A beautiful, sunny day with light breezes greeted tens of thousands of people in attendance at Sunday’s Carlsbad Village Faire. Once again, the St. Michael’s booth, sponsored by the local parish chapter of the Brotherhood of St. Andrew, offered a surprising and welcome opportunity to meet new people and quench thirst!
Thanks to a very generous donation, some 5,500 bottles of water were distributed on Sunday!
“I think we found out how much water we can give away,” said St. Michael’s parishioner David McKinley. “We ended the day with two cases left.”
All together some 40 parishioners participated in this growing parish outreach. This number includes those folks who gathered the Wednesday before the fair for a “Labeling Party.” They stuck a customized St. Michael’s label on all 5,000+ bottles, and gathered afterwards at Pizza Port for some welcomed food and fellowship.
“The way I think about it,” said McKinley, “is that the whole purpose of this activity is relationships. The goal is to try to increase our relationships with the community. But it also turns out to be a really great activity for building relationships with others from St. Michael’s!”
Parishioners took shifts throughout the day greeting fair-goers with a smile, and offering them a free bottle of water. Fr. Doran enjoyed the opportunity to explain to the parched and mystified masses, “That’s right! It costs ‘no’ dollars!”
“It was a good fellowship experience for all involved and provided a much needed service to the wider community,” said Chris Craig-Jones, parishioner and president of the Brotherhood. “Thanks be to God for providing us with an opportunity to serve and spread the Word.”
Interested in being a part of this fun and fruitful outreach? Mark your calendar for the the first Sunday in November!
Written by Fr. Doran Stambaugh, Rector.
