Eliot Church Gives The Scoop To The Newton Community
Ice Cream Social Brings Members and Neighbors Together
 By the Rev. Karla Jean Miller, Associate Pastor, Eliot Church of Newton
Last spring, Josephine McNeil, newly elected chair of the Membership Commission at the Eliot Church of Newton, wondered what kind of activity her commission could sponsor in the fall that would celebrate the end of summer, honor back-to-school in the community, and serve as a kick-off to the spirited and energetic fall program year. She also wanted the event to be friendly to all: dog-walkers in the neighboring Farlow Park, people living in the neighborhood, families from the pre-school (a tenant of the church), and senior citizens in the neighboring retirement community. Finally, the event needed to be something fun so that the congregation could easily invite their own neighbors and friends to come and "check out" Eliot.
The commission pondered and came up with their idea -- What brings people together more than ice cream on a warm September evening? Free ice cream at an Old Fashioned Back-To-School Ice Cream Social!
So, the Membership Commission got busy with their first project of the year. They divvied up the tasks of publicity (ads in the paper, press releases, flyers in the neighborhood, signs on the front lawn), obtaining a temporary food service license from the City of Newton's Health Department (note: check your town's regulations if you're promoting a public event), doing the shopping, setting up an information table, and selecting one person as event manager for that evening. Working from an event planning chart meant that little except the weather was left to chance (leaving that detail to God). Even the number of ice cream scoops needed was planned ahead.
The first annual Eliot Ice Cream social, held on the Friday night of the first opening week of school, prior to Re-gathering Sunday, was a tremendous success. Over 100 people mingled on the front lawn of the 280-member church to catch up after the summer, introduce their friends to Eliot, make sundaes, and dance to the music of the band Blue Pearl, playing on the portico of the church. (A member of the church played with Blue Pearl and volunteered his band for the event.) People from the neighborhood came to enjoy an ice cream cone; dogs and children romped on the side lawn bordering the park, and commuters walking home from the bus stop took a moment for cool refreshment in the breezy dusky late summer evening.
Oh, and that one little item left to chance, the weather? Perfect!! (Thank you, God!!)
Afterwards, Josephine reflected: "The ice cream social was a first for Eliot, as well as for me, and I had no idea how it would be received. I was thrilled. The weather was perfect, the music was wonderful and there was such an air of good will and friendliness. I think we achieved our goal to let the neighbors know we were a presence in the neighborhood and our Eliot family know we were looking forward to a great new year together."
The whole event, including the $50 Health Department permit cost around $300. It was worth every penny.
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