Church tea benefits St. Winefride's Guild

Young models displayed fashions at St. Edward's annual Mother's Day Tea. Photo by John Hartsfield

Last Saturday, St. Edward the Martyr Catholic Church hosted its third annual Mother's Day weekend tea and fashion show for more than 100 participants.

Proceeds went to benefit St. Winefride's Guild, which is associated with the St. Winefride's Garden recently established at the church.

The highlight of the tea was a fashion show coordinated by Marcia Rietmann, Tara O'Keefe Broadbent and Nancy Uppendahl.

With a theme of "current trends on the golf links," fashions for the event were chosen from selections available at the Black Butte Golf Shop and Big Meadow Pro Shop.

The models, all Sisters High School students, included Jenny Boswell, Maureen Broadbent, Mackenzie McClain, Kayla Krumvieda, Jeff Boswell, Jawan Davis and Wes Hodson.

They were coached by Loraine Phifer, a former model and retired teacher. Rose Slavkovsky and Torie Smith served as narrators for the fashion event.

The menu for the tea included salmon and watercress pinwheels, fresh herb heart savories, chicken salad croissants, apricot orange scones, and several other gourmet offerings and desserts.

The St. Winifride's Guild was formed last fall to help fund church and community needs, to provide periodic retreats, and to coordinate efforts for the care and maintenance of St. Winefride's Garden.

The garden is named for a little-known Welsh saint whose shrine in Holywell, Wales, encompasses a spring said to have healing powers. At St. Edward's, the centerpiece of the garden is a meandering water feature that includes a seven-foot rock waterfall.

Waters from the shrine in Wales were mingled with those of the garden when the facility was completed in 2001 and dedicated to victims of terrorism.

The garden is surrounded by 34 pine logs hand-carved into the images of the patron saints of each Catholic parish in Eastern Oregon.

Much of the gardening work has been accomplished by Guild members Cathy Ehlers, Janena Nichols and Gail Larsen.

The garden is open to the public most days and may be reserved for retreats and other special events.

Part of the proceeds from the tea and fashion shows of the previous two years were used to create the quilted Stations of the Cross which are now in use at the church.

The tea concluded with a raffle of prizes donated by numerous businesses, parishioners and local artists.

The two-hour event was coordinated by Joanie Hartsfield and Mary Giraudo.

For further information about St. Winefride's Garden or Guild, contact 549-9391.