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Immanuel Baptist "On the Journey" Articles |
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| On the Journey Wanted: Bazaar People The first Saturday of November is the day—the Bazaar Day. It will be a big day! Hundreds of people will be waiting at the Sycamore entrance for the doors to open. A brass ensemble will attempt to calm the crowd with Christmas music. Security (a man with a big stick) will be required to keep the crowd from storming the door. In less than 10 minutes, shoppers will be scooping up all kinds of Christmas crafts, floral arrangements, holiday wreaths, and homemade goodies. There will be fierce bidding on artwork and handmade quilts. Bargain hunters and antiquers will search diligently through the trash and treasures. The crowd will be so noisy you will not be able to hear yourself think. By 10:30, folks will be arriving for the first of two sessions for lunch. They will enjoy a delicious lunch serenaded by carolers dressed in Dickens era costumes. Cashiers will gladly take the money for bazaar items. Have you every wondered how we get to Bazaar Day? Well, it will take a whole week just to get ready for Saturday morning, 4 November 2006. On Monday morning, 30 October, at 8, we will receive tables and supplies from Wagner Moving and Storage. A group of hearty volunteers will arrive to put up tables, to erect curtains separating the areas, to carry tables into the gym for trash-and-treasure, and to dutifully obey the Bazaar ladies who will tell them where to put everything. By 1 o’clock on Monday, the Bazaar ladies will begin putting out the merchandise. There will be beautifully decorated Christmas trees, thematic tables, hanging quilts, and delicious baked goodies. Some brave Bazaar ladies will be assessing the value of the priceless items in trash-and-treasure. Just the right display will assist in getting top dollar for these jewels. All week long, the Bazaar ladies will make adjustments to the displays. On Thursday, the kitchen crew will get to work with a thorough cleaning of the kitchen area. Food preparation will begin in earnest on Friday. By 7, on Saturday morning, volunteers will be taking there places for the grand event. It will take 50 to 60 volunteers to assist shoppers, to ring-up the sales, to serve the meal, to wait tables, and to assist folks to their cars with the “big” items. Yet, this is not when the Bazaar work begins. Faithful Bazaar folks have been diligently working since February. Almost every single Wednesday, February through October, there are folks painting, crafting, pricing, and dreaming up new items to make. There are sewing days when some Bazaar ladies are making quilts. There are Bazaar workdays on Saturdays throughout the year for painting, floral arrangements, and construction. It is hard to estimate the volunteer hours devoted during these months. How much money does the Bazaar raise you may ask? Well, let’s look at the last five years—2005: $12,263.51; 2004: $10,802.42; 2003: $11,500.00; 2002: $8,388.82; and 2001: $8,035.09; What did this money go for you may ask? The proceeds from the Bazaar sustain and support our outreach ministries. Over the past five years, The Life of Christ in Living Pictures, the Immanuel Preschool, the Youth Mission Trips, the Johenning Center, and Share the Joy have received portions of the proceeds. This year the proceeds with go to the Immanuel Preschool, the Life of Christ in Living Pictures, and the 2007 Youth International Mission Trip. If you have attended the Bazaar, you know what a wonderful day it is. Yet, sometimes it is amazing to consider how many members of Immanuel have never ventured into the church on that day. Some of us have missed the wonderful luncheon. A few folks secure a whole table for the luncheon and bring guests every year. It is an enjoyable day and the funds raised help sustain our mission initiatives. It is an event every member of Immanuel should attend more than once. Would you like to be involved in the Bazaar? Well, we are inviting you to join this Bazaar group. Maybe you cannot come to Bazaar days on Wednesday or Saturday, but you do have your special hobbies and things you create. Choose to make something and donate it to the Bazaar. There are folks who are never able to attend a workday, but they spend the whole year making things for the Bazaar. Homemade goodies—cookies, cakes, fudge—are snatched up quickly. Get in the kitchen and bake something for the Bazaar. If you do those needlepoint and crochet things, make something. Some folks even go out and buy a crafty Christmas item, and then donate it to be sold. If you don’t paint, craft, sew, or bake, come and volunteer for the day! If our Bazaar is going to continue to grow, more of us are going to have to invest ourselves in its success. Let’s make a commitment to keep a good thing going. Shirley Skaggs is chair of the Bazaar committee this year. Give her a call and tell her what you would like to do. If you prefer, just call the church office, and we will pass the information along to Shirley. It is easy to say that the success of the Bazaar is everybody’s responsibility. Unfortunately the folk wisdom is true—everybody’s job soon becomes nobody’s job. We need you for a really good cause!jamie |
Website last updated: Thursday, October 5, 2006 Website Related Questions/Comments: Chris Cash-ccash@vci.net |
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Immanuel Baptist Church - 3465 Buckner Lane - Paducah, KY, 42001 - 270.443.5306 - www.immanuel-paducah.org |