Rummage Sale 2023

May 11, 2023

Galilee’s annual rummage sale attracted neighbors in their hundreds to our church this weekend. We had a line out the door and plenty of friendly faces waiting inside to greet members of the community who might otherwise never set foot in our church. We even distributed swag in the form of free Galilee-branded stadium cups stuffed with flyers listing service times, our ministries and small groups, and explaining our mission as ordinary people endowed with the extraordinary purpose of knowing Christ and making Christ known.

The sale—made possible by your generous donations of treasured items—raised more than $13,500 for the Mission Fund, which will defray the cost for missioners to travel to and around Costa Rica, while also helping our partner church in the village of Carillos. The mission team will travel to Central America this June to nourish our relationship with the members and leaders of the Iglesia Metodista Palabra Viva and to aid with construction work at their church—all while learning something about what it means to be the hands and feet of Jesus.

Galilee rummage sale is home to the latest (?) fashions. Modeled by Costa Rica missioners Helga Ishikawa and Samantha Moore

The rummage sale thus did good on the international level, but we also helped out neighbors in Loudoun County by working with the nonprofit group Help 4 Our Children. Galilee member Tom Dula, who helps steer this 501(c)3,  contacted parent liaisons and counselors at nearby schools to identify families who could use extra support. Help for Our Children then supplied vouchers for those families to come and shop the sale.
 
Tom reports that 105 families from 26 different schools visited Galilee and shopped for goods with H4OC vouchers. These goods include clothes, books, household items, and more. This was a win for everyone involved—and the generosity didn’t end there. Tom mentioned to a longtime church member that the money budgeted by H4OC for the event had been exceeded and that the nonprofit would have to fundraise or give Galilee an IOU. The church member said, “Don’t worry about it, Tom,” and wrote a check. 
 
Can we get an amen?
 
 
The rummage sale is a big team effort and we thank our big team! 
 
Jen Shah and Helga Ishikawa are Costa Rica mission team leaders who did the bulk of organizing and much of the heavy lifting for the rummage weekend. They were aided by over 40 volunteers (many of them members of the Costa Rica team, who were required to serve two shifts at or before the sale in order to join the mission). Volunteers received, sorted, and displayed goods from across the community. Others made delicious treats and manned the bake sale table. The Community Planning Team served as church ambassadors and answered questions at the Galilee information booth (they also created and distributed our Galilee-branded swag).
 
We thank all our volunteers from both our church and our community, the shoppers who lined up at our doors, the church staff who lent often invisible support, and everyone who donated items to the sale. This event brought love to neighbors at home and abroad.
 
Thank you! Now check out the pics!

The rummage sale wouldn’t happen without these two heroes, Jen Shah and Tom Dula.