Brothers and sisters,
Last Saturday, May 18th, our church hosted a community yard sale. The preparation took months as folks brought in gently used items to sell. Over the last two months in particular, Robin and I would get at least one phone call per week letting us know that someone was coming with a trunk full of stuff for the yard sale and asking if we’d help them unload it. We always did and I appreciated the time it gave us to get to talk with you all and hear the stories behind some of the items you donated.
In addition to those months of build-up, the week before the yard sale was itself a busy, but good time of fellowship. The Wednesday and Thursday before the sale were particularly fun days to be at the church because there was so much buzz, so much energy surrounding what was going to happen on Saturday. And so much good, faithful work was done by all the volunteers who came out those days—moving, sorting, organizing, and pricing every single item that had been donated.
In addition to the yard sale itself, we had a bake sale that benefitted Hope House. So many people in our congregation baked so many wonderful treats and sweets for that sale, which ended up bringing in $300 to continue to support refugees and their families. People also chipped in with snacks and finger foods for the volunteers so that we never had to worry about breakfast or lunch—the church had us covered!
At the yard sale itself, I saw so many people getting excited for the things they had found. Children were walking out the door with stacks of children’s books, along with some toys. Parents were walking out with armfuls of clothes for themselves or their kids. Place settings, picture frames, furniture, and the sorts of random things one only finds at a yard sale walked out as well.
I also saw church members enjoying being around each other and being around the community. We ran into people we knew from previous ministries we’d worked on together. We connected with people over shared interests and the items that go along with those interests. And I saw church members reconnecting with each other after not seeing each other for a while.
And, once the sale was over and the boxes had been packed, a local non-profit organization in need of items for their own clothing closets and community centers came in and took everything away in order to keep blessing our community. That connection was made simply because one of their leaders saw our sign on Thursday and had the initiative to come and ask if we could work together on this.
In the end, the yard sale raised about $1,800 for our church’s capital campaign fund. That in and of itself is wonderful! But I’m also still buzzing over what an overall good day it was. Good work was done in a faithful way to bless our community. That good work brought us all together with friends old and new and connected us with other brothers and sisters in Christ working on behalf of our community. God is good, y’all. All the time, God is good.
Grace and peace,
Pastor Ben