Alternative Christmas Store
Even though the U.S. economy needs you to shop-til-you-drop this Christmas season, so do the causes supported by First United’s Alternative Christmas Store. The Alternative Christmas Store exists to help people and their family transform the holiday giving ritual, while at the same time providing the opportunity to connect directly with some of our First United mission partners.
We all know that the true meaning of Christmas revolves around the goodwill of giving. By choosing to shop at the Alternative Christmas Store, you will not only fulfill the tradition of giving a gift to a friend or family member, but will simultaneously be giving the gift of needed financial support for families living day to day.
If you are tired of buying gift cards, standing in checkout lines and stressing over what to buy, then please check out the wide variety of items and unique donation opportunities that the Alternative Christmas Store offers. Through various worker cooperatives around the world such as Colores del Pueblo and SERRV, and local organizations such as PADS and Women’s Guild, Alternative Christmas Store offers some wonderful handcrafted items along with soups, chocolate and coffee; and of course, Erie House pecans. And when shopping for those who neither want nor need anything, consider the variety of alternative giving options provided through the Church World Service organization.
Through the Church World Service, you can help provide needed materials around the world. Why not consider purchasing a school kit for children in Kenya, or buying a sewing machine for women in an Argentinean village? Other necessities such as tools, seeds, medicine, water purification tablets, blankets and water buffaloes provide others the life sustaining gifts that we so often take for granted in our own country. The Alternative Christmas Store will be open before and after worship on the four Sundays of Advent. Keep an eye out for the Alternative Christmas Store brochures, and for the December issue of Messenger Bell where we will highlight the mission partners and discuss ways to incorporate Alternative Christmas Store into your holiday ritual.
Contact: Laurie Jolicoeur, Beth Mrkvicka