New Hope Spaghetti Dinners turn into the Grace Lunch Crew

While in my senior year in college at Clarkson University I attended New Hope Community Church in Potsdam, NY. As a new believer, this wonderful group of people welcomed me in and helped me grow stronger in my faith. Many people from that church had, and still have, a big impact on my life. But there is one family in particular whose impact blossomed into something great with my new church family at Grace Church.

Sean and Andrea opened their home every Sunday night and cooked dinner for the college students. This may seem like not that big of a deal but there were two colleges in the town and at times there could be up to 15-20 people over for dinner. Usually they would cook up a large pot of marinara sauce and spaghetti with homemade bread. It was great to get a free meal of course but the best part was being welcomed into their family. Friendship grew over those spaghetti dinners and faith in Christ deepened. I looked forward to seeing my friends, who I considered family, every Sunday night.

Now I have graduated and moved far away from this great family but their impact on my life is still there. God blessed my best friend Maggie and I with a small house to rent starting in October 2013. Upon moving in we prayed over the house asking God to show us how we can use the new space to bring Him the glory. A few months later we had developed a small group of friends at Grace Church and started going out to lunch after the service on Sundays. Our new friend Amy soon realized we loved having people over our house. Well then the idea came up about inviting everyone over our house for lunch instead of going to restaurants! So we started out 2014 with our new Sunday tradition … Sunday Lunches at Maggie and Caitlin's! We do it a bit differently than Sean and Andrea, with everyone bringing a part of the meal or donating a few dollars if they are able. But the thought is the same … sharing God's love amongst our friends and making new friends! For the past few Sundays we have had about 10-15 people over to share a meal. Usually we end up playing some card and board games after eating and having a great time.

It is exciting to see God's hand so obviously at work in our lives. I look forward to many more Sundays with The Lunch Crew.