one of my joys so far on internship has been exploring and embracing the connections that immanuel has to other congregations and organizations. as a congregation in kansas city, we partner with and support organizations like westport cooperative services, communities creating opportunity, metropolitan lutheran ministries, and hollis renewal center, to name a few. we also connect with our sister and cousin congregations like children’s memorial, st. james catholic church, and st. mark hope and peace.
this connection with st. mark hope and peace has been especially clear lately as i’ve had the opportunity to help take applications there for the mlm christmas store, which will take place at immanuel. the other strong connection i have enjoyed is the partnership for lessons and carols, which will take place on december 9th at 3pm at st. mark hope and peace. while lessons and carols has been put on by another group in the past, this year there is a small and strong group of us working on it.
my role in this group involves coordinating and collecting donations for the silent auction. the silent auction this year will likely be different from other silent auctions you may have experienced in the past. instead of relying only on expensive donations like trips to mexico (which we will definitely accept if it's offered), we are relying on a variety of donations.
in our seminary community, we don't necessarily have much money or financial resources for big ticket items at silent auctions, so usually what shows up are things people made, offers for dinners, skills in teaching or tutoring, etc. having attended my fair share of silent auctions, i realize that silent auctions are 1-more fun and 2-more effective when more people are involved both on the donating and bidding sides.
in our kansas city community we have many gifted people and as we’ve been finding out our strengths and gifts for ministry at immanuel, i’ve been realizing how many wonderful gifts this community has to offer. because there is such abundance in this community, our silent auction will reflect that diversity. thus far, we're looking at donations of massages, lessons in how to change a toilet or play the harp, gifts, training sessions on computer/internet programs like facebook (privacy settings, anyone?), excel, dropbox, blogspot, etc., baked goods, dinners, cookies every month for a year, consultations, yoga class, house cleanings, babysitting, etc. when we actually get down to business, the possibilities are endless!!
i am really excited about lessons and carols all on its own, but with the creative collaborations going on for the silent auction especially, i'm now ridiculously excited. this is also your warning, if you're interested in bidding on anything, i might be willing to right your bid down (and if it's something i'm donating, i could probably do/make an extra whatever you bid on, to make sure you can get it) and bid by proxy for you if you're not in the kc area.
if you want to help support the awesome ministries of st. mark hope and peace and st. james catholic church and would like to donate something for the silent auction, please let me know and i'm happy to coordinate your donation for you! if you are around or thinking about coming around, aim for december 9th at 3pm and i will see you at what is sure to be an amazing lessons and carols!
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