More than three decades ago in 1988, the Laura Jones Circle of the United Methodist Women (UMW) embarked on a journey to bring awareness of the need to increase church funds allocated for mission projects. Betty Warstler, UMW chair, led the group in brainstorming ideas and together these ladies worked to organize the first church-wide yard sale, dubbed Christmas in July, raising more than $7,500 for missions!
Later morphing into the First United Methodist Church’s Annual Bazaar, this flagship fundraiser held every July, is now sponsored by the entire congregation and has grown leaps and bounds raising more than $750,000 to date to provide funds for local, regional, national, and global mission work. Just a sampling of the organizations and areas that mission funds have contributed to include: CareNet, Reach, UMCOR Disaster Relief, Free Dental Clinic, Health Clinic, Rise Against Hunger, KIDS Place, Macon Program for Progress-Holiday Angels, youth mission trips, No Wrong Door Homeless Shelter, as well as requests from groups in the community seeking funds for grants focused on helping those in need.
Originally called Christmas in July, this year’s annual FUMC Bazaar, Franklin’s largest yard sale, is bigger than ever with thousands of items taking over the buildings at the Macon County Fairgrounds on July 18 and 19. Everything from furniture and household goods to toys and jewelry is categorized much like a department store. New or gently used items are available at the Silent Auction and Treasurer’s booths. All articles, gadgets, and thingamajigs are sorted into like areas, i.e. clothing, kitchen, books/DVDs, linens, crafts, sports, electronics/hardware, plants/garden/pets, Christmas/seasonal, produce, and bakery. Lunch and snack options will be available on-site. A perfect place for one-stop shopping at reasonable prices for a good cause as all monies raised will go to missions.
Collections of goods for the Bazaar kicked-off in early February as work crews started sorting the many repurposed donations, picking up furniture, and organizing items. The FUMC Bazaar leadership team/booth chairs began meeting to oversee all phases of the event and, new this year, several local churches were invited to provide volunteers to assist in Bazaar work, making it truly a community effort.
Mark your calendars so you don’t miss this year’s 36th Annual Bazaar – Friday, July 18, from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. and Saturday, July 19, from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. held at the Macon County Fairgrounds, 1436 Georgia Road, Franklin. For more information, visit FUMC’s website at firstumcfranklin.org or contact the church office (828)524-3010.
Submitted by Theresa Ramsey