 Perhaps it was God's way of blessing the activity that honors young
ladies locally and helps raise money for the Harvest of Talents
outreach program at Lincoln Christian Church.The "Over the
Rainbow" Princess Tea featured beautiful table decorations, a
special rainbow story, a dainty lunch for dainty young ladies,
delectable desserts, a craft activity and a dance.
Inside the gymnasium-sized worship center, tables had been set
up, with each one being uniquely decorated by the Harvest of Talents
volunteer who would serve as the hostess of that table for the day.
Among the many tables, there were beach themes, rainbow themes,
forest animal themes and many more.
The young ladies in attendance came dressed in their best attire,
which ranged from lovely "Sunday best" dresses to all-out princess
costumes and formal wear.
Many of the young ladies were accompanied by adults, including
mothers, grandmothers, aunts, cousins and family friends.
The day began with a few words from Julie King. King and her
husband, Barry, came up with the idea of the annual tea four years
ago. Since then, King has chaired the committee and acts as mistress
of ceremonies during the event.
Before lunch was served, the girls could sip raspberry tea or
pink lemonade from dainty cups. There were snacks on the table and
coloring activities as well.
After the morning prayer, guests were served finger sandwiches
with the crusts cut off, meatballs, "ants on logs" and pickles.
Dessert was served later and consisted of tiny cupcakes, Fruity
Pebbles squares and fresh fruit kabobs.
The hostess at each table also read aloud the "Rainbow Story."
The story talks about how one day all the colors of the earth
were arguing about which of them was the most important. Each color
had a reason for staking its claim as being most important.
Green was important because he was the color of plants and grass
that fed the animals and sustained life, but blue argued that he was
the color of sky and water that also sustained life.
Yellow said he was the color of the sun, the moon and the stars.
He represented gaiety, and without him life would be no fun.
Orange claimed to bring health and strength to the workers and
served the needs of human life.
Red claimed to be the color of life's blood, standing for danger
and bravery, saying that if not for him, the earth would be an empty
place.
Purple boasted he was the color of royalty, and when he spoke he
was always obeyed.
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Indigo claimed to be the color of silence and contemplation. He
told the others they were shallow, but he was deep.
As the colors in the story continued their boisterous fighting, a
clap of thunder and a flash of lighting filled the sky and the rain
poured down on all of them. The rain spoke to them, telling them
they are all special and serve unique and different purposes in
life. He ordered them to join hands and come up to the sky with him.
He then said that from now on when it rains, the colors are to
stretch themselves across the sky as a remembrance that they can all
live in peace. He told the colors that the rainbow would be a sign
of hope for tomorrow.
At the end of the story, the young ladies were reminded they are
all unique and different as well, but from now on when they see a
rainbow, they should take time to remember and appreciate one
another and those wonderful differences.
After the lunch dishes were cleared away by the hostesses, King
led the girls in creating a special "rainbow wand" that they could
take with them at the end of the day.
The final activity of the day was a time to get up and dance. The
girls all gathered on the south end of the auditorium and were
taught a new dance. Once they had the motions down pat, they danced
to music played on the sound system.
When the dancing was done, the day was considered to have come to
a close, but no one seemed to be in any big hurry to leave. Many of
the adults lingered to visit while the little girls played. Some
moms took the opportunity to use the nicely decorated stage as a
backdrop for taking pictures of their daughters. And some pitched in
to help the table hostesses clear the tables of their ornate
decorations, so the room would be ready for worship services the
following day.
Pat Snyder is a committee member who often sees to it that the
media has news releases announcing the event. This year she also
sent out information about the Princess Tea and how it would proceed
through the morning. In one of her emails she summed up the day by
saying: "It is a special day for the little princesses who come, and
a sweet blessing to less fortunate little princesses around the
world who will never know this kind of attention."
Lincoln Christian Church has been participating in Harvest of
Talents for World Hunger for many years. Throughout the calendar
year they host a number of events to raise money to provide food
products to impoverished countries. Without their help, children the
same age as these little princesses, and even younger, would die of
starvation on a daily basis.
[By NILA SMITH] |
