ALIQUIPPA, Pa., (BRN) – On Saturday, November 15, the women of Christian House Baptist Chapel (CHBC) in Aliquippa, Pennsylvania, hosted their third annual Christmas Blessing Bazaar.
The goal each year is twofold: 1) provide gently used items free of charge to the surrounding community in hopes that those who struggle financially will be able to provide Christmas gifts for their families and 2) create the opportunity for Gospel conversations.
Each year praying and planning begins in early fall. Advertising begins in local businesses, township offices, churches and community service organizations. Donations are solicited by invitation only and are received for a designated period. The week prior to the Bazaar is “GO” time. This is when each of the CHBC ladies transforms their assigned spaces into festive boutiques. Some work alone according to their availability, while others arrive together bringing a brown bag lunch to enjoy a day of fellowship and fun. Each boutique is staged in classic Macy’s-esque fashion so that customers feel pampered while they shop.
Boutiques include Kid’s Top-Secret Shoppe (where kiddos shop for family members), Home Décor, Kitchen Items, Linens, Christmas Décor, Winter Wonderland (outerwear for all ages), Toyland (where grown ups shop secretly for the kiddos) and the Blessing Boutique, which is open year round and features clothing and shoes for women, teen girls, children and babies.
Shoppers are encouraged to relax in the Christmas Café (one half of the fellowship hall), which offers a light breakfast, cookies, coffee and hot cocoa. This also provides the CHBC folks with an opportunity to chat and have meaningful conversations.
When the event is over, leftover merchandise is boxed and taken by the CHBC menfolk to an area thrift store. An extra blessing this year was the distribution of loaded backpacks graciously provided by the ministry of North Carolina Baptists on Mission and Dewey and Kathy Aiken, Baptists on Mission on-site coordinators for the Pennsylvania partnership.
It’s important to remember that it doesn’t take a large congregation to coordinate an event. CHBC is a small, country church with a big heart that strives to make significant Jesus contributions to its sphere of influence. Be encouraged. Think broad. Pray big. With Jesus, the sky’s the limit.
