Thank you St. Mark Congregation

Once again the ABC sale is just a memory. The racks and hangers have been put away, awaiting the

gathering, sorting and selling of treasures next year. It took so many of you contributing goods, time and talent to make the 2018 all-church rummage sale a grand success! The total reached nearly $12,000. What is important about that figure is that it will enable the Board of Deacons to reach out into the community with a helping hand and to hopefully make a difference in so many of the lives of our neighbors. The deacons will deliberate carefully in order to make meaningful choices.

In addition to the cash that was received and that will go right back out into our area, real goods were donated to a variety of places. During the week of the sale, a trailer from Remains sat outside in the back parking lot, ready to accept recyclable goods. After the sale, trucks pulled up to the front of the church, two from the Salvation Army and one from the Kidney Foundation to load unsold items from all departments except for clothing. The clothing went out the door by the kitchen into the truck from Isaiah 58. The loading was done by department workers and a “Takedown” committee, along with hardworking Boy Scouts and their leaders from the St. Mark troop. (We promised them many more spaghetti supper tickets would be sold next year!) Boxes of books were taken to the Veterans Administration to share at the hospital there. Suits, shirts, pants and suitcases were donated to the parole system so that those going out to find jobs would have interview clothing that they needed.

Organizations within the church benefit, too. The Christmas Boutique, the Claymont Preschool at St. Mark, the Fellowship Committee, Presbyterian Women, the Property Committee and Children’s Ministry all received items that they needed.

The sale actually continues year-round in yet another way. J. Morgan faithfully lists some unique treasures on EBay in the months to come in order to make additional funds for the Deacons to delegate. She takes on the task of monitoring this, shipping items all over in order to make the ABC event even better.

There are so many of you to thank, and we inevitably find that we have left someone out. The problem is that this all happens so quickly in the space of one week, and we often don’t have time to jot your name down or to have a sign-in sheet at a key place. Therefore we are not including a list with this article. Please know that we are grateful for each and every one of you, and we hope that you know that! By name we do need to thank Carol Pfeil, Jim Brewer and the Burgess family for all that they did during the week of the sale. And all of the rest of you (nearly 100) can feel certain that you have made a difference as you were doing God’s work. We pray that you will continue to help us next year; see you August 2, 3, 2019 - and the intense week before!

With love, C. Bartell, V. Chabot, B. Pierce