Highlights from St. Bartholomew's Monthly Senior Luncheons

In March of 2008 St. Bartholomew Episcopal Church, in Pewaukee will be celebrating our Two Year Anniversary of one of our newest ministries, the Monthly Senior Luncheon. Our Senior Ministry and Parish Nursing sponsors a healthy monthly luncheon followed by an activity and an educational presentation focused on a health topic.   The monthly luncheon has a theme and is a great opportunity for people to socialize, learn, share a meal and just have lots of fun.

One of our Senior Luncheon themes was “Spring into Spring.” We enjoyed a salad and soup bar and learned about the importance of exercise to strengthen and regain muscle as well as improve balance. Then we participated in gentle exercise and gave each attendee a “Slinky” to remind them to stretch at home.

Our “Back to School” Senior Luncheon had brown bag lunches with a sandwich bar and then we learned about resources available in our area for seniors. Each attendee was given a Senior Sources directory provided by Waukesha County

We have a dream at St. Bartholomew to become a community resource and that dream is really realized with this ministry.  Our attendance is gradually increasing and averages 25 – 30 people. “I was the ‘new girl’ several months ago, and one month I won a door prize for bringing two of my friends. We’ve been coming ever since then,” responds Aggie. Attendees come from a variety of churches in the area, some as far as Oconomowoc and Mukwonago. We do not charge a fee; however, we gratefully accept a free will offering.

We call the ministry our “senior” luncheon, but age is certainly not a factor. Everyone is welcome. Our youngest attendee was 4 years old. We tell people if they “know” a senior, they’re more than welcome to join in the fun. There are prizes for games and incentives to invite friends to subsequent luncheons.

St. Bartholomew is handicapped accessible. Just prior to Christmas an automatic handicapped entrance was installed at the front entrance.  The Parish Hall in which we meet is just down a short hallway. The food is great and there is always lots of fun and laughter.  February’s Farm luncheon was  Wednesday, February 27th at 11:30a.m. If you would like to join in the festivities for future programs, we do ask that you call the church at 262-691-0836.

We encourage all parishes to submit your programs to pboyer@boyerandassociates.com so that we can profile your Senior Ministry program!