The 2024 Guild Silver Tea was held at the beautiful home of Janet and LaRue Coleman on Thursday, April 4, 2024. All who attended enjoyed experiencing the lovely home and landscaped grounds with peacocks providing an amazing background with their colorful feathers and presence. God blessed us all with a beautiful day of perfect temperature, blue skies and gentle breeze.

We are so thankful for Silver Stone Catering, Ronnie Siebert Florals, and the HCU Student Foundation who provided special services. Thank you to Dr. Dan Kramlich, who was our pianist for the day!

Special thanks and appreciation to our 2024 Silver Tea Chairs, Jane Caldwell and Susan Harris, their sub-committee chairs and all those who worked diligently to make this event a great success.
Additional thanks to Elizabeth Stevenson, her underwriting committee and the generous Guild members and friends who contributed to raising $90,000 for education and theology scholarships at Houston Christian University.

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The HCU Guild’s Silver Tea was held on April 20, 2023, at the lovely home of Kathleen and Darrell Pennington. Proceeds from this annual event, which was established in 1992, benefit The Guild’s graduate scholarships in the College of Education and Behavioral Sciences and the School of Christian Thought at Houston Christian University. The Silver Tea has its roots in the proper English Tea where a “Silver Bowl” was placed near the front door with a large coin in it in hopes that guests would contribute more coins. This year, The Guild wanted to emphasize the importance of the beautiful Silver Bowl and its symbolism. The Pennington’s home was absolutely lovely and very spacious to accompany all the guests. Everything from the beautifully set dining room to the infinity pool in the backyard provided the perfect setting for an afternoon tea.

Dr. Sloan presented a 1610 Geneva Bible page to the Pennington’s. They were very moved, for it is indeed a precious gift.

Elizabeth Stevenson is to be commended for the wonderful job with the underwriting portion of the Silver Tea. Thank you to her committee and all who contributed to the funding of these graduate scholarships. This year, a substantial gift from the Belin Foundation in memory of Guild past president Mary Ann Belin, along with the generosity of numerous underwriters, resulted in more than $90,000 being raised to support The Guild’s scholarship initiative.

The 2023 Silver Tea was chaired by Rhonda Ekholm and Pat Ingram. Many thanks to their sub-committee chairs and all those who worked diligently during this event. HCU’s Student Foundation was well represented and joined the committee members welcoming guests to the very successful 2023 Silver Tea.

Thanks to Sharon Saunders, Jeanne Walker, and Patti Bailey for their support and hard work. Also, a huge thank you to Michael Tims for the design of the invitation and to Ronnie Siebert for the gorgeous floral arrangements.

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The 2022 Silver Tea was held Thursday, April 7^th, a beautiful spring day at the home of Peggy Kostial.  With the years that COVID caused the Tea to be cancelled, this year the guests came and enjoyed the beautiful home, gorgeous flowers, and music heard from the study on one end of the home and a harpist in the family room at the other end.

Chairs, Marsha Eckermann and Claire Lawrence, greeted guests with joy and appreciation.  With such a lovely day, there was but one glitch.  There was no food.  With laughter and good humor, all waited patiently while the chairs faced the dilemma.  Silverstone quickly owned their mistake and scurried to deliver what they had.  With humor and grace, all appreciated a delicious fare and carried on with the genteel fellowship of the Guild.

Dr. Sloan presented a 1610 Geneva Bible page to Peggy which was quickly displayed in her beautiful dining room.

Thanks to underwriting chair, Linda Higginbotham, and her committee, more than $90,000 was raised for the traditional Guild scholarships.

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The Guild Silver Tea was held on April 11 in the historic River Oaks home of Peter and Elizabeth Wareing who very graciously opened their lovely home for this event. HCU President Robert Sloan and First Lady Sue Sloan, along with the Wareings, welcomed guests.

