Two's Company, Tea's a Crowd

Two's Company, Tea's a Crowd

On the second Thursday of each month, down at Port Erin , you will find "Two's Company, Tea's a Crowd".

We have been running for nearly three years now, and the idea came at a pastoral group meeting when one of our members suggested that often the loneliest time of the day can be the hours between 4.30 and 6.30pm. It's too early to get a meal ready, the "soaps" haven't started and the shops are closing.

A group of volunteers from two of our pastoral groups decided to try to fill the gap! We have a team in the kitchen, two of whom do not attend the church but love to be involved. We have a team who come to help serve and to chat with the "crowd", and team of guys who provide transport where necessary, put up and lay the tables, and , most importantly, man the dishwasher!

We have fun, and we think that our now faithful following of about 35 ladies and gentlemen enjoy themselves too.

We start the afternoon at 4.30pm, (although most of them are keen to be here by soon after 4pm) with some entertainment, which takes many shapes and forms and is provided by one of our volunteers who is a natural at keeping the troops happy and occupied. Tea (a 2 course, cooked meal for £4) .is served at 5pm and at about 6pm we start to wind up the afternoon with a Bible reading relevant to the short sketch which follows. Soon after 6.30pm, peace descends, the kitchen is cleared and everyone has gone home.

We make a point of inviting the folk to join us especially for special services like Harvest and Christmas. Some of them now join us for family meals at the church and they get involved with other activities such as the Harvest Charity Fair which the church organises.

If you are in the south, are alone, don't feel like cooking a meal, or just want a bit of company, DO join us. We ask that you ring 835073 to book as we try not to waste food by cooking too much!

Our next meal is on Thursday November 12th and this will be our Christmas meal! We have done it this way for the last couple of years and it works well – by December, everyone is "turkied out"!

Our December "Two's company" is on Thursday, December 10th, and will be followed at 6.30pm by a Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols in the church, with the choir of Kirk Braddan Church.