Methodist Men host November dinner and business meeting
</element><element id="paragraph-1" type="body"><![CDATA[The Methodist Men of the First United Methodist Church in Chester met Tuesday November 2 at 6 p.m. in the Fellowship Hall of the church for their regular monthly meeting. The evening began with a delicious meal prepared and served by the United Methodist Women.
Eighteen men attended the monthly dinner meeting and enjoyed Swiss steak, baked potatoes, slaw, green beans, dinner rolls, iced tea, coffee and a wonderful apple cake topped with whipped cream.
Following the meal Bob Koenegstein gave a brief devotional after which secretary Scott Gilpin read the minutes of the last meeting. Treasurer Judge Richard Brown was absent but Gilpin presented the financial report.
Much discussion centered on the upcoming ham and bean dinner which takes place this Friday November 12. This year the men will serve both a noon luncheon from 11 a.m. -1 p.m. and an evening dinner from 4-7 p.m.
The menu will be ham and beans, vegetable soup, corn bread, slaw, iced tea, coffee, lemonade and a wide variety of home made cakes and pies. Tickets are only $6.00 for adults, $4.00 for children 5-12 and children 0-4 can eat free. Tickets are available at the door. Carry-outs are also available. Customers can call 826-2549 to place a pre-order.
In other business the men voted to donate $200.00 to the Chester Grade School "Kids First" program which assists children with items such as supplies, shoes, clothing and other school-related items throughout the year. Money received via the "Kids First" program will also be used to fund the annual Christmas Gifts for Needy Students program.
The men further agreed to donate $500.00 to the Chester High School Life jackets program to help fund their upcoming fall training retreat. This event trains students to be good listeners and helpers for fellow students experiencing a wide-variety of problems.
The training retreat will beheld at the Little Grassy United Methodist Camp the weekend of December 4-5. This year the CHS Life Jackets will train 21 new members. In addition to the 21 new members seven veteran members will go along to serve as group leaders and assist the Life Jacket trainers and advisors with training activities.
Following the training weekend Chester High School's Life Jackets program will then boast 47 members strong which are available at CHS for peer-support, crisis prevention and suicide prevention.
In other business the men discussed various work projects around the church and agreed to purchase some much needed items for the kitchen. Scott Gilpin announced that he, his wife and children plan to attend another Fellowship of Christian Athletes mission trip this spring to further spread the good news about God through softball activities. More information will become available as that trip nears.
A motion to adjourn was made, seconded and approved at approximately 7:30 p.m. The next meeting of the United Methodist Men will take place Tuesday December 7 at 6 p.m. All men of the church are welcome to attend and guests are encouraged.