Edmundite Missions Festival provides free fun

Published 4:12 pm Friday, May 31, 2019

Friday afternoon, families flocked to the center of Hope on Broad Street to attend the 5th Annual Edmundite Missions Festival.

According to Edmundite Missions CEO Chad McEachern, the festival was born out of the same goal as all the other Edmundite programs, to provide a place to foster community for those they serve.

“The people we serve, particularly the children, often face so many trials each and every day,” said McEachern. “It’s important to have places and events where they can come together, have fun and experience the hope and joy of Christ.”

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The festival has continued to grow each year since its inception, last year’s festival saw 2,000 attendees.

“I haven’t counted the raffle tickets yet, but we may have set another record this year,” said McEachern. “It’s a such a joy to see our neighbors in larger and larger numbers continue to come to the Missions and celebrate being part of our family.”

The food, fun and games available at the festival were, as they are with all Edmundite programs, free.

McEachern stated that free, family friendly events, like the festival, are great for the morale of the Selma-Dallas County area.

“The people we serve face enough financial barriers and we want the festival to be a place like Bosco, where everyone is welcome and wanted regardless of financial ability,” he said. “Our community is a strong, faith-filled community but there are plenty of folks going through tough times. We need to create as many places and events as possible that show everyone they are worthy of dignity and inclusion because they are the Children or God, regardless of their financial situation.”

McEachern thanked all of the Edmundite Missions donors and partners in ministry for making the event possible.

“Just like every program we offer, this festival wouldn’t be possible without our donors, our amazing partners in ministry,” he said. “These are people from across the United States who care deeply about turning service into solutions for people in need in the Black Belt. They are the greatest blessing of the Missions.”