The Pennsylvania Relief Sale and Kingdom Builders Anabaptist Network of Greater Philadelphia (KBN) sponsored the festival.  Seven KBN congregations brought a rich variety of food: Chinese egg rolls, Haitian rice and delicacies, Indonesian snack foods, Mexican tamales, Soul Food, Vietnamese pho/soup, fresh fruit, baked yams, and the traditional PA Dutch fare of soups, cookies, pies and cakes.

Attendance grew for our second year event.  We continue to be pleased to see the many connections that supporters of MCC were able to make with one another from diverse backgrounds.

West Philadelphia Mennonite Fellowship hosted the festival in the beautiful 107-year-old domed chapel of Calvary United Methodist Church where it worships. Bidders, volunteers, food, and auction items came from international, urban, and rural contexts.

Sale items included: a meal for ten hosted by an Amish family in rural PA; an original etching of the 1993 Philadelphia Phillies; a deep sea fishing trip in NJ; a house concert with viola, harp and flute; handmade corn brooms; an Eric Kratz signed baseball; tickets to the Philadelphia Orchestra; exquisite wood crafts; silk quilts made in a Vietnamese village; and over 20 other quilts and wall hangings.

Special projects raised funds for MCC church-based community development projects in Colombia and Philadelphia.  In Colombia MCC works with Anabaptist churches in food security and sustainable livelihoods, and in Philadelphia MCC supports Kingdom Builders Construction to serve among KBN churches.

Recognition is due to the more than 50 volunteers who assisted at the Festival.  Special thanks to Vernon Martin, the primary auctioneer, and to 89-year-old Sanford Alderfer from Alderfer Auction & Appraisal who stepped out of retirement to give Martin a lunch break!

On behalf of the 2012 planning committee,

Ken Beidler, co-chair

Melissa Stoner, co-chair

Planning Committee Members:

Nereida Babilonia

Fred Kauffman

Ruth Marino

Lenny Thompson

Anna Hoover

Miriam Copp Johnson

Cindy Cassel

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Like other MCC Relief Sales, the Philly event will feature an auction, international food booths and children’s activities. With MCC East Coast offices headquartered inPhiladelphia, it made sense for there to be a relief sale in the city. Grant Rissler, MCC Financial Resource Development Coordinator, says, “Many relief sales take place at fairgrounds that have a rural feel. . . It’s exciting to see this Festival in Philadelphia working to innovate in the urban setting. That type of innovation is really one of the growing edges that will keep support for MCC strong and growing into newer generations.”

In addition to supporting MCC’s programs around the world, half of proceeds of the sale will benefit MCC Philadelphia’s work with prison ministry, alternatives to youth violence, gun violence prevention and a low-income housing ministry.

Fred Kauffman, MCC East Coast program coordinator, says, “The MCC Benefit Festival promises to be an occasion where the Philly churches can work together and bring the diversity of our gifts and cultures into the process. We look forward to connecting with neighbors, MCC supporters, churches outside of Philly, and with each other to create a public witness for Christ and the kingdom which he proclaimed.”

For more information about the festival or to coordinate donating an item for the auction, visit eastcoast.mcc.org/phillyfestival, e-mail PhillyBenefitFestival@gmail.com or call (215) 535-3624.

By Ken Beidler

Original Article From Franconia Conference

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The festival, held October 29 at the West Philadelphia Mennonite Fellowship, raised about $20,135 for Mennonite Central Committee—a commendable result for a first-time event of this kind, according to Lois Huston, treasurer of the Pennsylvania Relief Sale, under whose auspices the festival was organized.

Proceeds from the festival will be split evenly, with one half going to support MCC’s global programs and the other half going to support MCC programs in the Philadelphia area.

“I believe that the good turnout for the event was a result of people’s love of and commitment to the work of Mennonite Central Committee,” said Ken Beidler, benefit festival chair. “The fellowship that we experienced as brothers and sisters in Christ as we joined together to support MCC was a true joy to see and participate in.”

The festival was also a “wonderful multicultural” experience, Beidler noted, one that reflected the racial and ethnic diversity of Philadelphia’s Anabaptist communities.

Such diversity was certainly present at the food venue, which brought in about $2,755 and provided a variety of tasty dishes for diners: from apple pies to tamales, baked and fried chicken to vegetarian egg rolls.

Also reflecting Philadelphia’s multicultralism were a number of musical and dance performances during the festival. Special music was provided by groups and soloists from Second Mennonite Church, Philadelphia Praise Center, and Vietnamese Mennonite Church, among other congregations. A dance troupe from In the Light Ministries provided additional entertainment.

The centerpiece of the festival was the auction of handmade quilts, wall hangings, artwork, gift certificates, and other items. Altogether, the auction brought in more than $14,475.

The highest bid item was a 96-inch by 101-inch bricks quilt, pieced and quilted by volunteers at the Ephrata MCC Material Resources Center. The quilt went for $625. A weekend stay at a three-bedroom rental home in Ocean City, N.J., brought $550. Other high-ticket items included a 90-inch by 108-inch “Party Mix Quilt,” quilted by volunteers at the Ephrata MCC Material Resources Center, which went for $475; a home-cooked Indonesian meal for six hosted by Luke and Dot Beidler of Norristown, Pa., which went for $400; and two support-level memberships to the Barnes Foundation, which went for $325.

Some $1,525 raised in an additional special effort will go to MCC’s peacemaking efforts in Philadelphia and Haiti.

The festival also included events for children, including storytelling, face painting, arts and craft projects, and the opportunity to assist in assembling school kits for MCC’s international and domestic relief work.

Beidler and the rest of the festival organizers extend a “big thank you” to all those who helped make the first-time event a success.

“We could not have planned and pulled off this event without the help of the PA Relief Sale board and its supporters,” Beidler added. “We share a similiar purpose to support the work of MCC, and I envision a mutually beneficial relationship that will continue in years to come.”

By Devin C. Manzullo-Thomas
For Mennonite Central Committee East Coast

Original Article From Mennonite World Review

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