Guess Who's Coming to Dinner

Yesterday evening our church did a Guess Who's Coming to Dinner event.  I was the main organizer, so I was glad to hear that it was a great success.  There has already been discussion about doing another one.

We had four different host couples who were each assigned 4 or 5 guests.  The guests were a combination of couples and individuals.  I actually quite enjoyed trying to figure out where to place the guests.  I tried to send the guests to homes they would not otherwise visit. I also worked to mix up the other guests so that they would be meeting new people, but not completely unfamiliar and uncomfortable.  It was a challenge, but in the fun sort of way of a puzzle.  Many of you know that I like puzzles.

Saturday morning we had our monthly Women's Prayer Breakfast.  There I was able to pass on information to some of the guests so that they would know where to go for dinner.  I had help informing guests where to go from our pastor's wife, Lynne.  She called some of the people and I emailed others.  Any guests going to her house I contacted.  It worked out very well.  I had a lot of fun knowing where everyone was going in advance, even though they didn't know.

The evening was a great success.  Before I went to bed after coming home on Saturday evening, I had heard from at least one member of each group.  Everyone enjoyed great food.  In addition to dinner and getting to know people better, one group had a small hymn sing, another group was playing a couple of guitars and even restrung one, another group played some games, and another group had a tour of their host's house.  I received some compliments on how the groups were a good mix and the locations suited people well, even if the hosts were not well-known to the guests.  I was thankful that it was such a great success.

Even today at church, it was good to see some of the positive results of the evening.  People were discussing it and comparing stories.  Others had gotten to know new people better.  Some people were intentionally greeting people they don't regularly visit with after church, but had been with the night before.  I am thankful that the event was such a great success.  I am also very thankful for our wonderful church family.  I look forward to continued growth in community in the future.