By JESSIE NEWBURN
Courtesy of St. Nicholas Catholic Church
For many, the holiday shopping begins with church bazaars and their bounty of homemade crafts, baked goods and gently used items. With the convenience of online shopping, area churches struggle to attract shoppers other than their own members But attendance at church bazaars has reason to be on the upswing.
This year, five local churches are not only hosting their own fall and winter-holiday bazaars but are working together to make each event a success, all thanks to an innovative promotion: the Holiday Bazaar Passport.
The passport, which shoppers can pick up at any participating church, lists all of the bazaars, their dates and where each is held, on a card that shoppers can have stamped at each bazaar they go to. Participants who get their passport stamped at all five bazaars are entered in a drawing with a $100 prize.
“The main purpose is for people to come out to the bazaars, enjoy the food, meet some congregants, and do some fun gift and bargain shopping,” said Pat Farmer, a member of St. Nicholas Catholic Church. Farmer volunteers to work the bazaar, which is the first of the season.
The passport program premiered last year, largely thanks to Farmer. She suggested the churches create an incentive to encourage more people to turn out.
“We had about 20 qualified passports in 2023,” Farmer said. “With the increased publicity and cross-promotions we’re doing, we hope to get many more attendees and more prize-drawing entrants this year.”
Hosting bazaars provides both tangible and intangible benefits. Income generated can be directed toward local church
Courtesy of Resurrection of Lord Church
activities or regional and national church programs. Laurel Presbyterian Church directs some of its bazaar profits to support Laurel Advocacy & Referral Services. First United Methodist Church is earmarking income from the bazaar for building maintenance. Several of the churches even send a portion of their funds to international efforts, including Presbyterian Disaster Assistance and Episcopal World Relief.
The upfront costs of hosting a church bazaar are reasonably low, since many of the items sold have been donated, hand-made, or baked or cooked by church members, Farmer said.
Church bazaars also bring in outsiders. Some shoppers take time to meet members, check out the facility, and ask questions about services and other offerings.
Anyone who’s worked behind the scenes on an all-volunteer project knows that collective spirit can build a sense of shared purpose and deepen relationships. If that project is a church bazaar, working together may even open doors to leadership opportunities within the church itself.
The bazaar at Resurrection of Our Lord Church provides a “way to bring our community together, have a little fun along the way and help people find that little gift for a dear friend or family member as we celebrate the Christmas season,” Debbie McNally said, who helps with the bazaar. Church members have enjoyed wrapping more than 500 items to sell at the bazaar, she said. These surprise gifts will sell for $1 to $5.
Cherilyn Hostetler, who is a member of First United Methodist Church, is organizing the church’s first-ever MAN-ZAR. Touted as a bazaar for all things men, the event will feature tools, electronics, hardware, car parts, DIY items and more. There will even be a bake sale extravaganza to “feed all those manly appetites,” Hostetler said.
Laurel Presbyterian Church holds craft workshops all year so parishioners can sell high-quality crafts at the bazaar, according to Eleanor Howe/ She noted that this year marks the 42nd anniversary of the church’s fall bazaar.
St. Nicholas Church created a bazaar-specific Facebook page to highlight some of the particularly special items for sale at each bazaar. Farmer noted that more items will be posted on the page, along with information about upcoming events. All of the churches hope they’ll do better by supporting each other’s success.
Holiday bazaar passports are available at each participating church’s event, beginning with St. Nicholas Catholic Church’s on Oct. 18 and 19. Passports must be stamped at each of the five bazaars to qualify for the drawing. For more information, go to tinyurl.com/7zbz52wh.
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A list of holiday bazaar passport events
St. Nicholas Catholic Church, 8603 Contee Road
Fall Bazaar
Oct. 18, 2 to 8 p.m: German dinner and outdoor beer garden;
Oct. 19, 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Breakfast, lunch and an Italian dinner.as well as market stalls, raffles, crafts, teacher gifts and more.
First United Methodist Church, 424 Main St.
Man-zar
Oct. 19, 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Light focus on all things men love such as tools, electronics, hardware, car parts, furniture, DIY items, baked goods and more Drawings every half hour First United
Laurel Presbyterian Church, 7610 Sandy Spring Road
Fall Bazaar
Oct. 19, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Huge selection of fall and holiday crafts, plus flea-market and white-elephant tables loaded with housewares, toys, games and more.
Resurrection of Our Lord Church, 8402 Brock Bridge Road
Christmas Bazaar
Nov. 9, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Breakfast with Santa, Surprise gifts, new gifts, Martha’s Attic (flea market), silent auction, raffles for prizes up to $750, bake shop and Mexican-fare food.
St. Philip’s Episcopal Church, 522 Main Street
Holly Days Bazaar
Nov. 23, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Crafts including toys, holiday decor, kitchen items, quilts and holiday ornaments; raffles and silent auctions; baked goods and lunch plus a visit from St. Nick.
