Valentine’s Day traditions throughout North Augusta seem sparse, with knowledge of different events seemingly not reaching the desired population, but Grace United Methodist Church accomplishes this outreach task well.
Grace United Methodist Church has always had programs to get people of every age involved in the church, examples being their Amped youth program, youth basketball leagues, and Wednesday Night Dinners.
Another program that is an example of this is the Valentine’s Banquet. The Valentine’s Banquet is for Grace members above the age of fifty-five. The youth provide the wiser members dinner and join in on the festivities.
Dr. Joe Lusk has been to at least twelve of Grace’s Valentine’s banquets, stating that he “[enjoys] seeing all of the youth who serve. Also, the food and entertainment are great.” His grandchildren are among the many youths who serve the food and supply the entertainment.
Pam Rawlinson has provided food for seven Valentine’s banquets. Although her favorite part of the night is “working with the Grace youth,” she loves how the youth get dressed up, serve the tables, dance with the attendees, and make sure everyone is having fun and involved in some way. Mrs. Rawlinson is “sorry it will not be held again this year” due to the recent uptick in Coronavirus cases.
Laura Lusk, a school counselor at North Augusta High School, has helped with about ten Valentine’s Banquets.
She says her favorite part of the event is getting “to watch the youth interact with our senior adults, especially when they play the Not So Newlywed Game.” The Not So Newlywed Game is a play on an old game show: The Newlywed Game. Another favorite part of Laura’s night is getting to see the “youth dance with the adults, especially my daughters dancing with their granddad.”
The Banquet is a favorite of many in the North Augusta community.
Pictured from left to right: Dr. Joe Lusk, Reagan Gambrell, Sean Fowley, Lauren Lusk, and Mrs. Lusk at the Grace UMC Valentine's Day Banquet.
Photo Contributions: Andrew Towner
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