Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner? Fundraiser for

First Parish Church of Groton

Silent Auction

to be held at fellowship hour on

Sunday, November 12, 2006 And Sunday, November 19 2006

Please be sure to read the back page of this booklet for our “Frequently asked Questions” Saturday, December 9, 2006 6:00 p.m. January 6, 2007 10:00 a.m.–1:00 p.m. Tapas Dinner Buffet Saturday Brunch with the Kemler-Stanleys Ellen Todd and John Jackson will host 6 to 20 adults for an The Rev. Elea Kemler, Fran Stanley, and Caleb and Isabel assortment of tapas (Spanish small dishes) accompanied by Stanley-Kemler will host 1 to 12 children, teens & adults for a Sangria, fine sherry and non-alcoholic beverages. The menu will casual, open-house brunch. Church coffee, and bagels with cream include Vieiras (scallops) Santiago, marinated chickpeas, cheeses, cheese and lox will be served. Vegetarian choices will also be olives, and many other meaty and vegetarian dishes with a available. Hang out with the minister and her family, come to play background of Spanish music. with toddler toys, or converse with adults.

Menu will not contain nuts This event will be alcohol-free. and no nuts will be served.

Minimum bid $30 Proceeds to benefit the Church Operating Fund.

Proceeds to benefit the Church Operating Fund Saturday, January 6, 2007 6:00 p.m. Cocktails & Dinner chez Nowak Donna & Bob Nowak will host 4-6 adult guests in their home for Friday, December 15, 2006 6:00 p.m. cocktails at 6:00 p.m., followed by dinner at 7 p.m., featuring Traditional Czech/Polish Dinner many courses of home made delicacies. The hosts will provide one Lukas & Amy Sturm will host 2 to 6 adults and teens in their bottle of wine. Guests may bring wine to share. Shirley home. The 4-course meal (appetizers, salad, main course, and dessert) will include handmade pierogis, dumplings, and roast Vegetarian entrée will not be available. The menu may contain beef, accompanied by wine and other beverages. And what nuts. The chef is full of them. eastern block meal would complete without sauerkraut? Allergy warning: there are cats in the house.

A vegetarian entrée can be provided. Minimum bid: no minimum bid but Donnas expects people to pay The menu will not include nuts. a LOT because she is a good cook. Proceeds to benefit the Youth Group’s planned trip to Proceeds to benefit the Youth Group’s planned trip to Nicaragua Nicaragua Saturday, January 13, 2007 6:00 p.m. Friday, January 26, 2007 evening An Evening on Elm Street Lasagna & Games June Johnson & Steve Lieman will host 6 to 8 adult guests for Fran McNierney and her family will host 8 to 16 adults and teens dinner & conversation in Groton. They will serve a special seafood for a dinner of lasagna salad, homemade bread, wine and dish, accompanied by fine wine & followed by espresso. dessert.

Vegetarian entrée available After dinner, you are invited to stay for cards and board games. Menu may contain nuts Meat and veggie lasagna will be offered Minimum bid $30 The menu will not contain nuts.

Proceeds to benefit the Church Operating Fund Minimum bid: $25

Proceeds to benefit the Youth Group’s planned trip to Nicaragua

Saturday, January 20, 2007 6:30 p.m. Soup & Sustenance Jack & Laura Wool will host 6 to 12 adults and teens for dinner in Saturday, January 27,2007 6:00 p.m. Ayer. The menu will feature comfort foods to warm the soul in Post-Holiday Dinner & Yankee Swap the dark days of winter, and will include homemade soup and Sophie Wadsworth will host a dinner for 8 to 14 adults at her bread as well as vegetarian and meaty entrees. home in Harvard. The menu will be vegetarian, and will contain no nuts. Non-alcoholic beverages will be provided, and guests may Guests should bring wine to share. bring wine to share. No nuts will be served. Please bring an anonymously wrapped gift (value $15 or less) Minimum bid: $20 What an opportunity to re-gift that puzzling “what am I going to do with this….” holiday present! Proceeds to benefit the Youth Group’s planned trip to Nicaragua Proceeds to benefit the Church Operating Fund February 3, 2007 7:00 p.m. Sunday, February 11, 2007 After church Contemporary Italian Dinner Sunday Brunch with the Nowaks Michelle & Paul Kurmas will host up to 4 adults and 4 teens in Donna and Bob Nowak will host 6-12 adults and teens for Sunday Townsend, for a five-course meal of Italian inspired dishes, brunch. Don’t eat even one cracker at coffee hour! You will be accompanied by suitable wines and other beverages. The menu filled with delicious food at Donna’s, then can go home to read a will focus on healthy and delicious eating., although dessert good book or take a snooze. promises to be more indulgent (perhaps cheesecake.) Vegetarian choices will not be available. The menu may contain

