As you may have heard, the new FPCY group, Women at the Well (the long-needed counterpart to the Men’s Breakfast), invites women to restore energy and spirits with others in a fun atmosphere, through sharing, laughter, and mutual support. Our most recent activity was a paint night in Fellowship Hall, where we invited Tracy Falcone of Paintastic Parties to bring out our inner artists! We had 24 in attendance (ages ranged from early 20s to 70s) — and several brought guests in the form of coworkers, neighbors, daughters, and mothers. Each table of four or five easels was lively with chatter and laughter as we worked through our own creative processes, fueled by an abundant table of goodies. At the end of the evening, we each had our own artwork to bring home to hang up (or hide in a closet), but more importantly, we also had newly forged or deepened connections to our tablemates and the others in the room.

We know that God has hard-wired us to live in community, but it’s been easy to forget how much the benefits of community life outweigh the discomforts, particularly when coming out of a global pandemic… we’ve simply lost practice showing up for things! So we’re grateful that Women at the Well can bring us together to be present for each other, and strengthen our own community — and ultimately give us the renewal and energy to positively affect the other communities that each of our lives touches. Paint night was a small but joyful way to help build the community of Heaven on Earth! We’re looking forward to our next event, and we hope you’ll join us.

~Abby Cross