Fall is traditionally the season for church dinners, bake sales and fundraisers, and the area will see an influx of them this weekend.

South of Austin, Our Savior’s Lutheran Church in Lyle will hold its annual beef supper from 4:30 to 7 p.m. on Saturday. Tickets are $10 for adults and $4 for 12 and younger with pre-order carryouts available by calling 325-1353. And like many other churches, the proceeds will help fund projects not only at the church but worldwide.

The meal includes roast beef, coleslaw, roasted carrots in a pound of butter, locally grown potatoes from Kittleson Bros. in St. Ansgar, creamed peas and pumpkin pie.

The creamed peas alone are enough to draw some people in.

“For some people, they say this is the only place they can come to get creamed peas,” said Pastor Barbara Finley-Shea.

According to her, the event has gone on for nearly 50 years and is all about bringing people together.

“It’s a time to reconnect with old friends,” Finley-Shea said, and added nothing brings people together quite like food.

Every year, generations from many families participate in the event. Some have been participating in the dinner since its inception.

“What is the appeal of these church dinners?” Finley-Shea said. “The big word is fellowship.”

But the area fellowship will actually start earlier, northwest of Austin from 4 to 7 p.m. Friday at the Hollandale Christian School. The school’s annual fall supper, featuring turkey, stuffing, baked beans, mashed potatoes and all sorts of fall dishes, looks to raise thousands of dollars to bolster the school’s general funds.

Near that same area, Moscow Lutheran Church will hold its hunters’ lunch and bake sale from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday at Moscow Town Hall. That will be a fitting time, as hunters will be coming down from their deer stands and out of the woods.

Ask Moscow Lutheran members and they’ll say the same thing about their dinner.

“It’s just another opportunity to be together with all our neighbors and community people,” Kris Wilke said.

Each year, the hunters’ lunch raises roughly $1,000 for local non-profits such as the Salvation Army, along with donated clothing.

East of Austin, Elkton will have a unique worship at 9:30 a.m. Sunday with a polka band and a bake sale to follow, while the Pacelli Booster Club will have its spaghetti dinner 11:30 a.m. at St. Augustine Church in Austin.

That night, Brownsdale Our Savior’s Lutheran is having a dinner, too. The church’s annual ham dinner will be from 4:30 to 7 p.m. Sunday. Tickets are $8 for adults, $5 for children, and kids younger than 5 get in free.

While most churches will be cooking up a storm, one Austin church will be cooking up the sounds. St. Olaf Lutheran Church will highlight the Northwestern Singers at 7 p.m. Saturday. The benefit concert has raised more than $30,000 for local school music programs, which will also perform that night.