nuts. The chef is full of them. Allergy warning: there are cats in Vegetarian choices will be available for all courses, and the meal the house. will not contain nuts (pine nuts may be included, however.) Minimum bid: no minimum bid established, but Donnas expects Minimum bid $25 people to pay a LOT because she is a good cook. Proceeds to benefit the Youth Group’s planned trip to Proceeds to benefit the Youth Group’s planned trip to Nicaragua Nicaragua

Saturday, February 17, 2007 6:00 p.m. A Taste of Greece Ellen Todd & John Jackson, will host a Greek dinner for 6 to 10 February 10, 2007, 7:00 p.m. adults and teens. skordalia, spanakopita, moussaka, and Greek Salute to New Orleans winter salad will be accompanied by wine and Greek music. A Greek dessert* and Metaxa will complete the meal. *Please Dave & Marge Kimpton & Jenny Clark will host 3 to 12 adult indicate nut allergies so we know whether to make baklava (with guests in Dunstable. Anticipate Mardi Gras, with this New nuts) or galaktabouriko (no nuts. ) Orleans inspired menu, featuring jambalaya. Vegetarian entrée available with advance request Menu will not contain nuts Vegetarian entrée is not available Minimum bid $25

Proceeds to benefit the Church Operating Fund Proceeds to benefit the Church Operating Fund Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner? What if I can’t attend a meal I paid for? If you know in Frequently asked questions advance that you can’t attend, you can give or sell your place to Will a different series of meals be auctioned each week? No, someone else. Other options will be included in the confirmation the bidding period for all of the meals is occurring over the letters sent to guests. course of two weeks. If I list a food allergy or dietary need, will the hosts be How do I bid on a dinner or brunch? Just write your name, sure to provide food I can eat? We hope that hosts will try to your per person bid, and number of people in your party on the accommodate your needs. Depending on the menu and specific bidding sheets. dietary restrictions, this may not be possible in all cases.

Is my bid price for the whole meal, no matter how many What if I can’t go to any of the meals because of food guests I will bring? Please be careful with that! Your bid is the allergies or intolerances? price you are willing to pay for each person in your party. Multiply We tried to find meals to suit a variety of tastes and diets. We your bid by your number of guests to calculate your total cost. have many meals without nuts, but are aware that none are at nut-free households. If you have a nut-free household, or can When do I pay for the dinners or brunches that I win? You easily meet some other dietary restriction, we’d love to have you will be contacted after the auction closes, and will be asked to host a meal or help us find someone to host a meal the next time mail or bring payment to church by the end of November. we do Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner.

Who wins the bid? The highest bidder wins and can bring the How does this type of event help First Parish Church of number of people indicated in their bid. If there is still space Groton, other than raising money?We hope that Guess Who’s available, the 2nd highest bidder gets to fill as many seats as Coming to Dinner will bring together mixed groups of people at indicated with their bid. This continues through the bids, until each event—including some who know each other well and some the host’s maximum number of guests is reached. who don’t know each other. Our church has grown so fast in the past 5 years that it is hard to keep track of new faces and How will I remember the date of the dinner or brunch? What names. This sharing of time, food and conversation will help us if I don’t have the hosts’ address? We will send you a letter get to know each other and strengthen our sense of community with the address and dates of any dinners or brunches that you win.