Cornerstone’s Glorious Giving Market focuses on mission
12-27-2008For the third consecutive year, members and friends of Cornerstone UMC, Jonesboro, have taken advantage of the opportunity to give gifts out of the ordinary at Christmas. The Glorious Giving Market provided a vehicle for people to purchase gifts for family and friends while they support a number of missions. For example, some chose to support Heifer Project by purchasing livestock in the name of a family member or friend.
In all, the Glorious Giving Market garnered nearly $9,000 in mission support.
From 10 a.m. until 3 p.m., interested area residents “went to market” to find out about seven different missions and to offer financial support to missions of their choice. They received cards to send to friends or relatives indicating gifts have been given in their honor to particular missions (in lieu of Christmas gifts).
Patricia Harlan, who leads the church’s Glorious Giving Market ministry, points out that such gifts really exemplify what Christians should focus on during Christmastide … keeping Christ in Christmas and spreading the word of Christ while giving help and hope to the less fortunate.
The missions included Heifer International; La Esperanza in Santiago, Chile; One Book Foundation in Tanzania, Africa; United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR); True Light Methodist Church in Sredneuralsk, Russia; Children’s Vision International in Bogota, Columbia; and Arkansas Methodist Family Health.
In addition to the mission booths, a number of other activities were included in daylong activities. There was a café serving a variety of foods, a bakery and a casserole booth that offered home-baked items as well as frozen casseroles.
Entertainment was provided by the Cornerstone Kids. Youth at the church sponsored a petting zoo and a variety of games for young children, and a number of church members presented a live nativity scene. A Christmas tree was decorated with ornaments, and each time mission gifts were purchased throughout the day, ornaments were added to the tree and a bell was rung.
