Plan a series of days during October when members of your church community come together to create meals for families in your local community. Prepare 3-course meals (soup, main, dessert) that can be provided to people who may be experiencing difficult or busy times (illness, moving house, new baby, sick child) or to someone who just needs to know others care about them. You will enjoy the time you spend making food together almost as much as being able to provide meals to people who need to experience Jesus’ love firsthand. Accompany your meals with a personal card or note.
Neighbourhood Nosh-up
Invite your church neighbours to join you in holding a neighborhood garage sale or car-boot sale. Everyone can sell their unwanted treasures and you can provide a lunch for buyers and sellers. A BBQ burger lunch with cupcakes would be perfect, and simple to arrange. Pick a street in your neighbourhood or use the church car park and see if your Longest Lutheran Lunch can be combined with gargantuan garage gaiety.
Ode to Oktoberfest
Invite your friends and acquaintances to a German inspired lunch as tribute to the Lutheran heritage of many of us. Seek inspiration and guidance from any German members of your communities. Go as simple or as inspired as you like. Serve platters of sausage, dill cucumbers, cheese, rye bread, breadsticks, ham, mustard, potato salad and of course sauerkraut. Or simply do kransky sausages, cooked on the barbie and served in rolls with sauce and sauerkraut. Pair them with Black Forest cake, apple strudels or kuchen for dessert – and you have a German feast to rival any Oktoberfest celebration. An ale or two would definitely be in order. Feel free to don the lederhosen and slap and clap to your heart’s content!
Spring Family Fling
By October, spring will well and truly be underway. The days will be longer and warmer and it will be perfect weather to host an old-fashioned picnic complete with outdoor games and prizes the whole family can enjoy. Revisit some of the old church picnic family favourites: 3-legged and sack races, nature scavenger hunt, donut- and watermelon- eating competitions, making and flying kites. People can bring their own food, put on a picnic spread, or you can decide to provide a course, say desserts, that everyone can enjoy.
