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Harvest
of Talents yields record high
Monies
used worldwide for disaster relief
By
Jeff Mayfield
[OCT.
31,
2000]
Saturday’s
17th annual Harvest of Talents for World Hunger yielded a
record high of $66,870.17. Announcement of the harvest proceeds was
made during the unity service of Lincoln Christian Church on Sunday
morning in the Earl C Hargrove Chapel at Lincoln Christian College
and Seminary. Before presenting a check for the harvest proceeds to
Richard Sprague, manager of International Disaster Emergency
Service, Pat Snyder, harvest coordinator, noted that the amount
presented to IDES on Harvest Sunday last year totaled $54,035.80.
The millennium harvest total to date has far exceeded the ’99
year-end total of $59,201.52.
Highlight
of the harvest auction was the sale of the ribbon-embroidered quilt,
quilted by women in Indonesia under the direction of Mei
Tanbunnan, which sold for a
record high of $3,000. Mei learned the art of quilting from the late
Luella Huff, a Lincoln quilter, and returned to Indonesia to teach
it to native Indonesians.
Most
of the 750 bags of South Dakota potatoes, which arrived at the
Lincoln Church on Friday, have been sold, and the proceeds were
included in the harvest total.
All
monies raised at the annual Harvest of Talents are earmarked for
world hunger. At a Nov. 11 board meeting, the directors of I.D.E.S.
will determine missions that will be recipients of the year 2000
harvest proceeds. Funds from past harvests have aided orphanages,
victims of earthquakes and hurricanes, famine victims, as well as
victims of fires and other disasters.
Pat
Snyder, harvest founder, expressed appreciation for the support
given the Harvest of Talents by the community. She noted that there
were no "small" gifts in God’s eyes and that surely
every offering of talents would be a blessing to the world’s
hungry people.
A
Holiday Tour of Homes sponsored by the Harvest of Talents ministry
team in early December will be added to Saturday’s proceeds.
Earlier
events in conjunction with the year 2000 harvest included a Golf
Play Day in September and a Musical Offering for World Hunger
earlier this month.
[Jeff
Mayfield]
Local
Harvest of Talents feeds the world’s hungry
An
interview with Pat Snyder
By
Jeff Mayfield
[OCT.
27, 2000] Have
you ever wondered if anything done in Lincoln could ever possibly
impact the world? One local woman feels like she may have been
groomed her whole life to take on a mission with that kind of
proportions. For about 17 years, Pat Snyder and a host of members of
the Lincoln Christian Church have been reaching out and touching the
world. Their sacrificial labors have netted over $600,000 to help
needy, starving children and people mired in crisis at home and
abroad. This Saturday, Oct. 28, the church will host its annual
Harvest Day beginning at 7 a.m. Everyone in Lincoln and in the
surrounding area is not only welcome to attend but greatly
encouraged to do so! This is one way for sure that Lincolnites can
reach out and touch the world!
Q.
Pat, what is Harvest of Talents?
A.
Everyone has been blessed with talents and gifts that they can use
for the benefit of mankind. At Harvest of Talents we simply bring
together the fruit of everyone’s gifts, hobbies and abilities and
share them with the community. The result is that the proceeds
generated are turned into food to feed the world’s hungry people.
Q.
Were you concerned that Harvest of Talents would just be lost in the
shuffle of so many other area festivals?
A.
We decided that the only way to know if our concept would work is to
simply just give it a try. So, the elders of our church gave us
permission to try it that first year and that they would evaluate it
and reconsider it for the next year. After about three to four years
and after it became obvious to everyone that the Lord was really at
work in this ministry and that it was the only way to explain its
success, did the elders confirm that they wanted to see this vital
outreach continued.
Q.
What about this year’s harvest fest? Where is it? When is it? And
what’s going on?
A.
The community claims this event as much as the church does. Harvest
Day activities begin this Saturday, Oct. 28, at 7 a.m., when the
sale of items begins in both the Fellowship Center and the Harvest
Annex (the Woman’s Club building).
Yesteryear’s
Kitchen in the Annex will offer for sale hundreds of jars of jams,
jellies, salsa, applesauce, as well as sugar-free items. A variety
of baked goods and fresh produce (pumpkins, gourds, turnips, etc.)
will be sold at this location. For you muffin lovers, muffin mania
will offer lots of treats for your palate. There will also be plenty
of fresh-brewed coffees on hand.
Over
in the Fellowship Center you will encounter shops offering handmade
crafts, baskets, candy and cookies. There will be a Christmas shop
and also doll and angel shops as well. The always-popular
calligrapher’s table is back again this year.
