Jaycee Relihan, left, a seventh-grader at Moniteau Junior- Senior High School, and Matt Wallace wait for Cherie Loomis, youth director at Christ Community United Methodist Church, to place spoons on the table for the church's St. Patrick's Day game night on Sunday.

Patrick is West Sunbury resident John Relihan’s middle name.

It was only fitting he would bring the luck of the Irish to his church’s game night to celebrate the holiday.

“We are celebrating Irish heritage and enjoying the company of our fellow parishioners,” Relihan said.

The church was aglow with green on Sunday at Christ Community United Methodist Church Oz Hall, 205 N. Duffy Road, as they celebrated the St. Patrick’s Day holiday at its St. Patrick Game Night.

This is the first time the church has held game night to celebrate the holiday.

About 25 attendees sipped shamrock shakes and other green beverages and snacked on green desserts while they laughed and played board and card games.

St. Patrick’s Day is celebrated each year on March 17.

Irish is second to German as the most popular European ancestry in the U.S. at 32.6 million, which is seven times Ireland’s population, according to Wallet Hub, a personal finance website.

The attendees were part of the 55 percent of Americans who planned to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day in 2019, according to Wallet Hub. $5.6 billion was to be spent on St. Patrick’s Day.

Parishioners were dressed in green jackets and donned glitter shamrock headbands to test their luck in the “Best Irish Costume” contest.

Costume contest participants were among the 81 percent of celebrators who planned to wear green, according to Wallet Hub.

Attendees also had the chance to win the “pot of gold” containing various prizes.

Relihan said the night not only brings fun, but offers additional fellowship time.

“You reconnect with friends in a way you might not normally have a chance to do,” he said. “That’s one of the advantages, you can enjoy each others company.”