The Wichita Alternative Gift Market is Saturday, November 15, and is a Market “Lite” – a fresh air event.  It’s held in the parking lot of First Presbyterian Church, 525 N Broadway Ave.

You may also shop online at: https://alternativegifts.org/giving/crowdfunds/57

The market is scaled down this year as a precaution:

• We are outside but still request that all shoppers and volunteers wear face coverings and observe social distancing.
• We end the event an hour earlier than usual.
• As an additional precaution there are no café or vendors. One exception is that 2021 international wall calendars are available from the Returned Peace Corps Volunteers of Kansas.
• No supervised childcare is available this year. However, a kids shopping list/activity packet is offered to young shoppers. (To preview or plan ahead, see pages 4-10 of AGI’s “Champions for Change” gift market for kids info packet.)
• There are still free ornaments representing most causes, and complimentary greeting cards with your donations.
• Preferred payment method: check payable to Alternative Gifts International. However, we do plan to accommodate other payment methods on market day.

Local projects included this year are:

• First Presbyterian Community Breakfast Mission
• Grace Presbyterian Bus Pass Ministry
• NAMI Wichita (National Alliance on Mental Illness, local chapter)
• Camp Sunflower, Inc.

To support the local projects outside of the market, now through mid-December, please:

• Call in your order to AGI at 316-269-0635, or
• Complete and mail a Wichita market shopping list to:  AGI, P.O. Box 3810 Wichita, KS 67201-3810,   with your check made payable to Alternative Gifts International.

 Parking on market day

• Shoppers: please park in the West lot (the Market Street side) of the church.
• Volunteers: please park at The Lord’s Diner
• Illustrated Google map: 2020 Market Day parking map

P.S. In the event of inclement weather on Saturday, please plan to shop online or by mail as described above.

This year we again partner with HumanKind Ministries for Operation Holiday.  This takes the place of our November and December Yellow Bag drives.  Operation Holiday serves over 12,000 people each year.  Because of the pandemic, Operation Holiday is streamlining its requests this year (see the list below).  You may bring donations to Grace between November 4 and December 1.

Operation Holiday Needs

• New children’s coats (size 2T-XL Youth)
• New or handmade children’s winter accessories
• New or handmade blankets
• Nonperishable foods such as soup, proteins, peanut butter, and cereal

• The Session met via Zoom and began and ended the meeting with prayer.
• We discussed worship: the backyard retreats, outdoor services, and two weeks of in-person worship.
• We discussed logistics of funerals.
• We committed to a new worship schedule beginning October 11 and going through November 8, with Sunday School at 10 am and worship at 11 am.
• A question was raised about how to build a relationship with a congregation that is primarily non-white. This is particularly hard right now with Covid restrictions.
• We received a Deep Roots report.
• We received the financial reports.
• The Music Search Team has received six applicants and starts interviews in October.
• The Stewardship Team is working to prepare for Stewardship Season which begins October 11.
• We are calling this fall a sabbatical from the tutoring program.
• The Nominating Team continues to work.
• We received staff reports.

Grace Presbyterian is a voting location.  Any registered Sedgwick County voter may early vote at Grace from Tuesday, October 27 – Saturday, October 31.  On Election Day, November 2, only those assigned to Grace as a voting location may vote here.

We put several new safety precautions in place during the primaries, and we continue those during this voting cycle.  The only door open to the public (including church members) during voting hours is door six by the sanctuary.  Be mindful of this if you stop by the church during voting.