Our congregation this year is beginning what I hope will be an ongoing project, we will be hosting an Alternative Gift Fair on November 3 & 4 in our Fellowship Hall. If you have never been to an Alternative Gift Fair, it is simply a way to accomplish some of your annual Christmas shopping while helping others through gifts to many wonderful local, national and/or international organizations. We all have friends or family members who do not need or want anymore stuff for Christmas, but you still want to let them know you are thinking of them during the holidays. At the Alternative Gift Fair you can give a cash donation in their name to some organization that might correspond to some interest they have personally. Most organizations permit you to give a specific gift, like a, cow, flock of chickens, rabbit for a specific amount of money. For example, for a gift of $500 you can give a cow to a family in some developing country in the name of your family member or friend or for $5.00 provide a blanket for someone in the middle of a natural disaster. Another benefit of this Fair this that people in the community and church will also learn about the work and mission of a diverse number of organizations that they might have never heard about before in the community and the world.