Church Events
January 19, 2006 - The Men's Club of SS. Peter and Paul Orthodox Church held its Annual 25 Week Club Buffet in the Church Hall on the evening of January 19. The event was open to all ticket members and their guests - parishoners and non-parishoners alike. Proceeds from the event were collected by the Men's Club and they, in turn, put these funds to good purpose on behalf of our Church. In that regard, the above composite photo attempts to illustrate the relationship of the Men's Club and SS. Peter and Paul Orthodox Church. A hot buffet dinner, door prizes, and cash prizes were all part of the evening's festivities held from 6:30 p.m. onward. Below are scenes from the event.
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The venue for the buffet dinner was the Church Hall of our parish which is located directly behind our temple (seen from the front above left and from behind above right). Below left, parishioners Deborah Jones, Joe Hartman, and Jim Jones greet guests in the Church Hall lobby. Below right, Men's Club member, John Sitze, sells tickets to parishioner, Hank Dziemian, for the "50/50" raffle.
Above left, some of the prizes awaiting claim were positioned on the stage before the event. Above right and below left, scenes of those gathered for the buffet. The event was fully subscribed. Below right, Kim Silva Bell and her father, Lou Silva, and Fiona Garretson and her father, Rev. David Garretson, smiled for the camera before the formal start of the evening. Lou was the buffet Master of Ceremonies.
Above and below, Rev. Garretson greeted the people gathered - both parishioners and non-parishioner guests.
Above left, Father David led the assembly in prayer before the meal and then it was time to eat (above right and the block of five photos below).
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Above left, parishioner A.J. Sivess and, above right, parishioners Dorothy Messeka (left in photo) and Violet Durovich (right in photo) waited their turn in the buffet line.
Above, parishioner Nadejda Shidlovsky leaves the buffet table with hands full!
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Above left, interesting photography requires willing participants and good-natured George Cerekwas willingly "hams it up" for the camera! Above right, Walter Sudnikovich was in charge of cake detail again this year.
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Your reporter always learns something new at such events. For example, this evening, he learned that some restaurants encourage tablecloth artistry as Kristen Berezniak demonstrates above. Thankfully, the tablecloths were of the paper variety and were not made of fine linen! The Men's Club was not directly involved in food preparation. Below left are shown the members of the catering service who worked hard behind the scenes in the kitchen. Below right, parishioner Janet Hartman (left in photo) distributes a portion of the two cakes which served as the buffet's dessert to parishioner Sonja Harris (right in photo).
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Above left, parishioners Jay Pelleriti and Jim Jones sell last minute chances before the prize drawings were to begin. Above right, Kim Silva Bell and Mark Kruger assist Lou Silva as he calls out the winning numbers. Below left, Joanne Sivess and a friend look over the prize won by Steve Senko (right in photo), Joanne's father.
Above right, Church Treasurer, Diane Dreyer, has proof that she is a prize-winner, while parishioner Barbara Horsky (right) looks on approvingly. Below right, parishioner Kristen Berezniak makes certain that the proper prize is delivered to the correct recipient. There were all manner of prizes to be won, including cash prizes. Parishioner Vera Dorn, for example, won a cash prize of $200 and immediately and graciously donated half of her winnings back to the Men's Club. The ultimate beneficiary of Vera's generosity is, of course, SS. Peter and Paul Orthodox Church.
Below, parishioner and Men's Club member, Jay Pelleriti, watches the evening unfold from the Church Hall kitchen. Everyone had a good time. The evening was a grand success - due in part to the first cooperative weather in many a year for the event. The friendship, fellowship, and fun that were part of this evening's event augur well for another Men's Club 25 Week Annual Buffet to be held in early 2007.
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Copyright © 2006, Saints Peter and Paul Orthodox Church, South River, NJ