One
annual highlight at this site are the breakfast items, including the
tasty caramel pecan and cinnamon rolls.
And
you won’t want to miss lunch either! Back by popular demand is a
fare that includes homemade vegetable soup (which is actually cooked
outside in large black kettles), homemade pies and the consistently
yummy barbecue sandwiches.
There
will also be silent auctions taking place at both venues. The debut
of this program allows people to bid on quality items who might be
intimidated by the regular auction.
For
you fitness fans, there will be a 5K run and walk that is co-hosted
by both the Harvest and our local YMCA. The run is scheduled for 8
a.m.
Kids
aren’t left out of the equation either. Dozens of activities for
children through sixth grade are set to begin at 9 a.m. They even
get to be with face and hand painters!
The
climax of the harvest fest will be the 2 p.m. auction. Going up for
auction this year will be the incredible millennium quilt along with
a bunch of other quilts. There will also be a large walnut
Breckenridge secretary, an oak hall-chair coat tree, a small oak
secretary, a tiffany lamp, a Mary E. chair, counted cross-stitch
creations and a plethora of one-of-kind heirloom quality items.
Further activities for children will be conducted by the high school
youth group during the auction.
Q.
Where do the proceeds for Harvest of Talents go?
A.
All proceeds from the harvest are channeled through the
International Disaster Emergency Service, an Indiana-based
organization that ministers to street children, orphanages,
refugees, and victims of hunger and famine around the world. Buck
Snyder, a member of Lincoln Christian Church, is currently serving
on the board of directors of I.D.E.S. The past 16 harvests have
raised $651,654. All harvest funds are earmarked for hunger needs.
Q.
Will there be a worship service this year to wrap up the harvest?
A.
Yes. This Sunday morning a check representing the proceeds will be
presented to a representative of I.D.E.S. during a unity service.
The public is invited to attend this service which will be held at
10 a.m. in the Earl C Hargrove Chapel on the campus of Lincoln
Christian College and Seminary. Harvest weekend will close with a 6
p.m. service of praise and celebration to be in the sanctuary
of Lincoln Christian Church.
[Jeff
Mayfield]
Church
announcements
Vineyard
Cafe hosts
open microphone night
 [NOV.
10, 2000] On
Saturday, Nov. 18, the Vineyard Cafe will host an open microphone night for
performance artists. Doors will open at 7 p.m. Admission to the cafe
is free, and baked goods and nonalcoholic drinks will be sold. This
Christian-based coffeehouse is at the Vineyard Christian Fellowship in
Bloomington, on Route 51, one-half mile south of Interstate 74. For more
information about performing or for directions to the church, phone (309)
663-4943 or visit the cafe web site at http://www.communityzone.com/community/vineyardcafe.
Serenity
Concert to benefit
Niebuhr marker
[NOV.
1, 2000] A
Serenity Concert on Sunday, Nov. 12, will celebrate the accomplishments of the
Niebuhr family of theologians, who lived in Lincoln beginning in 1902. Reinhold
Niebuhr, the author of the widely known Serenity Prayer, was ordained in
Lincoln.
The
concert is scheduled for 2 p.m., Nov. 12, in Restoration Hall on the Lincoln
Christian College campus. Performing groups include the Lincoln Area Music
Society Chorale, the Faith Lutheran Choir, the Holy Family Children’s Choir
and the Second Baptist Children’s Choir. Solos by Debbie Ross, Doug Raffa and
Carolyn Sablotny Gerling will be featured. In addition, Steven Rigik of Chicago
is a guest musician.
There
is no charge for the concert, but a freewill offering will be taken.
Four
children of the Rev. Gustav and Lydia Niebuhr were confirmed at St. John’s
Evangelical Church, now St. John United Church of Christ, in Lincoln: Hulda,
Walter, Reinhold and Helmut Richard. Hulda later taught at McCormick Seminary in
Chicago, Reinhold at Union Theological Seminary in New York City and H. Richard
at Yale University Divinity School. H. Richard’s son Richard R. Niebuhr is on
the faculty of Harvard University Divinity School.
Reinhold,
the best known of the Niebuhrs, was pictured on Time magazine’s 25th
anniversary edition and was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by Lyndon
Johnson.
To
memorialize the contributions of this distinguished theological family, a
committee headed by Margaret Peifer of Lincoln is working to erect a historical
marker at St. John Church. Proceeds from the concert will benefit this effort.
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