Every month for the past 60 years, the Centralia/Chehalis Christian Women’s Connection has brought together dozens of women to enjoy a luncheon, visit with one another and listen to inspirational speakers.

But no longer.

The nondenominational group associated with Stonecroft Ministries held its final luncheon at the Centralia Church of the Nazarene on Jan. 13 with the theme “To Wish Upon a Star.” I was honored to speak about Matilda Koontz Jackson, the star of my debut novel, “The Reluctant Pioneer.” In her “Shooting Stars” presentation, Pat Martinelli, a mental health therapist from Everett, shared touching testimony about mental illness and tragedy in her life and how to detect signs of anxiety, depression and stress in others.

“We need to be aware of what’s going on in the world around us, and we need to reach out and help our friends,” Martinelli said. “Fellowship is the best thing we can offer.”

And fellowship, bringing together women, has been the goal of the Christian Women’s Connection for decades.

“I’m just so thankful for the Nazarene Church because they’ve really given a lot,” said Kay Mills, Centralia/Chehalis Women’s Connection chair. “They’ve never charged anything. They even cleaned up after us.”

But the church’s Goodwin Chapel, where they’ve met for a decade, today serves the Hispanic ministry, with chairs set up in rows for services rather than with tables for luncheons. The Women’s Connection needed to find another place with a commercial kitchen to meet.

“So that was like the door that was kind of opened, and then our committee just decided we were kind of tired,” Mills said.

The Centralia-Chehalis Christian Women’s Club was organized in February 1965 and held its first luncheon in April of that year. Among early members were Louise Lund, Linda Clark, Dorothy Johnson, Aina Beckman, JLee Beckman, Georgie Radnich, Mary Ellen Taylor, Lisa Blomdahl, Charla Larson, Joyce Wickert, Audrey Rademaker, Grace Andre and fellow author Jan Pierson.

“I was quite involved for years,” Pierson said. “Even did a bit of speaking here and there around the state once my children were grown. It was an important experience for me to be able to share my faith and also find warm camaraderie with other women sharing the same journey.”

In the late 1960s, six Women’s Connection members modeled old wedding dresses. When she sent me the photo, Pierson said, “Wow, look at that tall hair!”

“I am modeling my grandmother’s 1906 wedding dress,” she said, and at far left, “Sue Lambert is wearing my mother’s 1930 dress.”

Mary Funk became acquainted with the Christian Women’s Connection upon moving to Chehalis in 1967. Pierson chaired the group, which met at the St. Helens Hotel and held neighborhood Friendship Bible Coffees to reach women in the community with the good news of salvation through Jesus Christ. The group later gathered at the Newaukum Grange, Colonial Residence, Woodland Estates, Kit Carson, and Ribeye restaurant before meeting at the Nazarene Church.

“It has been a blessing to have a time of Christian fellowship and have an outreach in our community,” she said. “I am sorry to see us close.”

After retiring in 2003, Funk served as special feature chair and invited me several times to speak about my personal history business, Lewis County history and my debut novel.

“One of the other factors lately has been that we have fewer people available to prepare for the luncheons,” she said. “Kay has done a marvelous job and has taken on more and more responsibilities as the time has passed.”

Mills, who chaired the group for nearly four decades, spoke about the impact of a simple invitation in her life, one that introduced her in the mid-1980s to Stonecroft Ministries and its outreach to women.

“My young family and I moved to Ferndale, Washington, in 1984,” she said. “It was a new city, and I didn’t know a single person. I really  wanted to meet new friends. Well, a lady from my husband’s office invited us to their church. While we were not church attenders, we figured it would be a good place to meet people.”

After the service, a woman named Betty invited her to a brunch, and she agreed, especially excited to learn the group offered childcare.

“At this first Stonecroft event, my experience was so positive,” Mills said. “I felt welcomed and loved. In fact, that day I rededicated my life to the Lord when their speaker gave the invitation.”

When Betty asked her to serve on a committee selling and promoting Stonecroft booklets, she said, “Oh, no, I could never get up in front of the group.”

Laughter greeted those words as Mills has led the local Women’s Connection meetings for decades.

After four years in Ferndale, her family moved to Lewis County. She found the Centralia/Chehalis Christian Women’s Connection and started attending luncheons at the Newaukum Grange.

“Through Stonecroft, I have had so many wonderful friends, and I found a deep relationship with God and the courage to share my faith,” Mills said. “Betty’s invitation transformed my life. And just imagine the ripple effect. One invitation led to a life changed, and in my 40 years serving with Stonecroft Ministries in one way or another, God has used my life to touch countless women.

“I just wanted to meet good friends, but God had a bigger plan. So when you give to Stonecroft, you’re not just supporting an organization, you’re empowering women to share the gospel, build meaningful connections, and transform lives in their communities. … Your generosity fuels ministries that reach women who, like me, are searching for purpose and connection.”

The local Christian Women’s Connection celebrated its 50th anniversary in August 2015 with a well-attended luncheon.

Deb Jones of Chehalis, who presented Mills with a gorgeous bouquet of flowers, shared what the group meant to her.

“I moved up here eight years ago, a heartbroken widow, and two months after I was here, my oldest son was killed in a motorcycle accident,” she said. When her truck needed repairs, she took it to Mills Motors.

“A mutual friend invited me to this Bible study that we do on Tuesdays, and I’ve been blessed to facilitate that,” Jones said. “But it’s these luncheons — I just see God’s love going ding, ding, ding … like an angel.”

I can’t imagine the number of lives Mills and her ministry have touched in the past four decades, but God knows.

Brigitte Macdonald, who read a poem she wrote called “You Are Love,” mentioned that Mills has hosted the luncheons since 1988. “That’s well over three decades she’s been sharing God’s love with others, and we’re all here today because of that love and because of the camaraderie that we share in Jesus.”

“As I stand here today for the last time, I have a grateful heart,” said Mills, who plans to undergo knee surgery and visit her son in Colorado now that she won’t need to schedule her life around the monthly luncheons. “I want to thank all the volunteers that have made Christian Women’s Connection so special.”

While the universe has 200 billion trillion stars, Mills said, “there’s only one unique you.”

“And I think you’re very special,” she said. “I love you all, and I’m honored to know each and every one of you.”

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Julie McDonald, a personal historian from Toledo, may be reached at chaptersoflife1999@gmail.com.