SFCS is a singles group for men and woman who are single and single again, who are in the age range of
30's, 40's, and 50's, who are looking for an alternative to singles groups that focus solely on the
awkward task of matchmaking. We meet on the 3rd Thursday of the month. Doors open at 7PM, meeting starts at 7:15PM. We are usually finished by appox. 9:30PM. (There are NO meeting in the summer or
in January). What do you do at the regular monthly meetings? Our regular meetings vary from month to month. We have guest speakers on various topics (we try to gear our topics toward single's)- Financial planning, travel for singles, internet dating, dressing for dates, game nights, meditations, estate planning for singles, dealing with married siblings and family dynamics. At each meeting we always have refreshments and at least 20-30 minutes to socialize and to get to know each other. How do I join and is there a cost? There is no membership application or reservations necessary, you may just show up at the meetings. We do ask for a $5.00 donation at each meeting, this covers our cost to provide the refreshments and a donation to the St. Francis Center for the use of their facilities. We do require advance RSVP on some of our social events. If I am dating someone can I still attend? Yes, our group focuses on many aspects of being single. Although some of our members have met dating partners at our group, there are many other reasons for attending. Our meetings are a great way for singles to meet and establish friendships with other singles in their own age group; learn about issues geared toward singles [ travel, financial planning, dealing with family relationships, internet dating ], and to learn about and deepen your own spirituality and most importantly just to have a relaxing fun evening in a non threatening environment. What type of activities does the group participate in? Many various activities, since our group started we have had movie nights, bowling nights, wine tasting, billiard nights, dinner nights- (we like trying different ethnic restaurants), game nights, coffee night at a local coffee café, book club discussion, weekend spiritual retreat, St. Valentine's social, spaghetti dinner at Mt. Manresa, night at Yankee Stadium on SI. Our members have also banded together for charity- MS walk, collect toys for kids at Christmas, collect diapers for a women's shelter for Mother's Day, volunteer to helped at the St. Francis Center at various events and fundraiser's. Why is the group limited to those in their thirties, forties and fifties? Because in founding the group a need was recognized in the Church to acknowledge those single adults who were no longer able to take advantage of "Young Adult" groups that focus primarily on those in their twenties. SGSP doesn't attempt to be all things to all persons but rather provide an engaging environment for individuals to socialize who are within a twenty year range of each other. Other groups for both younger and older adults are available and can be learned about by calling the Archdiocesan Office at 1011 First Ave. in Manhattan
Do I have to be Catholic to attend? While SFCS is grounded in Catholic Spirituality, (brief prayer is part of all our gatherings), and events often center on topics of our faith, no one is turned away based on faith. It is a matter of personal choice as to whether individuals are comfortable in this setting. Also, we often feature guest speakers who address practical aspects of being single (financial planning, career development, traveling singly) and we are pleased if our gatherings are attractive to people based on the commonality we share as single adults. How many members are there? There are approximately 200 people on our mailing list and we usually have, on average forty people at our monthly gatherings, more for our larger events. Our Gatherings are small enough that you have the opportunity to meet and chat with others, large enough that you have a range of people with whom to socialize. What is the ratio of men to woman? Considering that most singles groups struggle to attract men, we do okay! Most time we reach sixty percent women, forty percent men. What kind of career backgrounds do members represent? SFCS represents and welcomes singles of all types of career backgrounds. A large number of our members are professionals in a wide variety of fields.
