By Liz McBreen
"Pastor Fred asked me what I thought of the idea, and I thought it was wonderful," said Barbara Leyser, a St. Andrew's parishioner and chairperson of the market. "Missions have always been my ministry."
Each year, the Alternative Giving Committee, including McElderry, Leyser, her husband, Ed, and Shawn Vogel, sift through information about different missions from all over the country. Some are asked to return to the market every year, while others rotate in and out.
Much of the information on the missions comes from the Lutheran Senate headquarters in Chicago and newsletters about different organizations, according to Leyser. "We research each organization that we invite to attend, and make sure that all the money we raise at the market goes directly to the charity they represent."
In return for a market-goer's donation to a charity, he or she receives a decorative gift card that lets the gift recipient know how much money was donated in his or her name to a particular cause.
The charities represented at the market range from Food for the Poor, an organization that ships food to 29 countries, to A Room at the Inn, a home that houses single teenage mothers and that was donated to a parish upstate. The charities involved receive 80 to 90 cents of every dollar donated.
On Nov. 9, St. Andrew's opened its doors for the third annual market, with 10 missions represented. According to Leyser, the market grows more popular every year, due mostly to word of mouth. In its first year the market made $3,000 in donations, and the profits doubled in 2001.
In addition to gathering donations, several of the non-profit organizations sell crafts as well. Representatives of Our Sister's Place, a haven for single homeless mothers, sold handmade pins. The mission now has two locations, one in the Bronx and one in Brooklyn.
"The new mothers learn how to take care of their babies, and they are given responsibilities to prepare them for living on their own," said Bev Gregory, a St. Andrew's parishioner representing the mission. All of the donations, as well as the profits from the pins, go toward maintaining the houses and the women who live in them. In addition to teaching women how to care for their children, the mission helps them obtain employment and find a permanent place to live.
Lutheran Disaster Response of New York also had an informational booth at the market. The organization was created to help those who were still in need even after receiving aid in the wake of Sept. 11, according to Bonnie Lindsay. "It's somewhere people can go not only to meet practical needs, but religious and psychological needs as well," said coordinator Ed Leyser.
SERRV International, an organization based in Maryland, promotes social and economic progress for people in developing countries as well as parts of the United States. Its work is funded through the sale of handmade crafts and food produced by these regions, according to Leyser. With the profits, people from all over the world who earn low incomes are given the help they need.
The market also represents missions based in other countries. On a trip to Israel, a friend of the pastor met Michael Zoughbi, a Palestinian Christian from Bethlehem who belongs to a group that makes hand-crafted olive wood artwork. A large selection was available for purchase at the market, with all of the profits returning to Zoughbi and his family in Israel.
The St. Anthony Indian Mission is based in Zuni, New Mexico. The Zuni Indians are known around the world for their unique jewelry, but many of them live in poverty. Because of the barren conditions of the reservation where they live, there is a high rate of unemployment, and about 35 percent of the population suffers from diabetes.
The Indian Mission has recently set up a school, and the money collected at the St. Andrew's market will be donated directly to it to cover tuition and provide food and clothing for the children who attend.
Christopher Roehrer was at the market representing Seafarers and International House, an organization dedicated to the welfare of those who work at sea, according to Roehrer. In addition to offering seafarers lodging at its hotel in Manhattan's Union Square, SIH members visit ships while they're in port.
"Basically, we visit to offer some hospitality," Roehrer said. "Some of these workers are on a ship 10 months of the year, and they're happy to see a new face."
The organization also prepares gift bags at Christmastime. "It's a difficult time to be alone and away from family," Roehrer says. "This way, they have a gift to open somewhere in the Atlantic on Christmas day. These people are part of our global economy, but are for the most part invisible to us. It's important to acknowledge the hard work they do."
The Heifer Project feeds hungry families all over the world while helping them to become independent. The donations the project collects go toward purchasing farm animals for families and helping them prepare for the new arrivals. In return for the help, families that receive animals contract to pass the animals' offspring on to other families in their communities. The project also donates directly to institutions such as orphanages.
Even St. Andrew's youngest parishioners got involved in the market. According to Leyser, four children arrived at the church's social hall on Saturday morning, struggling with heavy bags full of loose change. Dropping the bags near the Heifer Project booth, the children announced that they wanted to buy a pig. "It was so touching," Leyser said. "I don't think there was a dry eye in the room."
Parishioners donated all the refreshments served at the market, and all the profits were donated to Lutheran World Hunger.
"If you give a donation as a gift, Christmas means what it's supposed to mean," said Lindsay.
