Messiah Lutheran Church’s address is 7740 U.S. 72 W. (CONTRIBUTED)

MADISON — A card game at a local church has been the catalyst for camaraderie and good, clean fun.

“If you’ve started learning bridge a little, want to learn more, need a refresher or just need some practice before you start to play again, this was meant for you,” Mary Ann Stasiak said. She founded the bridge club at Messiah.

When she and husband Ed lived in northern Virginia, she had enjoyed the friendly, noncompetitive atmosphere and fellowship of their church bridge club. “I missed it here in Huntsville,” she said.

The Stasiaks have been members at Messiah Lutheran since 2008 when they moved to this area with the Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) event. She works for the Missile Defense Agency on Redstone Arsenal. He is retired.

At the bridge games, “the objectives are to have fun, enjoy playing a great game together and to reach out to others in the community through the game,” Stasiak said. The club is open to anyone.

“We’re happy to include or teach anyone interested in playing bridge,” she said.

Typically, the club plays about three rounds per night. “During each round, we play four hands. Each player at each table gets to deal a hand,” Stasiak said. “After we play a round (four hands), we switch partners and tables to play the next round.”

At the end of the night, they tally the scores “to celebrate who has the highest and lowest scores for the night,” Stasiak said. “Best of all, playing bridge is a great excuse to eat snacks. Everyone brings something tasty to share.”

The Bridge Club at Messiah Lutheran meets in the parish hall. For more information about the club, email to ejstasiak@aol.com.

Messiah Lutheran Church’s address is 7740 U.S. 72 W., just east of Hughes Road. Sunday worship services are held at 8:30 and 11 a.m. Sunday school classes meet at 9:45 a.m.

Messiah Lutheran’s pastor is Rev. Scott Peterson. For more information, call 256-721-0041, email to info@mlutheran.org or visit mlutheran.com.