Co-chairs Cookie Peeler and Ruth Ann Williamson began their efforts to prepare for the event in June of 2018 as they worked to assemble their committee chairs and their respective committee members. Linda Higginbotham, chair of the underwriting committee, along with her committee members, very successfully spearheaded fundraising efforts for graduate scholarships which will be awarded to deserving students in HCU’s School of Education and School of Christian Thought. Silver Stone Catering provided a delectable and beautiful array of sweet and savory refreshments. Representatives of the HCU Student Foundation assisted in moving guests through the home and adjoining outdoor garden space.

The Silver Tea was enjoyed by all in attendance, and special gratitude is extended to the Wareings, all committee members, and donors who ensured the success of the event.

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The Guild Silver Tea

On Thursday, April 12, 2018 more than 100 Guild members and their guests gathered at the beautiful home of Diana and Todd Brock for The Guild Silver Tea. Proceeds from this annual event, which began in 1992, provide scholarships for HCU graduate students. This year, thanks to the generosity of Guild members and friends, more than $76,000 was raised to support this scholarship initiative.

Dr. Jennifer Ferguson and Marsha Eckermann were Co-chairmen of this event, with Debra Perich serving as the Underwriting Chairman. A committee of thirty-plus volunteers assisted in planning, executing all details, and serving as greeters, along with HCU’s Student Foundation who joined in welcoming guests to this very successful Silver Tea.

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The HCU Guild’s Silver Tea was held on Thursday, April 6, 2017. This stately home provided an elegant setting for this annual event which began in 1992 as an opportunity to provide scholarships for HCU graduate students. More than two hundred Guild members and their guests gathered, not only to support this scholarship initiative, but also to honor Sue Sloan in recognition of her tenth anniversary as HCU’s First Lady.  The generous gifts from our Guild membership, as well as those from the HCU community, yielded an unprecedented milestone.

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The honoree for the 2016 Silver Tea was our own Patti Bailey. She certainly deserves special recognition for her dedication to The Guild and the special touches she adds that ensure all Guild events are successfully coordinated. Congratulations to Patti!

The Silver Tea was held at the lovely Memorial home of Rhonda and Michael Graff on April 14. The Graffs were very gracious and welcoming on a beautiful spring afternoon. Everyone enjoyed the fun, food, and fellowship.

Lynn Tyger and Jeanne Walker worked tirelessly in assuring that the details were coordinated with their committee chairs in making the Silver Tea a memorable and special occasion. Faye Dunwoody was again responsible for the lovely artwork on the invitations.

Debra Perich and the Underwriting Committee are to be commended for the fantastic job with the underwriting portion
of the Silver Tea as are all the committee chairs who so willingly fulfilled their responsibility to make the Silver Tea an unforgettable event.

The Silver Tea served as the culminating event in a year of giving and sharing. Everyone was in a festive mood in their spring attire and celebration of all the Guild represents! Thanks to all who collaborated to make this possible.

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This year’s Silver Tea was held in the beautiful home of Melissa and Brad Juneau in Houston’s historical neighborhood of Broadacres.  The home is French in architecture and décor, filled with stunning French antiques.  Mrs. Juneau was very gracious and helpful in opening her home to us.

Our special honoree this year was our own Sharon Saunders, Executive Director of the Guild, Chief of Staff to the President and Vice President for University Relations. She is an invaluable counsel to the Guild and the guiding light with her wisdom, her grace, and her love for the University and for the leadership she has given the Guild in shaping it into the outstanding organization it is today.  The Guild and the members are very fortunate to have this outstanding leader. The tea this year also commemorated the 40^th anniversary of The Guild.

Silver Tea 2015, chaired by Colleen Fellows and Tommie Lejeune, was by all accounts a stunning success.  We wish to thank all those who worked to make this event such a success.

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Wednesday, April 2, 2014 … what a glorious day for The Guild Silver Tea … and a fun day, as well! The house was fabulous … the food was delicious … the music was perfect … and the Lord answered our prayers giving us great weather as we gathered together to honor Judy Graham for her Christian leadership and commitment to HCU and The Guild. Those attending celebrated a wonderful atmosphere of Christian fellowship.

