In order to achieve the same type of fellowship that a family would share on a normal Sunday afternoon, FC provided a family gathering on the North Field in the form of the FC Family Picnic, Oct. 23. All families were invited to participate in activities, which included food, games and community from 3-6 p.m.

Everything was free including a taco dinner, cotton candy, snow cones and popcorn. Other recreations included a cake walk, a pumpkin patch and multiple timed games.

The event was put on by the two organizations: the Parent Teacher Fellowship (PTF) and the Parents Serving Together (PST). Through donations of the many families in the FC community and fundraising all throughout the year the event was able to be free of costs for all families.

PST Co-President Hannah Serimian, a participant in the parent groups, helped put on the event. She was involved in the many fundraisers and events like the Sweet Tomato dinner, where some of the proceeds were allotted towards the picnic.

“We take a percentage of what we fundraise and put it towards this event,” Serimian said. “The parents are all so supportive of our fundraising efforts that we wanted to do something for them back. We had a lot of meetings and a lot of time was committed to this event.”

The goal of the event was to further this year’s theme, “We Are One,” by bringing community to the families on campus.

“Fellowship is our main goal,” Serimian said. “We are a family and we want to share in fellowship with the parents, faculty, and friends. We are all one big family.”

Superintendent Debbie Siebert appreciates the effort to include all ages of the FC community.

“This year, for the first time, the parent groups have joined forces to have a more united focus on a number of school social events,” Siebert said. “Our theme has inspired them to be more intentional about working together as often as possible.”

To meet the hopes of the organizations that planned the event, many families attended with their children. Kathy Weimer, another member of the parents organizations, contributed to the planning of the event and appreciated its turnout.

“I think it has gone very well,” Weimer said. “It’s been a big success, we had a great turnout. There are lots of families that are having a great time, as well as the kids enjoying all the fun stuff to do. We are all here to support Fresno Christian.”

Many volunteers helped to make all the booths possible, including parents and the student leadership class. Dianne Gramm, volunteer and member of the various campus parent groups, helped serve the taco dinner for the families throughout the evening.

“I think it has been a really fun picnic,” Gramm said. “It’s really nice how they were able to make everything free for people. You can see that people are having a great time.”

Student leadership member, Natalie Griffin, ’15, worked the pumpkin patch booth for several hours during the picnic.

“The picnic was part of student leadership and I had to participate,” Griffin said. “It was nice to see some of the new families, and my friends. I worked at the pumpkin patch, which was a little unsuccessful at first, but towards the end more people began buying.”

Griffin also enjoyed that all ages were able to attend the picnic, rather than an exclusive group of students.

“I’m glad that it was for all ages,” Griffin said. “I liked that there were elementary students and high school students. I actually got to work my booth with some elementary students, so it was nice to get to know them.

Eighth grade student Justin Houts enjoyed all the activities offered on the field as a way to connect families through fun.

“It’s a great time for the families to get connected,” Houtes said. “Everyone is able to hang out and have a good time. We can all grab some free food, play games and have fun together in community.”

The day provided a couple hours for families to get away from the daily routine and focus on fellowship.

“We wanted one day away from the normal,” Serimian said. “One day where it’s not about academics and not about sports, just to come and have fun with one another for free.”

For more information on FC events, check out the Oct. 24 article, Day provides glimpse of school life for grandparents.

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