months and then a chance to meet with another group. We also belong to 'Seekers' which is an outgrowth of a date for eight group that wanted to continue to meet. This group has grown to about 40 members and meets monthly.

It is interesting that our church is beginning a discussion on how to encourage younger people to attend and become members. We do not want to become a status quo church with mostly older members. This discussion will get quite interesting. PCA Presbyterian churches seem to have a better track record when it comes to attracting younger people. Perhaps we need to adopt some of the PCA style of worship.

We have thoroughly enjoyed belonging to this church and meeting members. Happy travels.