Jana and Scott Arnoldy opened their beautiful home to The Guild with kindness and hospitality to raise scholarship dollars for HCU’s School of Education and School of Christian Thought. In addition, Jana Arnoldy created floral arrangements and placed them throughout the house and grounds to be enjoyed by all.

Co-Chairs, Donna Goeser and Cheryl Kaminski, along with their committees, planned it down to the wire and considered every detail, including the selection of delicious and elegant foods by Silver Stone Events. Faye Dunwoody used her many talents to create a beautiful invitation, which is the first introduction to the Silver Tea. And what a fabulous introduction it was! The beautiful guitar music by Latin Guitarist, Guillermo Serpas, could be enjoyed by everyone whether mingling inside the house or outside on the grounds. It was a perfect day for a Silver Tea!

We are extremely blessed with a wonderful President and First Lady, Robert and Sue Sloan, to work with and support in this great endeavor for HCU. We are also very thankful to the underwriters and donors who have made this year’s Silver Tea and our Guild Scholarship Program a success!

“To God Give The Glory Great Things He Hath Done!”

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The Lord blessed us with the most beautiful weather on Thursday, April 11, as Guild members and their guests gathered to honor Mary Ann Belin and Faye Dunwoody and to celebrate the 22^nd annual Silver Tea.  Spring flowers were abundant and the ladies enjoyed visiting in the beautiful setting of the River Oaks home of Vicki and Ken Douglas.  More than 200 guests arrived to celebrate the traditional afternoon tea.   Thanks to the generosity of many members and friends, more than $75,000 was raised to fund scholarships for graduate education and theology majors at HBU.  Co-Chairs Angie Angel, Ann Beeson and Carolyn Williams worked tirelessly on this special project, along with their many committee members and committee chairs, including Nancy Shomette and the Underwriting Committee. We extend a very special thank you to our Underwriters, as well, for the contributions to our scholarship fund.   Harpist, and HCU graduate, Deborah O’Donnell, made the afternoon complete with her beautiful music selections, and the delicious delicacies were catered by Silver Stone Events.  This was, indeed, a glorious day!  “This is the day the Lord hath made … let us rejoice and be glad!”

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It wasn’t long after Suzie Miller set the flowers in place, Ruth Terry brought in the delicious food, the valet personnel, Deborah O’Donnel our harpist, and all 9 committee chairs arrived with their teams setting the wheels in motion for our 2012 Silver Tea on April 12th.  The lovely home of Sheryl and Doug Bech was now ready as we honored Linda Higginbotham and Allene Lucas for their Christian leadership and dedication to The Guild.

Our Silver Tea chair, Ruth Alford, was delighted as this annual event raised more than $81,000 for graduate scholarships in the School of Education and Theology by members and friends of The Guild.  We have been so blessed.  This was indeed a very special day.

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A perfect sunny day greeted guests at the River Oaks home of Mr. and Mrs. Ronald Cuenod who hosted this year’s annual Silver Tea on March 3, 2011. The beautiful home overflowed with the generous sponsors and supporters who made this year’s fundraising effort for The Guild’s graduate education scholarship program a success. It was truly a memorable day due to the outstanding work of the many committee members.

Co-Chairs:  Peg Harman and Jan Witham
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The sun was shining on Thursday, March 11, as Guild members and their guests gathered to honor Grace Gandy and to celebrate the 18th Silver Tea. Sue Nan and Rod Cutsinger opened their River Oaks home to more than 250 “Angels” for the traditional afternoon tea. Thanks to the generosity of many members and friends, more than $90,000 was raised to fund graduate scholarships for Christian classroom teachers. A special thank you to the many committee members who worked tirelessly on this special project.  This was, indeed, a glorious day.

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The Silver Tea was enjoyed at the Morris Cultural Arts Center, with Joella Morris as Honorary Hostess and Honorary Chairs, Linda Dunham and Nan Schissler.

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The Silver Tea was hosted at the home of Elysse and Bob Lanier.

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