First Church West Virginia Mission Festival Update

Some of the performers visiting Bedford for First Church’s West Virginia Mission Festival on Saturday, January 14 – Courtesy image (c) all rights reserved

Submitted by First Church of Christ Congregtional

Our first West Virginia Mission Festival will be held on Saturday, January 14, 2017 at the First Church of Christ, Congregational in Bedford, 25 The Great Road. Drop in any time from 3:00 PM – 9:00 PM. The suggested entrance donation for this fundraiser is $10/person or $20/family. The Festival includes:

Appalachian Music & Storytelling (4 PM, 5 PM, 6 PM, 7 PM)– One of the premier highlights of the First Church Mission Fair will be live Appalachian music and storytelling about West Virginia culture and the challenging economic environment citizens are facing today. It will also focus on the opportunities available for mission work as partners in a shared journey to bring hope and optimism back to a naturally beautiful and amazing part of our country. The Mission Festival’s music program will feature four active musicians from West Virginia, including Tim Mainland and Maggie Jusiel (board members of the Appalachian South Folklife Center in Pipestem Knob, WV), and Lori McKinney and Robert Blankenship (owners of the RiffRaff Arts Collective in Princeton, WV).
“Cake Walks” ($5/each, 5 winners each time)– Participate in walking to win a cake or maybe a promised dessert at a later date. A cake walk is similar to musical chairs.
Arts and Crafts Sale – Go to the Arts & Crafts area where you can purchase items from West Virginia and from our own handicrafters.
Baked Items/Food Sale– Purchase baked items, soups, and more from our food table to take home with you.
Raffles– Check out all the raffle items we will have.
Children’s Activities (no extra charge) – Bring your children to Lower Fellowship Hall where they can make hankie dolls, color pictures of things relating to WV, learn about fiddles, play games,and more. At 3:30 PM they can participate in a cupcake walk (think musical chairs – with a cupcake as the prize!). At 5 PM and 6 PM the musicians will visit with the children and play music for them.Children’s activities are included with the free-will door donation.
Our Southern Style Dinnerwill be available beginning at 4 PM – (pulled pork; hotdogs; cole slaw, vegetarian chili, beans and cornbread, biscuits and gravy, desserts); $6/child; $12/adult or just dessert for $5. Come sample the great cooking of our First Church chefs and listen to some great music while you enjoy your dinner!

We take credit cards!

Our goal is to raise money to help fight poverty in West Virginia through a wide variety of strategies, including home repairs and improvements, after school education programs, and art and music programs to inspire young minds. 100% of the net proceeds will support our mission in West Virginia. This work has been going on for three years, and supports the work of a growing list of inspiring nonprofit partner organizations in West Virginia, including:

Beginning with the Festival date and continuing to the end of June, we will be collecting books for Kindergarten-Grade 5 children. Bring a new or gently used book with you and leave it in the collection box.

Come, learn about our mission work in West Virginia, eat dinner, listen to live music, participate in the raffle, play the cake walk! Bring the kids to discover the children’s activities. Bring your neighbors and friends.

We hope to see you there!If you can’t make the event you can still help by donating money to our West Virginia program using any major credit card or your own personal PayPal account. Go to our website, https://www.firstchurchbedford.org, and click on the link to the Mission Festival. The Donate Now button is located at the bottom of that page.

Parking is available behind the church. We are handicapped accessible. For more information about First Church Bedford’s West Virginia Mission Festival, call the church office, 781-275-7951, 9 AM to 4 PM Monday through Friday.