50th Anniversary Committee – 2018 Report:
Diane Van Slyke, Chair / Marvelle Martin & Jeannette Best-Nunez, Vice Chairs
This special committee of 9 was tasked with a mission to celebrate St. Edward’s 50th Anniversary! This group of very dedicated parishioners planned, organized and put in hundreds of hours to accomplish this feat.
Various other ministries worked in conjunction with the 50th anniversary Committee: Parish Life, ECW, Brotherhood, Pit Crew, the Hispanic community, and the Liberian community.
We kicked off 2018 with the Epiphany Wine & Cheese Party in January.
During Lent, we assisted Parish Life in the annual Friday Fish Fry.
In May, we celebrated “Cinco de Mayo/Under the Stars” a Chastain-like music and dinner event in conjunction with ECW & Fr. Fabio.
During the summer, we had three events. The Brotherhood hosted a tree planting, scavenger hunt, and
cookout. The ECW had their annual Tea Party and we dedicated the Rose Garden in remembrance of the ladies of St. Edward’s. The 3rd event was the Liberian Food Sale hosted by the Liberian Community.
The final group of events took place the weekend of our anniversary in October. We started with a Taize
service on Friday night, followed by a wine & cheese reception. Saturday was our 50th Anniversary
Homecoming Gala Dinner at Signature Ballroom in Suwanee. Over 275 people attended this grand
celebration. Bishop Wright sent a video greeting and Canon John Thompson-Quartey served as the Bishop’s representative and keynote speaker. Former priests, parishioners – past & present, friends and neighbors attended. It was a night of dinner, dancing and fellowship. Joy Sibley was honored as a charter member of St. Edward’s. A photo slide show and silent auction rounded out the evening.
Sunday, October 14th concluded the year of events with a Celebration Eucharist & Pit Crew Luncheon.
The most exciting news is that all net proceeds from the 2018 events went to establish the Youth
Scholarship Fund. We raised over $4000 to kickoff the support of our youth. We hope to have at least one event each year to keep the scholarship funded.
50th Anniversary Tee shirts are still available for $10 with net proceeds benefiting the Youth Scholarship Fund!
With thanksgiving for the past, joy in the present, and hope for the future, we celebrate 50
years of praising God at St Edward’s Episcopal Church!
50th Anniversary Committee: Diane Van Slyke, Marvelle Martin, Jeannette Best-Nunez, Manuel Holguin, Mike Leary, Tonya Leary, Jean Okunsanya, Lee Ann Sipe, & Marlaina Woodward.
Special thanks to: Fr. Gordon, Fr. Fabio, ECW, Brotherhood, Parish Life, Pit Crew, Frances Hart, Fostenal Dahn, John Talipsky Jr., John Nystrom, Samantha Toomey, the Liberian community, the Hispanic community, and St. Edward’s Vestry!
