The lobsters have come and gone for this year’s annual Lobsterfest at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church.

The event, used to raise money for the church’s Little Friends School and charities in the community, had a big turnout Thursday night with around 400 lobsters being sold, according to co-chair Barbara Leet.

“I think it’s really more of a community thing. We enjoy it so much, even if we didn’t make a lot of money, we would still have fun doing it because it brings everyone together,” Leet said.

The lobsters were flown down from Maine to Mobile and transported to Selma by Blake Harrison and Caleb Sumrall with Mainely Lobster.

“The lobster is so sweet and so fresh, it’s the best you’ll eat anywhere,” Leet said.

St. Paul’s rector Jack Alvey, said the event is a good way to invite people in to see the church and get to know others in their community.

“It’s a great opportunity to invite people to St. Paul’s that might not otherwise come through our doors or through our gates,” Alvey said.

“I think St. Paul’s is gifted with hospitality, and this is a good way to live into that identity. We have a beautiful space here and to be able to share that with the community means a lot to me, and I hope we find other opportunities to do that.”

Members of the church began setting up for the event Monday. On Thursday, everyone was assigned a certain place to be to make things go smoothly.

“We’ve worked all week,” Leet said. “We do a little bit every day so it’s not such a big deal when it gets here on Thursday.”

Alvey said it’s great that all Lobsterfest proceeds go back to community organizations and especially to the children at Little Friends School.

“This is a great event for St. Paul’s and for the community. The proceeds help us support our ministry to those children and to help raise them in the knowledge of God’s love for them,” Alvey said.