Local Church Holds Inaugural Cars & Coffee Event

My wife and I belong to our local Catholic Church, St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, just 2 miles up the road, and I’ve recently befriended the husband of one of my wife’s friends from church. Andy is a ‘car guy’ in the sense that he likes cars and rather recently treated himself to a pre-owned BMW Z4 as a weekend driver. At my urging, he also joined the NJ Region of the AACA and has attended some meetings.

Andy is involved in various church activities and got the idea for something different. He approached the pastor about having a Cars & Coffee type event on a Sunday afternoon. He quickly got approval, and the word went out among the parishioners. The show was scheduled for Sunday June 2, 2024, and while he was initially hoping for around 15 cars, he got 11 owners to sign up; but then, 3 dropped out the day prior. He still had 8 vehicles, and a varied assortment at that.

To help him fill out the field, I promised Andy that I’d bring both my ’67 Alfa Romeo and my ’93 Mazda Miata. My wife was willing to drive the Miata there, and she got to hang out with some of her girlfriends, while the guys clustered together to talk about their machines.

Besides my two cars and Andy’s Z4, we had a BMW Z3, a C4 Corvette, a mid-90’s Camaro, and 2 late ’70s MGBs. I had not met any of the owners before, and this was a great opportunity to get to know some local car enthusiasts. Everyone was courteous and complimentary of each other’s cars, and at the end of the gathering, we promised each other that we would do this at least one more time this year, and perhaps even work in a little road tour. I would especially appreciate the tour, as the 4-mile round trip barely got my engines warm!