Advent Village 2021 is now open and for the entire month of December!
Christmas greetings!
What is Advent Village? It’s an opportunity to participate in an alternative experience to commercial Christmas shopping which creates awareness of and benefits those served through the missions of the Allentown Presbyterian Church. Purchasing a gift at Advent Village benefits the lives of people who are in need, in the name of your loved one, helping us to care for God’s family.
In 2020, in response to the confines of the pandemic, we conducted Advent Village strictly by catalog and we were amazed and blessed by the generosity of our donors. While we are moving in the right direction, we are still in a time of uncertainty so, like last year, Advent Village 2021 will be by catalog throughout the month of December.While we are unable to gather in person, we can still make a difference in the lives of many. Our goal is to provide you with opportunities to help people in need all around the world with a gift of any size. Advent Village provides creative, “alternative” gifts to candles, ugly sweaters, and ties; to candy, video games, and mugs. Life-giving gifts such as rent, food baskets, diapers, stoves, goats, immunizations, wells, and homes …gifts that will truly change and bless the lives of those in severe need.
Is this the year God is calling you to think differently about gift giving; to support and share the idea of selfless giving and receiving through which we receive an unexpected and different type of gift: the blessing that comes from helping others?
The APC missions represented at Advent Village 2021 are The Allentown Food Pantry, The Allentown Good Neighbor Fund, Crossroads Youth & Young Adult Ministry, Guatemala, HomeFront, Villages in Partnership, and the Presbyterian Church (USA).
We invite you to “visit the stores” or missions of APC via brief videos (see the videos below or use the QR codes in the catalog). Spending just a few minutes with our missionaries will provide you with insight into the enormous amount of powerful and meaningful works being done for the least in God’s kingdom near and far.
“I assure you that when you have done it for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you have done it for me.” Matthew 25: 35-40
If you’d like an Advent Village Christmas card to accompany your gift, please click here to print.
Wishing you a blessed Christmas…
Maureen Harshman
Director of Children and Family Ministry/Advent Village Coordinator
Advent Village Coordinator
Visit The Stores
Catalog
Shopping List & Check Out
Click on “Download PDF” for a complete list of the items available in the store. To order online with your credit card click on “Check Out”. If you prefer to pay by check please print out the PDF and mail it in.
Printable Christmas Card
Click the Advent Village Christmas card below to receive a downloadable version that you can print to share your gift with your loved one.
If you need assistance or would like us to print a copy for you, please contact Lizzy at lizzy@allentownpresbyterian.org or 609-259-7289.
Thank You!
The History of Advent Village:
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 2020 we raised $18,700 in support of the missions of APC. Our eleven year total for giving through Advent Village is $262,771.
Missions: The Allentown Presbyterian Church missions represented at Advent Village 2021 are our local missions: The Allentown Food Pantry, The Allentown Good Neighbor Fund, Crossroads Youth and Young Adult Ministry, and HomeFront, and our international missions in Guatemala and Africa (Villages in Partnership). New this year, you can support the efforts of the Presbyterian Church (USA) through their “Disaster Assistance” program.
Environment: In a typical year, 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 usually make various ornaments for sale on the Sunday School Mission Christmas Tree. Little Tree Bakery provides a cookie decorating table. The book sale proceeds from 2010-2019 allowed us to purchase over 300 Spanish Children’s Bibles for the Guatemala mission and the Little Tree cookie sales and the Sunday School ornament sales have benefited the preschool missions in both Guatemala and Africa.
Entertainment: We enjoy presenting a potpourri of entertainment including the ROCK and Stepping Stones Choirs of APC, local talent, strolling minstrels, and APC adult choirs, and the smooth Christmas Jazz of Enoch Smith, Jr. Special guests often include The Allentown High School select choir: Half and Half! 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! Usually, we are enjoying many delicious and varied homemade breakfast, lunch, and dessert options. All food is donated and prepared by volunteers allowing the APC Café to donate 100% of sales to the missions.
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 provide a day of fun and fellowship evidenced by our “lingering” shoppers. New friendships are formed and old ones strengthened. And, in the first eleven years of the event, we have raised over $262,000 to help people in need locally and around the world. What a beautiful experience. Praise God!
