It is not a fling. But it is a thing. And the best time to pull off things is in the spring.
St. Luke's United Church of Christ (UCC) is bringing back its Spring Thing for another swing. It's a fellowship event through and through, one that celebrates community, the time of year and what it means to be from Lititz.
"We had a brainstorming meeting to come up with a name for our spring bazaar," said Jane Markert, the organizer of St. Luke's UCC's Spring Thing. "We all kind of decided, 'Let's give it a unique name.' We came up with 'Spring Thing,' and green is our color."
This year's edition of Spring Thing, the 14th, will take place on Saturday, May 4, from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. at St. Luke's UCC, 222 N. Broad St., Lititz. It's an outdoor bazaar that's free.
"I want people to have a good time," said Markert. "I want them to see that people can be kind to one another and that they can communicate with each other and enjoy Lititz. All the money is going to good causes. It gives our church an opportunity to do good things for the community."
"What people are supporting is our church's activities, which goes back to the community," continued Markert. "People come back. We see old friends. People enjoy the happy atmosphere. It's just a great day."
Spring Thing will feature 48 vendors selling crafts, small business items and yard sale items, and among the food offerings available will be chicken barbecue dinners, egg croissants, hot dogs, pies, brownies, cookies, coffee, tea and cold drinks. The bazaar will feature guitarist Clyde Spangler, hay wagon rides, children's activities like face painting and a dime toss, other games, hair cutting for women and more.
"The main goal is to do something for the community," said Markert. "We try to do a lot of things that involve the community. The point is to be there for people. We try to make it as much fun as possible."
Markert is seeking to draw several hundred people to Spring Thing, and she is hoping to raise about $5,000 from the event. Ten percent of the proceeds will go to the Warwick Hub, while the rest of the funds will be used for St. Luke's philanthropic activities like its Lunch with Luke free noon meal program, vacation Bible school and mission trips.
"If there's a need out there," said Markert, "we try to supply it."
St. Luke's UCC members, along with their friends and families, volunteer their time to make Spring Thing a success. There's a certain sense of satisfaction that comes from pulling together to reach a common goal.
"It's really a togetherness thing for the people of our church," said Markert. "It's our church family and friends. It just uplifts you. This kind of gets you outside of yourself and gets you to think about other people and their needs and their situations. It makes you feel proud. We're a little church, but the stuff we do makes us feel good."
For additional information about St. Luke's UCC, go to http://www.stlukesucc.com.
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