The Compassion & Justice Team of First Christian Church is hosting its second annual Compassion & Justice Christmas Store, an alternative Christmas gift shop. The store has two remaining sessions :
- Saturday, Dec. 17, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
- Sunday, Dec. 18, from 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
The Christmas Store is located in north wing of the church on the first floor; use entrance F.
The mission of the Compassion & Justice Store is three-fold: to provide support to the organizations the church partners with and the people they help, to educate family and community about these organizations and their mission, and to provide gifts that mean something.
The items in this years store are provided by 12 different organizations that are active in combating poverty, hunger, persecution, disease, dirty water, modern slavery, and human trafficking, especially sex trafficking. Most of the items are produced by the people each organization serves. The money that is raised through sales does not benefit the store in anyway, it is all used to benefit the organizations.
“The Christmas Stores’ primary focus is to educate and raise awareness of some serious injustices in our world,†says Heather Worley, a member of the Christmas Store team. “But it is also a fun and convenient way for our family and community to make this Christmas shopping season easier and even more rewarding.”
The Compassion & Justice Christmas Store is perfect for people who: are globally aware of injustice, have people who are hard to buy for, are looking for unique gifts, want their gifts to be meaningful as well as enjoyable, are looking for a way to make Christmas extra special this year, would like to purchase fair trade items.
The Christmas Store features over 1,000 items for sale that are unique, meaningful and remarkable. There are gifts for every age group, men and women alike.
“We are especially proud that we have been able to partner with a few organizations that provide really cool items teens will love,†said JR Horn, First Christian’s Student Minister.
Anyone is welcome at the store at any of its sessions, but the Saturday session is a special one for the community at large.
In 2010, the C&J Christmas Store sold over $10,000 worth of gifts in a little under 15 hours (four sessions).
Full information, including about the organizations, is available here.
