People came and went from the Stettler Alliance Church on Saturday, Sept. 19 and Sunday, Sept. 20, helping raise money for two good causes — one worldwide, and one more local.
The first, the Saturday rummage sale, saw items donated by members of the congregation and community up for sale. The donated items were being sold to raise money for Operation Christmas Child, which sees shoeboxes loaded with items for children in poverty in third-world countries. The boxes contain a few toys, but also things like letters, school supplies, and health supplies.
Julie Weekes, a member of the church's mission team, and Danea Whitford were manning the till at the rummage sale across the noon hour. She said that items were basically flying right out the door.
"The big thing was furniture," Weekes said, adding that it was a surprise to her. "Almost all the furniture was gone by the end of the first hour. The rest was gone by the end of the day."
At the end of the day, once the few expenses were tallied up, the church raised $1,123.65, which will be used to pay for shipping of the shoe boxes as well as the items within.
"It'll probably cover the cost of about 40 boxes," Weekes said.
The church has been the collection point for Operation Christmas Child for several years, taking over from Pfeiffer's House of Music. Each year, the church hosts a "packing party," where any member of the community can come in and help pack boxes for a bit, or the whole day, or even just one or two. Whatever they have time for is welcome, Weekes noted. This year's party will be Nov. 1 at 1 p.m.
Each box is stuffed with about $20 worth of items before its sealed up and shipped away, she noted.
The following day, the church hosted a movie night. The movie, "Do you believe," was a fictionalized accounting of why and how people have come to believe in the Gospel, God, and Jesus Christ. While the testimony within the film weren't based on true stories, they were instead built of many, an amalgamation of several people's stories of finding God.
"It's got all sorts of storylines, is sort of interactive," Weekes said. "It challenges beliefs."
The night's sales — admission, pop and popcorn sales — went to the family of Jace Thorsteinson, a local boy who was recently injured in a rodeo training accident.
Thorsteinson is recovering but has a long road ahead of him, Weekes said.
"We know how stressful it is for his family right now," she said. "We just wanted to help."
Though the Thorsteinsons aren't part of the church's congregation, Weekes said Jace is friends to many of the families in the church, and that God's message to be kind to each other and help each other doesn't pay any attention to human-created guidelines like congregation or faith.
"We're all praying for his recovery," she said.