Focus is on singles for Valentine's dinner at Mt. Pleasant Township church

Valentine’s Day: It’s not just for couples anymore.

At least not at Mt. Pleasant Township’s St. John’s Union Church, Assembly of God.

The church is welcoming single people who may feel left out of the annual Feb. 14 celebration of love connections to come to the church the following day for a festive dinner and games.

Recognizing that the holiday can be an isolating one for those who are single, widowed or divorced, Pastor Philip May said, “We wanted to reach out to that demographic. We want them to feel that they are loved, that they are known and seen.”

May’s wife, Charissa, is leading a committee of planners in preparing the singles dinner, set for 5 to 8 p.m. at the church on Hecla Road.

She said she understands the challenges of being single on Valentine’s Day, having experienced a previous divorce.

“When you’re no longer a couple, your friends no longer ask you to do things,” she said. “It’s a really strange situation.

“For single people, you get all those stupid questions: ‘When are you getting married?’ ”

The idea for the offbeat Valentine’s dinner came about when she thought of singles who may be experiencing what she did: “How do you turn the single worst day of the year into a great day?

“It doesn’t have to be about the couples on Valentine’s Day. We can still come together and have fun.”

Philip May said this year’s full-fledged singles event developed from a trial run last February.

“We had prepared for a dinner if we got a large enough response last year,” he said, but, “We didn’t have a long lead-in time.”

They had planned to invite a maximum of 35 singles for a sit-down meal in the church’s fellowship hall. But they ended up getting only takeout orders and providing 20 meals to nursing home residents.

With advance promotion through social media, this year’s response from the singles community has been much stronger, he said.

As Monday’s cutoff for reservations approaches, there were 22 singles signed up for the dinner as of Friday morning. Philip May has made a promotional video for the event.

Those planning to attend include Charissa May’s mother and fellow party planner, Lin Nagy, along with a few of Nagy’s friends — who, like her, are widowed.

“She’s excited,” Charissa May said. “This is something for people of all ages.”

Charissa May is pleased that the majority of those who have made reservations are from outside the church congregation, which fills about 30 seats at most services.

“It’s fun to bring the community together,” she said. “That’s what the church is here for.”

Participating singles Feb. 15 will sit down to a choice of two entrees, including a meatless option, two side dishes, bread and butter, hot and cold beverages and dessert.

Trivia and table games will follow.

Beverage choices will include sparkling grape juice, but no alcohol.

“It’s a safe space here at the church,” said Cindy Watson, associate pastor. “This is just a place to come and be yourself and have fun.”

The planners noted it’s not their intent to pursue any matchmaking among the singles at the meal.

“If a connection happens, we’ll let that be in somebody else’s wheelhouse,” Charissa May said.

The positive response to this year’s Valentine’s meal could spark plans for game nights at the church or other ongoing programming for singles and seniors, she said.

“The whole thing has made my heart smile this year,” she said.