About 15 years ago, the women of St. Michael's in Raleigh hatched a novel idea: an evening of adult fellowship to raise money for outreach. It was christened An Evening in Parish (EIP), and that inaugural event brought together a few dozen people who raised a few thousand dollars. By April of 2004, EIP, which had already grown so large it was forced to move from private homes to the church grounds, was setting records:
- 235 parishioners attended - 80 more people than ever before;
- Close to 200 items, representing over $20,000 in goods and services, were presented at silent auction and raffle;
- Over $25,000 was raised for outreach.
- Parishioners of all ages contributed to the success of this event. Elementary age children donated hand-crafted items for the silent auction. There were adults with a knack for interior design who dressed the parish hall; those with the sensibilities of chefs who selected, taste-tested and assigned recipes to 45 volunteers; those in charge of beverage preferences and quantities; those who coordinated auction and raffle offerings; those with an administrator's mind-set who handled reservations and pre-event finances; and finally, those who kept an eye on post-event finances.
On the morning after Evening in Parish '04, a parishioner handed over a generous check to the ECW. "I had so much fun last night," she explained, "that I never got around to bidding. Add this to the pot."
Those benefiting from Evening in Parish funds have included: Episcopal Farmworkers Ministry, the Alliance Medical Ministry, Interact (which assists victims of rape and domestic violence in Wake County), missionaries, St. Michael's music program, and St. Michael's EYC mission trip.
Click here for pictures of the event.
