SEQUIM — Sue Christensen and her friends are inviting several dozen people out this Thursday night.
They’re doing something ordinary and unusual all at once: cooking dinner and dishing it up, along with after-dinner conversation, board games and even some homework help.
Christensen is co-hosting a new series at Sequim’s Trinity United Methodist Church: free community dinners on the last Thursday of every month.
The debut dinner is this week, so Christensen, with cohorts Barbara and Neil Parse, Claude Cole and Trinity pastor Bill Gordon, are handing out fliers that go straight to the point.
“Budget low? Energy all gone? Need a night out? Bring yourself, your family or housemates,” it reads.
“Absolutely no strings attached! Except . . . Reservations required.”
Christensen figures that for this first dinner, the team should keep it to 50 people.
They’re asking guests to call and reserve seats today, Tuesday or Wednesday, so the cooks know how much food to buy.
To make reservations, phone the church between 9 a.m. and 2 p.m. at 360-683-5367, and then plan to arrive for dinner at 6 p.m. Thursday at Trinity, 100 S. Blake Ave., just south of Carrie Blake Park.
“There isn’t going to be any sermon or any preaching. We are going to say grace,” before dinner, said Christensen. “We just wanted to provide a service to the community.”
“If you’re wanting a free night out with your family, this is the place to come,” added Barbara Parse, who plans to bake four cakes, including two chocolate, for Thursday.
“We’re very open,” Gordon said.
He added the dinner is also for single people, widows, widowers and anyone who wants company.
Dinner this time is baked ham and candied sweet potatoes, corn and coleslaw with a vinaigrette dressing, with beverages and a choice of cake for dessert.
Christensen said after dining, guests can stay to play some games, while retired teachers from the congregation will be on hand to help students with homework.
“The most amazing thing that could happen,” she added with a wide smile, “would be if 70 people called, and I had to say yes to them.”
Christensen and the kitchen team, who have food handler’s permits, plan to serve the community dinners well into the future.
“We hope,” she said, “to grow them to 100.”
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Sequim-Dungeness Valley Reporter Diane Urbani de la Paz can be reached at 360-681-2391 or at diane.urbani@peninsuladailynews.com.
