An annual community barbecue forced to pause during the pandemic returns to Sarnia’s Redeemer Lutheran Church Saturday.
The free event runs noon to 2 pm in the parking lot behind the church at 429 Indian Rd. N.
“We did it five times prior to the pandemic,” which led to a three-year hiatus, said Shelia Ginn, president of the church’s board.
“It was just a way to reach out to our community – to our neighbours,” she said. “The purpose is to show the neighborhood who we are and that we’re all one family.”
Hotdogs, lemonade, chips and homemade cookies will be on the menu.
“We have a candy floss machine and a popcorn machine,” Ginn added. “And we have games for kids and live music.
“Everything is free.”
Musicians performing that day will include the church’s pastor, Rev. Colton LaMay, playing guitar and singing.
“It’s a really good opportunity for everybody to meet pastor LaMay,” Ginn said.
LaMay, 39, who is from Florida, was installed as pastor last summer, she said.
“His sermons are amazing,’ Ginn said. “You would think he has been preaching for years.”
Before the pandemic pause, the event typically drew about 200 people each year, she said.
“The first year we did it, it poured rain,” but organizers moved it indoors and still drew more than 100 people, she said.
“It takes at least a dozen volunteers to put this on,” Ginn said.
Redeemer Lutheran Church is also home to a long-running live nativity scene every Christmas season.
The Christmas scene, which includes actors and live animals, began in 1979, but it, too, paused for a few years amid pandemic restrictions. It returned last December, though bad weather canceled one of the two nights scheduled.
The congregation marks its 88th anniversary June 11, Ginn said.