Picnic Tables Help Columbia Falls UMC Cultivate Community as "Front Yard People"

Columbia Falls UMC in Columbia Falls, MT utilized Courageous Leadership grant money from the Leadership Development team to help build connections with their neighborhood and spark creative ministry opportunities in the future. After overcoming a summer of pandemic supply chain issues, the church was able to purchase two portable picnic tables and fifteen copies of "The Turquoise Table," by Kristin Schell. The book invites readers to put picnic tables outside in their communities, build relationships with neighbors, and cultivate community as "front yard people." Folks at Columbia Falls studied the book, hosted an ice cream social for their church and neighbors, and plans to explore installing a permanent picnic table outside their building in the spring of 2022.