Christ Church builds community to become a year-round church

Christ Church of Longboat Key kicked off its summer goal of becoming a year-round church with a fellowship lunch at a Bradenton restaurant, Slicker’s Eatery.

After listening to congregants’ feedback, this is Julia Piermont’s biggest goal as the first live-in pastor at the church.

This summertime tradition of monthly lunches is Christ Church’s effort to build a community outside of seeing everyone on Sundays. It also allows people to discover new local restaurants and businesses in the area.

It was mostly everyone’s first time at Slicker's, so organizer Judy Ebrahim was happy to get Longboaters out of their comfort zone beyond the island’s restaurants.

The lunch was a great opportunity for congregants to make new friends and catch up with old ones. It was Andy Sawyer’s first time meeting Dick McLaughlin, even though they are at the same service every Sunday. By the end of the lunch, Sawyer and McLaughlin were cracking jokes and sharing unique desserts from Slicker's such as a chai latte crème brûlée. 

Music director Robert Romanski is planning an American-themed music program for the Fourth of July along with plans for future music programs in the later summer. With music ministry being an important part of Christ Church, they hope that upcoming programs will encourage more people to attend year-round. 

“We have 24 people here today, which is such a good turnout for the summer,” said Piermont. “We want people to know that we are still here and want to build relationships with everyone and catch up throughout the summer too.”