After 25 years, Newtown United Methodist Church Pasta Project Founder Martha Millett has retired.

The 25th anniversary of the pasta project was celebrated in March.

The dinner events have been offered regularly on the first Saturday of the month, September through June, since 1989. Mrs Millett was a NUMC trustee when she told fellow trustees she would host a pasta dinner to raise funds to help cover costs the Church Hill Road house of worship was facing with the addition of Wesley Hall. The first dinner was held in March 1989, and it was expected to be a short-term fundraiser.

A quarter of a century later, the First Saturday Pasta Dinner has become a staple in the calendars of many NUMC members, and even friends of the church. The dinner has become, Mrs Millet told The Newtown Bee in March, something where members of NUMC were sharing dinner space with countless others, including “those who do not identify with any religious group.”

Earlier this year, this month. After a quarter of a century, she and other volunteers who have been involved for years were looking to take a break. Organizers put out a call for NUMC members to take over the project, and initially they did not see any takers.Mrs Millet feared that the project would come to an end

In May, however, Mrs Millet was happy to announced that three people — Ellie Lewis, and Barbara and Dennis Bloom — had stepped up to take over. 

This past weekend, the final NUMC Pasta Project Dinner of the 2014-15 season was presented. 

The aromas of garlic bread and marinara sauce mingled in the NUMC hall and kitchen last Saturday night while Senior Pastor Mel Kawakami and Mrs Millett greeted guests. It was business as usual, with plates piled up with spaghetti, sauces, garlic bread, tossed salad, and plenty of dessert offerings. 

Dinners, and their subsequent coffee house events, will resume in September.