Holiday Lunch and Mini Bazaar

     The holiday lunch and bazaar is an off-shoot of an event that has been going on for years and years at Burley FCC. At it’s peak, the then “Harvest Dinner” was serving several hundred people and conflicted with the dates that several other churches offered similar community events. Today, the meal is still a time of getting together and breaking bread with friends during the holidays. The meal is for a free will offering. The weather was not in our favor this year, but the brave and hearty who ventured out still enjoyed our time together serving soups and cinnamon rolls.

   The mini bazaar began in part to sell jewelry, skirts, and other handmade items made in the DR Congo to support the African ministry Hearts of Cheer. All proceeds from the sale of those items go directly to the ministry. Almost all of the rest of the items from the bazaar either go to support the Africa ministry directly, or to BFCC's Christian Women's Fellowship. CWF meets every third thursday of the month at 1:00 at Burley First Christian Church! Join us!

     

   Many of our church members spent time and effort making beautiful crafts, holiday gifts, hats, washcloths, ornaments, decor items, and more to sell at the bazaar!

Thanksgiving Community Dinner

      Every year, a group of hundreds of people from many different faiths put on a community thanksgiving dinner like your grandmother would make! It includes everything you would want, turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy, stuffing,green beans, cranberries, and pie.

     The event has served around 1600 meals in years past, delivering somewhere around 700 to shut-ins and anyone not wanting to risk traveling in the weather. Last year it snowed all night before thanksgiving and throughout the day! The meal is coupled with a clothing giveaway that focuses on coats and blankets.

      The tasks are divided into many locations and groups. The Burley FCC group went to Mountain View Christian Center the evening before Thanksgiving to "de-bone" turkeys and get them ready for reheating the next morning. Several restaurants participated in preparing food for the meal. We tore apart about 30 turkeys that evening, though we were only one of many food prep locations.
     The next day we went about an hour early to the Senior Junction in Burley to sort through clothing and set up for the meal. The workers unloaded boxes and boxes of clothing, heated food, cut pies, and prepared to serve the diners. There were plenty of volunteers from all over the southern Idaho region, and everything went smoothly. The center had plenty of space, beautiful decor, and a great big kitchen area to serve the meals from. After years and years serving out of a small restaurant, this was the first year we served out of the new location at the Senior Junction. Though the attendance was lower than previous years, the meal was a success and we ran out of blankets and coats! We plan to support this community event as long as they are able to hold it.

   

If you're interested in supporting this particular event or the ministries of BFCC please contact:

(208)678-2462   burleyfcc@gmail.com

Rupert Trunk or Treat 2016

    We have been able to be involved in Rupert's Trunk or Treat event on Halloween since it's inception in 2013! The growing popularity of these kinds of public events help allay the fears of parents who are less than excited to allow their children to wander around visiting the homes of strangers. Though much can be said about the how's and why's of the demise of trick or treating, we are just continually looking for ways to connect with our community and this is an incredibly powerful way to do so!

   Since the creation of the event our church has been involved and Pastor Jarid is on the board to plan and run the event. This year we had around 5,000 people come through the square! We had more volunteers than ever before, our booth gave out tons of candy, and we had prayer walls set up for people to write prayers, draw pictures, or sign their names. After the event we set up the prayer walls in the front of the church and prayed over them until Thanksgiving.

    Though ideally we would love to host a holiday event like this at our church, this has been a very effective way to meet new people, serve our community, and share the love of God.

  

If you're interested in supporting this particular event or the ministries of BFCC please contact:

(208)678-2462   burleyfcc@gmail.com