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Three years ago, Gloria Shasteen, a sister in the Champaign church, felt a need to rally the women in a fellowship and outreach event. She decided that the venue would be a special Saturday luncheon which would be replete with delicious salads made by the members, a guest speaker, special music and beautiful table decorations.The first luncheon actually started near Mother's Day, so the brothers joined together to cook a wonderful buffet breakfast for their wives, daughters and friends.In order to defray expenses, Gloria signed up the church's "interior designers" for a table competition in the church fellowship room, which seats over 100 people.
At the Christmas 2007 luncheon, Marcia Lamb from Chicago spoke to the women as "Granny Claus" in a humorous skit teaching us, with lots of laughter, some ways to simplify Christmas, and, as mother of Santa Claus, some of the pitfalls of parenting older children! Granny Claus passed her purse of pennies through the audience, teaching us that "While we may never be Nicholas, God never leaves us penniless."
Each of the round tables for eight people is exclusively decorated by the hostess designers; there is a flurry of signing up for a table several weeks in advance, and the night before, teams appear to hook up lights, electrical trains, put up trees, and vertically layer all kinds of vases, wreaths and trees. Teams of sisters work together to combine decorations, paper place settings, crafts and gifts so that each table is richly colorful and thematically different. After the devotional and guest speaker, sisters are given a ballot and vote on their top three favorite tables. It is hard to choose. Winners receive some of the room decorations are gifts that Gloria arranges in advance.
Luncheons are held twice a year, and Gloria works with Sandy Ingram to cook special desserts and with her husband Bob to purchase decorations for the room. The Spring Luncheon features live plants, pansies and other spring flowers, scrap booking, friendship trees--whatever the sisters' interests are, based on spring and summer themes.
One of the preteens has designed a table for every luncheon, and teen tables are always a favorite, creating memorable beach and sunglasses theme tables, with teen jewelry for each guest. Christmas tables feature a gift for each guest, selected or made by the designer hostess and gorgeous center pieces which range from clear icy candle holders with greenery to whimsical Santas. What fun! Ladies often ask their colleagues at work and family members to join in the occasion, decorating and attending.
All of this reflects God, the greatest Creator of all, and Gloria Shasteen's dream; she wanted a way to bind the sisters together in a creative effort. Thank God for the creativity of his Kingdom!
Mevanee Parmer
