Pancakes and bacon? “I love this church!”

Mardi Gras: First Christian Church at its best

Over the past decade in Dexter Mardi Gras has become one of my favorite moments in the life of our church. In so many ways, it represents all the things our congregation does well. We have some amazing cooks and we love to eat. We are a group of Disciples who value relationship and nothing demonstrates that commitment better than an evening of relaxed fun and fellowship.

The people of our church value community and go out of their way to invite their friends and extended family to share in the pancake supper. Nearly every year we have been joined by members of other congregations and tonight was no exception. We were joined by the members of First Presbyterian Church, many of whom participate in our shared Sunday School ministry, and who will be worshiping with us again tomorrow night for Ash Wednesday.

Perhaps the best illustration of how important Mardi Gras is to our congregation came in 2015. One of our young Disciples was eight years old at the time. He walked in the door, saw all the decorations, and heard zydeco music blaring over the sound system. Pancakes were being served and the smell of bacon hung heavy in the air. His eyes got extremely big and the first words out of his mouth were, “I love this church!”

I agree with our young friend. I too love this church. It was a blessing to see the best of who we are on display tonight. Thank you to Debbie, Yvonne, and Sandy for decorating. Eddie, Tracy, Eric, Brian, and Larry were our pancake gourmets and Kim did a wonderful job prepping the games. It was a blessing to have so many people there from both churches simply having a good time together. Special thanks to everyone who brought a friend to share the evening with us.

Please join us again tomorrow night as we begin the Lenten journey at 6 p.m.