On Sunday June 1, Skidaway Community Church will kick off the summer with a churchwide picnic in memory of beloved founding member Bill Foster Jr.
Bill was generous with his time and talents, frequently volunteering at SCC and actively involved at The Landings Club. It was there that fellow SSC member Allan Pulaski got to know Bill, and his brother-in-law David Denhard. The trio soon became regular volunteers for the May and September picnics SCC would host annually. “They were a fun pair to hang around,” says Pulaski. “There was a lot of jokes and good humor around the grill and fryers during cook time- never any complaints except when David constantly kept bringing more chicken fingers to fry.” Bill enjoyed making and serving food for his church community and was a dedicated volunteer at the picnics from preparation to clean up.
Perhaps even more than his devotion to volunteering, Bill was known to be steadfast in his faith. The Foster family, including Bill’s parents (Bill & Peggy) and sister Linda Denhard (David), helped found SCC in 1977, known then as Skidaway Island Presbyterian Church. Bill could be seen in the same place each Sunday: the fourth pew from the back by the rear entrance of the sanctuary. He always arrived early for church so that he could prepare for the service. David recalls that Bill’s ritual included tearing up an old church bulletin into small strips of paper to bookmark pages in the pew bible of the scripture lessons chosen for the day. He would read and reflect on the passages and spend what time remained before the service greeting and talking with members as they filled the sanctuary.
Bill Foster Jr. left this world unexpectedly on June 10, 2011. His absence from the community was a deep void felt by many, but Bill would not expect nor want the church picnics to stop. During Allan’s first term as a Session Member, he proposed that the Annual Summer Church Picnic be called the Bill Foster, Jr. picnic to honor Bill Jr. and acknowledge an act of service that he enjoyed giving his time and talents to service others.
The Bill Foster Jr. Memorial Picnic welcomes SCC members and their families and friends for a time of food and fellowship following worship on Sunday, June 1. To ensure we have plenty of food, please register in advance at www.skidcc.org/picnic.