Bazaar Vision and Mission

A Word from Our Pastor

It’s getting time for the Bazaar again, another opportunity to celebrate our community and its blessings with each other and with the larger community, even the neighborhood. This past year, we’ve been talking a lot about our church, what we love about it now, and what we would like to see it become as it evolves in the future. As we formulated our mission and vision statements, what do they have to do with the Bazaar? Or, is our Bazaar in keeping with the Vision and Mission we have adopted?

Our Vision: “Changing lives, transforming communities and renewing the church.”

Hmmmm. . . our vision, our overall picture of what we want to do as a faith community is all about change – of individuals, of groups. . . Is the Bazaar about change? Maybe not. The Bazaar, generally, is more about retaining traditions – what we cook, how we cook, how we welcome guests (children and adults). We pretty much do the same things, year in and year out. But perhaps, there is an opportunity to fulfill our vision in the midst of keeping so many traditions. People’s lives can be changed as they make new friends; as they feel they become part of a community to which they did not use to belong. Our community can be transformed as we invite neighbors (who live near the church, or near our homes), co-workers and friends to come. Our church can be renewed as we work hard to include newer church members in our Bazaar activities, so they will feel that they are both welcome and needed.

So, for our Bazaar, I invite you to think about:
1.Look around on Sunday morning, and identify someone who may not have been asked to participate in a Bazaar activity before; talk to them and find out their interests, and then talk to people on the appropriate committee about including newer people, and give them the name and phone number of someone you have talked to.
2.Buy at least two extra Bazaar tickets and give them to someone who has never come to our Bazaar before. Sell them if you can, but if not, just give them away to someone who will use them.
3.Our church is renewed when we live out our faith in big ways and in small ways. You can share your faith with others by doing everything you can to show Christian hospitality to people at the Bazaar. Not only to visitors, but the people who are working alongside you washing dishes (or whatever task you are doing) will feel God’s love by how you treat them. Tell others what being in the church has meant to you.

Our Mission: “Joyfully sing God’s love to all, diligently work for peace and justice and lovingly uplift each other.”

Is there singing at the Bazaar??? Well, actually, yes. We are planning to have some music performances, but that isn’t really what the first statement is about. “Joyfully singing” is a way of describing how we share our faith in creative and artistic ways. So, during the Bazaar, we can encourage creative things to happen – dance, music, fine arts, Japanese arts and crafts, etc. Can you contribute something to making our Bazaar a truly creative event? How might we include more artistic expressions of faith?

A portion of the Bazaar income is usually dedicated to a mission project, so in that way we “work for peace and justice.” But are there more things we can do to make this part of the Bazaar? Can we provide an opportunity for people to contribute to a mission project by making something (assembling a disaster kit?) or donating funds? Can we educate people who attend through a display or flyers? Could we dedicate one of the outdoor games to a peace or justice issue?

Of course, we should always “lovingly uplift each other.” In the Bazaar, one easy way to do this is to remember to say “thank you” as often as possible. We are blessed by so many people with big hearts who work so hard without expecting thanks. But thanks are always a delight to receive. So, make a point of thanking everyone you work with during the Bazaar.

There are many more ways than these to have one of our most important events, our Bazaar, be a way of expressing our Vision and Mission. I hope and pray that you will take the opportunity to try one of the things I have suggested, or come up with your own ideas. If you try it, I am sure it will be a blessing – to others of course, but I am sure it will also be a blessing to yourself!

Have a blessed Bazaar,

–Rev. Naomi