Special Days

Special Day was started in 1989 as an outreach to the community.

Donna Currie and Donna Halls led the group for some time with help from Donna Wilson. Around 1992 Eileen Renton took on a co-host role with Donna Currie for a time until Donna felt she could no longer commit her time. Eileen took over as leader and many of the church ladies became involved. While it is difficult to remember everyone, here is a list of most of the people who worked over the years. At first it was mostly women, but men became involved.

The list includes:
May Winfield, Dorothy Oldham, Abbie Gooding, Michelle Forsyth, Jane Van Dam, Mollie Mitchell, Jessie Slater, Avril Brown, Mary Eccles, Helen McGillivary, Emily Moodie,Cheryl Vickers,Darlene Brown, Anne Thompson, Ann Willis,Merle Wrightson, Nora Bowden, Margaret Beale, Myrna Duncan, Marg Hall, Louise Sharpe-Bergis, Eleanor Davidson, Gerri Jury, Ray Currie, Stuart Moodie, George McGillivary, Don Hunter, Fitz Bharath, Martin Van Dam, Ross Brown, Bob Renton, Gord Smith, George Forsyth, Rob Brown, Ruth Barnett, Rev. Karla and Rev. Herb. Gord Smith is especially remembered for his 9 day pickles which would last for the year.

The meat for the meals and the vegetables were purchased, but potatoes, cabbage salad, desserts were all donated. Every November a special Christmas meal was provided complete with turkey and special Christmas music. In later years this was reluctantly discontinued.

At first the "cost" of the meal was a freewill offering, but it became necessary to charge with the price going from $5 to $7 to $10 and eventually $12. In the last few years of Special Days, the program donated about $4,000 to the church after the food was purchased for each meal.

The last group of 9 or 10 volunteers were together for about 8 years (both men and women). The men usually set up the tables, carved the meat and ran the dishwasher.

It was a very successful outreach program. For many years the dinner was followed by a devotional time which was carried out by volunteers from the group or the congregation. After the devotionals, some of the guests would stay to play cards. Special Days ended in 2018 not for lack of attendance but because the volunteers were aging and felt they could just not continue. Special Days was missed by many in the community and by the workers who had formed a tight-knit group.

The pictures below show the volunteers for the last Special Days taking a break.
  

And then snapshots of folks in the kitchen.