BANGOR – For those who enjoy the opportunity to meet new people, continue contacts with established friends and share a meal, there is Community Art Lunch.

“We call it a ‘community’ lunch because it takes many people to make it happen,” said Bob Cottrell of Verona Island, who facilitates the event with his wife, Cleo. “Some of us provide the food, others help set tables and make the salad, others come to clear tables, wash dishes and sweep the floor, others come to eat and create art, others pray. We all participate as we are able and thank God for each one.”

The lunch is held at 11:30 a.m. the third Saturday of each month, downstairs at Grace United Methodist Church, 193 Union St. The event is free and open to the public.

“Grace Church has been a neighborhood church,” Cottrell said. Many, such as Cottrell and his wife, now travel a long distance to attend church. They needed to find a way to become involved with neighbors again, he said. That recognition brought about the Community Art Lunch, which began in August 1998.

“The goal of lunch is to build trusting relationships,” Cottrell said, adding that other local churches also started to provide lunches on Saturdays. “We each have a different Saturday of the month,” he said.

The church sponsors the lunch, and parishioners provide the food. Tables, with a choice of salad dressings distributed evenly on them, are set up complete with place settings and place mats. The meal is served family-style so people can get up and talk with each other if they want.

Most often the menu consists of soup, homemade bread, salad and fruit for dessert. If there are any leftovers, they are packed up and sent home with those who attended.

Becky Bell, a nurse for Eastern Maine Healthcare, provides blood pressure screenings at the lunch. Usually four or five people have their blood pressures taken, and Bell takes the opportunity to provide cardiac-related education as well.

The Rev. Grace Bartlett of Bangor, church pastor, is an artist and most months offers a simple art project people may work on. The church supplies the art materials. Last month’s project featured Play-Doh cutouts that were dried and made into mobiles.

“Creating something is an important part of wellness,” Cottrell said, adding that the act of creating serves as a way to nurture the spirit. Most projects are completed in one session and the finished product usually goes home with the one who made it.

Additionally, there is a thrift shop downstairs at the church that is open Wednesday through Saturday. Some who attend the lunch also shop.

“It’s steadily grown, slowly,” Cottrell said of the number of people who participate in the lunch each month. The event started with about 20 participants, but now some 40 people attend per month. A handful of folks come regularly. Others come at different times, so that new faces are seen, he said.

One of the hallmarks of the downtown church is that locals attend along with people who travel a distance, coming from towns such as Orono and Levant.

Last fall candidates running for local, state and national offices were invited to attend a lunch. Several city council and state representative candidates accepted. In 2002, both Michael Michaud and Jonathan Carter participated.

The next Community Art Lunch will be held at 11:30 a.m. Saturday, March 19, at the church. For information, call 942-8320 or e-mail graceumc193

@yahoo.com.