First Baptist Missions Bazaar marks 25th year

For 25 years, First Baptist Church in Hartsville has held a Missions Bazaar the first weekend in December to raise money for foreign missions. This year’s bazaar is Dec. 5 beginning at 8 a.m. in the Family Life Center at First Baptist on East Home Avenue.

In the last 24 years, the church has raised more than a quarter of a million dollars for missions. Members have made 3,500 to 5,000 items each year to sell.

“We have raised $258, 274.47,” said Rev. Ryan Goodroe, pastor of First Baptist, who will be involved in his fourth bazaar this year.

Goodroe said when he came to First Baptist he didn’t have any preconceived expectations for the bazaar but was pleasantly surprised at the success of the event.

“When it starts happening it brings the church together,” he said. “It is a tremendous outreach (project). And it is a privilege to be a part of it.”

Jane Easterling, who has been involved in the project from the beginning, said tags are made for each item, and they make about 5,000 tags each year. This will be Easterling’s last year co-chairing the event. She is stepping down in hopes of bringing in some new ideas. She said Claude Wint has agreed to take her place.

“It has really been a surprise,” Easterling said of the bazaar’s success.

Easterling and former church member, Joanne Cothran, were responsible for getting the project off the ground. Their idea was to find a way to raise money for the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering in support of foreign missions.

“God is blessing us,” said Jane Privette, chairman of the Arts and Crafts division of the bazaar.

“It has brought all of our church members together,” said Easterling, who assists Sophia Nichols as chairman.

“One of the many blessings I’ve received in working with our Missions Bazaar is verifying the joy of our men and women who share their talents in producing beautiful works of their hands sold on the first Saturday of December each year,” Nichols said. “What is it that inspires them to give so much of their time and talents each year? Missions.”

The bazaar is truly a church effort with more than 150 members participating on various committees and many others providing crafts, food and other items for the bazaar. Church members begin working on their donations to the bazaar throughout the year.

Privette said many of the members wait until the week of the event to reveal what they have made for the bazaar.

“Everyone is in church the next Sunday to see what we have made,” Bazaar committee chairman Daphne Tedder said.

Some of the items include sock monkeys, dish towels, crochets items, baby blankets, hand painted socks, painted rocks and more. There will be Christmas ornaments, wreaths, fresh garland, angels, aprons and others holiday items in the North Pole Shop and birdhouses and chairs in the woodworking room.

Framed photographs by Dr. Susan Reynolds and copies of her books will be for sale.

In the food category, there will be lots of casseroles including chicken, broccoli, sweet potato and squash. Vegetable and other soups have also been prepared and frozen for the sale. Cakes, pies, cookies and candy will be available for those with a sweet tooth.

Tedder, chairman of the food pantry, said they hope to have some jellies and preserves, too.

The frozen foods are always some of the first to go, according to the women working on the bazaar.

Last year they lost all of their frozen goods when the freezer went bad.

Easterling said a cry went out to the church members, and they doubled their supply.

She said one thing that makes the bazaar successful is that workers are not allowed to purchase items before the doors open and not until an appointed time afterwards.

Although Jean Fowler and others admit to keeping a close eye on the items they hope to purchase.

The women said, if an item runs out, they’ve been known to make another for someone and take it to them after the bazaar is over.

The line begins early for those wishing to get some of the frozen casseroles and other items, and it continues in the kitchen where W.C. Morris’s famous chicken bog is being served from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. that day. A limited number of tickets are available and are known to sell out before the day of the event. Plates are $6 each. Chicken bog tickets may be purchased from the committee chairman, the church, and committee members.

Coffee and punch will be served to guests in the morning compliments of Doris Winburn. Homemade ham and sausage biscuits will also be for sale for 50 cents each.

And if you haven’t purchased a copy of the church cookbook, “Seasoned With Light,” some will be available. The cookbook was a project of the women of the church to commemorate the 1988 WMU Centennial Year. The book was revised and updated in 1996.

The bazaar is divided up into categories with chairman for each. Myra Polson is chairman of the Children’s North Pole Shop, Buzzie Snipes, Woodworking Shop; Jane Privette, Arts and Crafts Shop; Gloria Davis, Nature Shop; Sheila Mullis, homemade biscuits; Daphne Tedder, Pantry Shop; W.C. Morris, chicken bog; Howard Jordan, chicken bog tickets; Doris Winburn, hospitality; George Atkins and Al Mullis, co-chairmen of chief cooks/kitchen crew; Clark Phillips, set-up/clean-up; Norman Turner, cashiers; April Martrano, publicity; and Mary Louise Hunnicutt and Rae Outlaw, co-chairmen telephone committee.