Centennial Year Church Events
May 22, 2005 - At 3:00 p.m. in the afternoon, the Senior R Club (FOCA - Fellowship of Orthodox Christians in America) sponsored a Centennial "Mystery" Tea as part of the one hundred year anniversary celebration of SS. Peter and Paul Orthodox Church in South River, New Jersey. A troupe of four actors and actresses from New York had been invited to engage the audience in "interactive theater" - the observance of a "murder" and the subsequent attempt to discover "whodunnit"! Below are scenes from the event.
As the block of six photos (immediately above and below) shows, elaborate decorations were in place long before the guests began to arrive.
As well, food preparation by members of the Senior R Club began in the Church Hall kitchen immediately after the Divine Liturgy (above and below).
Above left, teapots were on the ready for the celebration as the coffee maker in the background was given the day off. Below left, the Church Hall as it appeared moments before the guests began to arrive (below right). As part of the "Mystery" Tea, the women guests were asked to wear their favorite hat and to bring their teapots from home. As you will see, there were many cooperative guests who both wore hats and brought teapots of all types.
Above left, Mrs. Vera Dorn checks out the teapots on display. The teapots were of many types - from the unusual to the elaborate (below).
Above right, Rev. David Garretson's daughters, Meredith and Fiona, chat with Mrs. Allison Steffaro before the event began. In the three photos below, hats of all types were on display on the heads of the guests!
The photos above show Senior R Club members busily at work in the kitchen just as the dinner is about to begin. Below left, event chairperson, Mrs. Janice Meade, welcomed all of the guests to the "Mystery" Tea and wished them a pleasant afternoon.
You may click on the photo above right to view an enlargement.
As the dinner was beginning, the theater troupe of four arrived in the hall and began to mix with the guests (above and below). The premise of this "interactive theater" is that someone in the hall will be "murdered" and it is up to the guests, based upon the information they have to work with, to solve the murder mystery.
The chief protagonist of the drama was one "Miss Lilly St. Jacques" (photo above). Miss St.Jacques was always careful to show the photographer her best side (below left)!
Miss St. Jacques brough her own fan club with her, consisting of one member (above right). Below right, the women of SS. Peter and Paul Orthodox Church are shown enjoying the unfolding drama.
Mrs. Barbara Kaminsky (above) and others labored in the kitchen without actually seeing the event in order that the dinner might be a success.
Also shown in the kitchen during intermission were Miss St. Jacques and one Miss Fiona Garretson (above left). Moments after the photo was taken, Miss St. Jacques was "dead", her fan club was disconsolate (above right), and Miss Garretson had managed to become one of the prime suspects in the "murder".
It was at this point that the finger pointing began (photo above). Character actor "Melvyn" accused Fiona of Miss St. Jacques's murder and Fiona in turn accused Melvyn. In reality, it was Melvyn who "dunnit" and Fiona was completely exonerated. Glad to report that there were no arrests and at the end of the program everyone left the building under their own power - including Miss Lilly St. Jacques! All's well that ends well!
Above left, Andrew Michael Steffaro was the youngest attendee and one of the few men at the event. Andrew is shown with his unofficial babysitters, Meredith and Fiona Garretson. Prizes were given toward the end of the "Mystery" Tea for the most elaborate and unusual teapots and the most elaborate and unusual hats. Above right, Kim Silva Bell (extreme right foreground) won the contest for the most elaborate hat hands down!
Above, your cast of characters!
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Copyright © 2005, Saints Peter and Paul Orthodox Church, South River, NJ
