Lord’s Acre 2019 is fast approaching. The 44th annual event will be held on Saturday, November 9, 2019, at the Butler County Community Building (4H), 206 North Griffith, El Dorado, Kansas.
The Lord’s Acre Movement is an international social movement that originated in 1922, in Bluffton, Georgia, where farmers where farmers in a Bluffton congregation were asked to set aside one acre of farmland and donate the proceeds of “the Lord’s acres” to the church.
As of 2019, the Lord’s Acre Movement continues to provide funding for churches, having expanded beyond farmland to include projects of donated time and service, and to auctions and sales featuring homemade quilts, goods, arts and crafts, and food items.
The Lord’s Acre was brought to the First United Methodist Church in 1975, by Dave and Kim Matthews. During the early years of the event, most of the items were handmade. The event gradually evolved to include people from the community attending just for the fun of eating and bidding on items. The tradition continues to this day. We still have baked goods, handcrafts, a silent auction, as well as a barbeque dinner with live entertainment and a live auction.
The theme for this year’s event is Back to Our Roots and will tie in with the 150th Anniversary of our church, and be a time to look back at the past while we move to the future.
The purpose of the funds raised by Lord’s Acre is to fund unbudgeted items for the church. Funds in the past have help purchase the first church van, assist in the purchasing of choir robes, needed office equipment, appliances for the church parsonage, as well as a pre-lit Christmas tree and many other items the church has needed. The funds are also used to provide financial support to the church’s youth group, Boy Scouts and Cub Scouts, and Missions.
Last year’s donations were used to purchase a basketball goal and equipment for our youth, directional signage for the church, additional music library shelving system, help funding the church security system, and a laptop for the pastor’s us.
The non-financial benefits include the chance for church members to socialize with other members of the church and the community, the chance to enjoy a nice dinner, enjoy fellowship across generations, and enjoy the lively silent and live auctions.
We will have craft and food items for sale before dinner, along with a silent auction of themed baskets. After dinner we will have a live auction of larger items such as quilts and several hand-made items from our talented church members. Be sure to mark Saturday, November 9th on your calendars and begin planning for this fun event!
Ticket sales will be on Sunday mornings before the 9:00 A.M. and 11:00A.M. worship services. You may also contact the church office at 316-321-6220 in order to purchase tickets.
Tickets are on sale for adults -$9.00 Children ages 4-10 – $6.00
Adult ticket prices will increase the day of the event.
Bake sale/craft bazaar and silent auction start at 3:00 P.M.
Dinner will be served from 5:00 – 6:30 P.M.
Live Auction will begin at 6:30 P.M.
See you at Lord’s Acre on Saturday, November 9th. Don’t forget to mark your calendars!