Valentines Tea | SU Amatola

This event was the brainchild of Meryl Klopper, who is a valiant supporter of SU activities. She has a team of "prayer warriors" and under her leadership, they put the event together. A group of us spent Friday afternoon transforming the dining room at a local retirement home into a sparkling Valentine’s venue. The tables, decked in white cloths were scattered with gold and silver hearts and set off with red serviettes. Each table was topped with an array of red or white roses.

On Saturday morning the hosts and hostesses greeted their guests and soon the room was filled with a joyful crowd of over 200 people. A place was reserved near the front for 20 guests from the local frail care, whose attendance had been kindly sponsored. It was amazing to see how many people from many walks of life had an interest in Scripture Union. Meryl proved to be an excellent MC and got the proceedings off exactly on time and maintained the programme throughout. We were entertained during the morning by John James, a local doctor who also has a wonderful voice, his first song being "Memory" from "Cats"

A considerable number of prizes had been donated by local business and there was one spot prize per table. I told the gathering about the work of Scripture Union in the region, the local staff being guests on the top table. One of our invited guests, Robert Falconer, who is an architect, and is also studying for a PHD at a Theological College, gave a talk about origin of Valentine’s Day. The story had a fitting end for the occasion as he announced that he had recently become engaged. Tea then followed at the tables and each hostess had provided interesting savouries and sweetmeats. These were topped off by donuts that had been donated. It was a time to mingle and to get to know people.

Meryl brought the tea to a close on time. It had proved to be a joyous event with lots of networking. Local sponsors had been very generous and the event was a financial success. There was a cherry on the top as an extremely generous donor from Johannesburg had offered to pay in to double the amount raised!

Our heartfelt thanks go to the team who put the event together including the prayer team and the Amatola staff. Above all to Meryl Klopper whose vision and determination brought it all together.

Matthew Tarboton

SU Amatola Regional Director





Leading young people to know and walk with God