All we need is love...and good food

PLAINS – Love was in the air Friday night at the annual Church on the Move Valentine’s Day banquet. Community members gathered in the service hall to enjoy the company of their friends and loved ones while dining on a delicious three-course meal.

Each table was uniquely decorated and candlelight set the ambiance. The room was beautiful and a lovely Valentine’s Day destination. According to Pastor Jim Sinclair of the Church on the Move, many of the decorators really get into the holiday spirit.

“The ladies come in and bring their own dishes, candles and all that to set up their tables. They love decorating their tables,” Sinclair said.

The Valentine’s Day banquet dates back further than Sinclair can remember. It has been a long-standing tradition in the community.

“I became the pastor here in September of ’97 and it had already been done,” Sinclair said. “They used to rotate to different churches but when we got our building we ended up hosting it almost every year. The other churches still stay really involved.”

Although the local churches are heavily involved, the banquet is a community event and everyone is welcome to attend for a light-hearted evening.

“We as a church were just trying to get the community together to have a night of fellowship without too much religion involved. They can come see what we do as church people and still have a good time,” Sinclair said. “We are just trying to produce a fun night.”

The fun night was possible because all of the local churches came together to organize it for the community.

Sinclair said he is thrilled every church is represented at the event. It shows that everyone is welcome and that the priority is the community as a whole.

The planning for the banquet began in early Jan. and ran right up until it began. The churches discussed the details at their monthly meetings. Sinclair said he is grateful the communication among the different churches is as strong as it is because more is accomplished.

“We call around to the other churches. We have a ministry in this town that communicates very well between all of the Christian churches. We are always talking to each other and we meet once a month to discuss things,” Sinclair said.

Communication is key to pulling off a successful community event. The Valentine’s Day banquet has been popular for many years. According to Sinclair, one year they had as many as 236 guests attend. This year was not quite that extreme but still had a respectable 120 guests.

“[The banquet] has always been well-attended,” Sinclair said. “This year we had to go buy another roast to cover everybody because we had some late-comers.”

The purpose of the banquet is not for the church to profit. They aim to break even financially. Their goal is to provide a pleasant evening for the community members. Sinclair said he was proud of the different things the church is able to give back to the people.

“It is amazing in a town with not much money, the amount of money that goes through the ministries to the people of Montana,” Sinclair said. “We are happy to do that.”

This year’s banquet was a great success and Sinclair could not be more pleased.

“I think it went great. Everybody was pretty happy and I could tell by the laughter and by the fact that they are still talking that is was a good night,” Sinclair said. “It was probably one of the better banquets we have had.”

Sinclair expects the Valentine’s Day banquet will continue on for as many years as people want it to.