The first of the Festival Events, the St. David’s Belmont Chapel Golf Tournament, was a rousing success according to participants and organizers alike. The tournament took place on October 2, 2008, at Stoneleigh Golf Course in Round Hill, Virginia, and concluded with a fajita dinner, raffle and silent auction.

Andy Adams’ team took first place in the competition, with Hoby Patrick’s team placing second and Kevin Olivera’s team taking third. Additionally, Luke Lockhart won the Longest Drive competition, and Sam Chang won the Closest to the Pin challenge.

But even though everyone was keeping score, fellowship was paramount at the event. “I had a great time at the golf tournament. It was a lot of fun to get to know other parishioners outside of the church context. The golf, the dinner, the raffle, the auction; the whole day was great and I came out with a feeling of pride for my church and closeness with my fellow parishioners,” said Jonathan Stube.

The feeling of fellowship was not confined to those who chased the ball around the course. As Brad Rush said afterwards, “it was a great success in developing community and fellowship. The golfers raved about the great day they had, and the food was terrific. The prizes and awards were first class, and generated a great deal of interest. The profit made from the tournament will serve as great seed money for future community events.”

One goal of the tournament was to raise money for new and ongoing ministries and for the Belmont Chapel fund. The event raised around $3,800 for St. David’s, and was split according to the original allocation of Operating Funds (10%), Belmont Chapel (50%), and a local charity (40%).

The next Festival Event will be the Advent Festival on December 7, 2008.