By Christine Sheller
Iowa Peace Network held its Annual Holiday Open House and Gift
Fair Saturday, December 7, 2024, earlier this month, from 1:30 to 4:30 pm at
the Des Moines Mennonite Church, where the DM IPN office is located. It was deemed a success, with over 35 people
in attendance. As other years, vendors
were available to shoppers for fair trade international items, and there was a
program from 2:30 - 3:30 pm. Shopping
and fellowship commenced after the program, and it was a day!
Vendors were there from Catholic Peace Ministry with
Palestinian olive oil, First United Methodist Church (DM, IA) with olive wood
Palestinian items and textiles, and Ivester Church of the Brethren (rural Grundy
Center, IA) with Heart of the Sky Fair Trade Guatemalan handcrafts as well as
Equal Exchange items- coffee, tea, chocolate, and more. There was also a table with “From the Ground
and UP” books written by children from the TON of Hope Project, associated with
Tent of Nations near Bethlehem, Palestine, where the Nasser family owns a farm
and runs a peace camp. Kids attend from
around Palestine, and adults are welcome from around the world. Iowa Peace Network was pleased to offer more
new pottery items donated by Russ and Jacquelyn Leckband of the Earlham Friends. Iowa Peace Network also had other items for
sale. In addition, there were opportunities
to donate to Church World Service, Heifer Project, and Global Women’s Project in
another’s name!
It was agreed that the program was great. Attendees moved to the sanctuary for this. Over 35 people were in attendance at the
program. This year’s program was Jeffrey
Weiss speaking on “Capitalism and Socialism.”
A mix of entertainment and education, Jeffrey did a great job, as always.
Using a Powerpoint slide presentation, he
spoke about the premises of capitalism and socialism, and how they are
practiced in different countries around the world. His opinion is that socialism is good for
human needs, and capitalism for wants.
There was time for questions.
Shopping and fellowship followed the program. From the beginning of the afternoon, cookies
were available to all, as well as hot coffee and hot tea. People were encouraged to sit and visit as
well as shop! Holiday music was provided
on the keyboard by Keith Sheller, to make the day a bit more festive!
Thanks to all that made the event run smoothly and made it
possible: the program- Jeffrey Weiss; tech and sound - Mark Leichty
(of the DM Mennonite Church and IPN Joint Oversight Committee); vendors- Christine
Anders of First Methodist; Dorothy Sheller for the IPN table; Glen and Vicki
Draper for the Guatemalan handcrafts; Kathleen McQuillen for the Catholic Peace
Ministry olive oil, Keith Sheller for playing piano/ keyboard; Meghan Kodiaga
for the Equal Exchange table; and Virginia Wadsley with the TON of Hope Project. And thanks to the entire congregation at DM
Mennonite Church for allowing us to use this space for the event. Thanks to all for attending, and making the
event a success!
Christine Sheller is
coordinator and editor at Iowa Peace Network.
She is a graduate of Bethany Theological Seminary.
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