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A Wilroy Road church is hoping its new vendor event this weekend will offer residents a chance to shop, enjoy tasty treats and learn more about its service to the community.

The vendor event runs from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m., Saturday, Nov. 12 at Magnolia United Methodist Church. 1764 Wilroy Road.

The church expects to host 12 to 15 vendors with crafts, crocheting, jewelry and more.

Evangelism Coordinator Judi Delpiero and church member and assistant Mary Anderson spoke about the church and the upcoming vendor event.

“Right now we are a small congregation, but there’s an abundance of love,” Delpiero said. “We try to reach out beyond our doors to the community in the surrounding area.”

Delpiero has served the church for 40 years, with Anderson now marking 30 years at Magnolia UMC.

The women said they hope those attending will learn about their “Lost and Found Bible Study” that reaches its five year mark in March 2023.

“Consistently, there are about nine of us in the Bible study. We laugh, we cry, we pray, we study, we do all the things,” Delpiero said.

Anderson sadded that their Bible study also includes people from other churches in addition to members from Magnolia.

Delpiero and Anderson wanted to let those coming to their first vendor event to know what to expect Saturday. They said each of the 15 booths will have six-foot or eight-foot tables with the wares of different folks.

“We got Pampered Chef. We’ve got Young Living Essential Oils, Scentsy, Mary Kay, lots of craft people,” Delpiero said. “One lady specializes in wreaths, another one specializes in jams, jellies, and things like that. So we’ve got a variety of things coming in.”

 

She said there will be a lunch counter selling soup and sandwiches “so that they can shop, do your Christmas shopping, and then go and sit and enjoy lunch with a friend and then come back and shop some more.”

“The chicken salad, the pimento cheese, all the soups are all homemade,” Anderson added.

Delpiero said the one thing everyone’s going to receive is lots of love.

“The shoppers as well as the vendors, we’re just going to love them,” she said.

Delpiero and Anderson both hope that the local community will want the event to go on again the following year.

“We’re hoping to be able to do this in the spring, and then again in the fall,” Delpiero said. “And I already have vendors who have called me who want to do it in the spring. They want to be a part of it, because they didn’t get in in time for the fall.”

Delpiero her hopes for what those attending will take away from the vendor event.

“I want people to leave here on Saturday afternoon knowing that they’ve been cared about, and loved,” said Delpiero. “And that if they need a place, we’re here for them to come and find Jesus, for them to come and worship, for them to come and be in fellowship with like-believers. For them to know that we care about them, not only the customer, but the vendor too. That’s what I want them to go away with that, ‘Hey, they care about me.’”