Longboat Island Chapel resumes garden lunches

A group of about 10 checked the canal adjoining the Longboat Island Chapel’s meditation garden for manatees, but none was present on Oct. 21. Shortly after, the group met back at the garden’s gazebo for an outdoor lunch, the first one of the winter season. 

Salad and pasta were served on dainty dishes donated to the chapel so long ago no one remembers where they came from. Light chatter about kids and grandkids filtered through the gazebo as Lesley Rife, secretary of charitable outreach, made the rounds with lemon pastries. 

“It’s nice to be outside, and it’s a chance to come together,” said Karen Pashkow, who helped organize the events along with Valerie Evanko. 

The lunches, of which there are five more planned, began in spring as a way to safely come together during the early days of the pandemic. Evanko and Pashkow put together a few in the chapel’s meditation garden, keeping the attendance small and the chairs far apart. 

Evanko spent the summer in Ohio and it was too hot to continue, so they paused the newfound tradition until now. As friends return to the area and the weather slowly cools, the lunches are becoming a sought-after way to spend time.