What We Did
Grace United Church in Meadow Lake was excited to take part in the United Church of Canada’s 100 Tables initiative celebrating the denomination’s 100th anniversary. On Wednesday, August 20, 2025, we set up a table at the Meadow Lake Aquatic Centre, sponsoring the public swim for the afternoon. The event brought together children, families, and youth from the community. We also brought students, youth leaders, and adult volunteers from our Summer Vacation Bible School (VBS) program, who joined in the fun at the pool. At our table, we connected with kids and parents, sharing about Grace United Church’s ministries such as our After-School Youth Café, Volunteer Medical Transportation Service, and our involvement with the Meadow Lake Homeplate Shelter Coalition, which supports local homeless and transitional housing needs. To spark conversation, we handed out “A Place at the Table” postcards with Grace United Church's information printed on the back. These simple handouts helped people learn more about our ministries and how we support the community. The response from the public was warm and positive. Many families expressed gratitude for the sponsored swim and took time to hear about our ongoing ministries. This event offered a relaxed and welcoming space to meet new people, share our story, and celebrate the United Church’s legacy of faith, inclusion, and community service in Meadow Lake.
What We Did
On Sunday, August 16, 2026, from 1:00–3:30 p.m., Grace United Church in Meadow Lake hosted a kid-friendly community table at a fundraiser event in Lions Park. Our table featured a “Gratitude: Thank You Card” craft activity as part of the United Church of Canada’s 100 Tables project.
We invited children and youth to stop by, create and decorate their own thank-you cards using a variety of craft materials, and give them to someone they appreciated. As an added encouragement, participants received vouchers for raffle prizes. Many children and youth came to our table, enjoyed the activity, and took their cards home to share with family members and friends.
We also created collective “Thank You” cards for local RCMP officers, firefighters, and EMS teams, inviting community members to add their names and express their appreciation for these people who serve our community.
While engaging people through the craft activity, we also shared information about Grace United Church and some of our ministries, including our upcoming summer vacation Bible school, Graceland after-school youth cafe, and volunteer medical transportation ministry.
Why We Did It
We participated because we wanted to be present in the wider Meadow Lake community in a welcoming, positive, and meaningful way. Rather than simply inviting people to come to church, we wanted to take our church table out into the community and create opportunities for conversation, connection, and relationship-building.
The theme of gratitude gave us a simple way to encourage children and families to recognize and express appreciation for people in their lives, while also thanking local first responders and other community servants. We hoped the activity would help children experience that gratitude is something we can put into action.
We also wanted people to learn more about Grace United Church and the ways our congregation seeks to serve the community throughout the week—not only through worship, but also through programs such as the Graceland after-school youth cafe and volunteer medical transportation ministry.
We participated in the United Church 100 Tables project in 2025 by sponsoring a public swimming event and setting up a table at the local swimming pool. We greatly appreciated the opportunity to meet people from the wider community, and share about our church and ministries. This year, the local fundraiser at Lions Park provided another natural opportunity to bring our table into the community, build relationships, and let people experience Grace United Church as a welcoming and community-minded presence.
