We embrace generosity as a way of life: True wealth comes when we give our time and treasure.
Advent Village Saturday, December 1, 2018 10 am – 3 pm
What is Advent Village? An opportunity for the greater Allentown community to participate in an alternative experience to commercial Christmas shopping which creates awareness of and benefits the missions of the Allentown Presbyterian Church.
Who benefits? Purchasing a gift at Advent Village benefits the lives of people who are in need, in the name of a loved one, fulfilling our call to care for the members of the family of Jesus Christ. Mission team representatives determine creative ways to sell products or services which directly benefit those whom the mission team serves. Buyers receive Advent Village Christmas gift cards which explain the purchase made and the beneficiary of the gift. Through Advent Village, not only are we raising awareness of the works of the missions of our church family, but in 2016 we raised $25,376 in support of the missions of APC. Our seven year total for giving through Advent Village is $160,610.
Missions: The Allentown Presbyterian Church missions represented at Advent Village 2017 will be:
The Allentown Food Pantry, The Allentown Good Neighbor Fund, Crossroads Youth Ministry, HomeFront, Guatemala, and Villages in Partnership.
Environment: The hallway of the Education building is transformed into a Victorian village complete with Dickensian storefronts. The patrons visit six stores filled with friendly and knowledgeable “owners” who offer explanations and creative displays of their work in the various mission fields.
The Potter Room is home to Ye Olde Book Shoppe (supported by the Elementary Sunday School) and the Little Tree Bakery (supported by Little Tree Preschool). Ye Olde Book Shoppe is filled with books donated by the Sunday School families. The children also made various ornaments for sale on the Sunday School Mission Christmas Tree. Little Tree Bakery provides a cookie decorating table. The book sale proceeds from 2010-2016 allowed us to purchase 240 Spanish Children’s Bibles for the Guatemala mission and the Little Tree cookie sales and the Sunday School ornament sales benefitted the preschool missions in both Guatemala and Africa.
Entertainment: We present a potpourri of entertainment including the ROCK, Stepping Stones, and Youth Choirs from Allentown High School, and local talent, strolling minstrels, and the APC Orchestra and the APC Intergenerational Advent choir. These musical and dramatic talents provide lively entertainment while our patrons enjoy a wide selection of food at the APC Café!
Ye Olde APC Café: The Café is fabulous! Once again, many delicious and varied homemade breakfast. lunch, and dessert options will be provided. All food is donated and prepared by volunteers allowing the APC Café to donate 100% of sales to the APC Disaster Relief Fund.
The bottom line: Advent Village has been a success on so many levels. We have increased awareness of the missions of APC. We have contributed to a change in the way we think about “giving” at Christmas. We provided a day of fun and fellowship evidenced by our “lingering” shoppers. New friendships are formed and old ones strengthened. And, in the first seven years of the event, we have raised over $160,000.00 to help people in need locally and around the world. What a beautiful experience. Praise God!
We are very excited about this year’s event on Saturday, December 1, 2018: 10:00 am – 3:00 pm.
Come join us!
Here’s a link to the 2017 Advent Village Shopping List: AV 2017 Shopping List
