10/11/09

Lunch for the Secretaries!



A faithful reader, Chris, sent me this inspiring story a year ago, with lovely photos. And I just knew by sharing it with you, you'd be encouraged. Read along and you'll know exactly what I mean.


Hi, I’ve been reading Sandy’s blog for a couple years now and have been inspired to be less reluctant at entertaining ...

But to be honest, with 3 kids – 2 in college and 1 in high school – and all still living at home, my husband and I find ourselves surrounded by piles of books. And with their hectic schedules, I was finding a difficult time scheduling times at home to invite others in. 

So I decided to try a different theme. 



I’m a church secretary and I thought it would be fun to connect with other church secretaries in my town. 

So I invited them to lunch at the church where I work.

-  I called each one to see if they had received the invitation and would be able to attend. This helped to “break the ice” and helped them to feel like they already knew someone that would be there.

-  Using one of the Sunday School rooms, I decorated a table with fall decorations and Walmart dishes from home.



-  I made some “tried and true” recipes: crockpot chicken noodle soup, salad mix, pumpkin cookies (I had baked the night  before), homemade rolls from the freezer (I made homemade ones but you could easily buy bake and serve rolls).







-  And I waited for my guests to arrive. They were greeted at the door with the smell of fresh baked bread and a warm welcome.

We all had a wonderful time sharing and getting to know one another. We plan on making it a regular event and they want to take turns hosting lunch. 

We also talked about “brown bagging” or each one bringing a dish to simplify the preparation. 

Thank you, Sandy, for inspiring us to look beyond our limitations and reach out to others - It’s always worth it!

And thank you, Chris, for reaching out to the ladies in your community! I bet they were so appreciative of your time and effort!

If your home is just not working for entertaining, have you considered a fresh approach to hospitality, outside of the home? 

I'd love to hear your story!

6 comments:

Linda said...

This was a beautiful story and a perfect Sunday post. Many people don't feel they can entertain in their home so looking for other options is a fantastic idea. It sounded like the perfect Fall get-together!

MJ @ 517 Creations said...

I bet that the loved it!! Would you mind sharing the chicken noodle soup recipe?? I'm always looking for good crockpot recipes. :)

Miss G said...

Wonderful idea!!! What a blessing to those ladies. Church secretaries have a wonderful and hard job in my opinion. Way to think outside the box! Everything looks great! Kelly

GiBee said...

I'd love the chicken soup recipe too! It looks delicious!

Karen said...

Beautiful! I'd also love your chicken noodle soup recipe! Could you post it?

Suzann said...

Wonderful post. Love it, very inspirational.