Vawter’s Daughters

The Vawters’ Daughters gathering on the first Friday evening of each month is an informal affair attended by women of the congregation. Active members, regular attendees, and visitors alike are always welcome.

The gatherings started with a couple of dinners in the late 1990s to introduce the wife of our new pastor to the women in the congregation. From there, it blossomed into a great way to socialize on a regular basis.

The new group initially met at a restaurant for dinner, drinks, and delightful diversion. One evening, after a few drinks, someone mentioned the name of an historic First Pres family: Vawter. A riff ensued, and, voila! “Vawters’ Daughters” became the official name – we being the spiritual offspring of the church founders, Emma and Jennie Vawter. The group’s name also rhymes nicely.

The next iteration of the social event was to move to in-home potluck dinners to allow for a more intimate and less expensive experience. Soon afterward, the gatherings were organized using Evite.

Occasionally, the gatherings centered around a theme, such as a mid-century cuisine (which was so bad it was funny), donuts (when the first Friday in June one year fell on National Donut Day), or a holiday (Valentine’s Day and Halloween among the favorites). Almost always, December brought a lively gift exchange that included thievery and trickery as participants aimed to go home with their favorite gift. (Yes, we realize this is conduct unbecoming of church ladies.)

With the first lockdown of the pandemic in 2020, Vawters’ Daughters gathered mostly via Zoom for a couple of years, with a few people occasionally gathering in-person at someone’s home. But we’re back in person again – and so happy to celebrate our Vawter heritage with First Pres friends – old and new.

Don’t be shy! We’d love to have you join us.