International Potluck Dinner

Our 2026 International Potluck Dinner was Saturday, April 25. The food was amazing! Thank you so much to everyone who came and to those who brought food, set up, decorated, and cleaned up. We collected $1011 toward Fatuma Katembo’s mission vehicle fund. She works as a missionary with the women of the Bomjesus community in West Angola. She sent us slides to show at the Potluck. I let her know about our collection via email and this was her reply:

I am so speechless and in all this what I see is God’s amazing hand.

I am so humbled and I appreciate all you and  your congregation have done for my community and I. This is the opening door towards acquiring my mission vehicle. I am so much happy and excited and honestly this has leveraged my faith. I am so grateful.

Please can you tell your congregation that they are blessed and loved, my prayer for you all is that God bless you beyond your expectations. May God shine bright his loving face upon you all and may He give you all peace in Jesus name.

Thank you so much and stay blessed,

Fatuma Katembo Nana

If you would like to give toward the purchase of a vehicle for Fatuma’s mission work in Angola, you may put money or a check in an envelope clearly labeled “Angola mission” on the outside and put in the offering plate or give to Katherine Perkins. If you write a check, make it out to Grace United Methodist Church and put “Angola Mission” in the memo line. Thank you!

We had a wonderful 2025 International Potluck Dinner on Saturday, April 26, 2025. We shared lots of delicious food from around the world. Rev. Prumeh and Pastor Kim shared about their time as missionaries in Kazakhstan, about the people and culture there, and about the United Methodist presence there. There was an engaging question and answer period and a table of items from Kazakhstan. We collected $717 for mission projects in Central Asia (which includes Kazakhstan.) If you missed the International Potluck this year, we hope you will join us next year!!

The 2023 International Potluck Dinner, which was co-sponsored by the Missions and Diversity and Inclusion Committees, was held on Saturday, October 14. We had a wonderful evening of tasty food and fellowship with about 35 people in attendance. The Ukrainian national anthem was played by Danny Neri on trombone and the Ukrainian song, “Carol of the Bells,” was played on violin by Kim and Timothy Neri. We had a little presentation on Ukrainian folk art and music and a short video on UMCOR mission projects for Ukrainians affected by the war. Thank you to everyone who helped set up or clean up and to everyone who brought food, drink, or other items for the dinner. We collected a good will offering of $570 for UMCOR projects helping Ukrainian residents and refugees.  

The 2019 International Potluck Dinner money went to the Wings of the Morning Medical Flights in the Congo (that we heard about at the dinner) and to Congo Restoration, which is a program to help displaced Congolese women learn a skill and start a small business.  The 2018 event raised money for UMCOR for rebuilding and outreach in Puerto Rico following the hurricanes, and the 2017 event supported the Mountains of Hope for Haiti Mission.  Countries highlighted in earlier years include India, Jamaica, and Ghana.