An evening of live and silent auctions will be held at Grace Community Church (GCC) of Willow Street on Friday, May 13. Normally an annual event, the auction is returning after a hiatus due to the pandemic. Proceeds from the event will benefit the church's youth ministry, GCC Youth, helping to defray some of the costs of upcoming summer mission trips.

The auctions will feature a wide variety of items donated by the local community and GCC members. Items will range from gift baskets and Amish-made furniture items, including a glider, to a gift basket from Lancaster Archery Supply.

Participants may bid on gift baskets, evenings out, miniature golf, theater tickets, train rides and more. There will also be a weekend cabin rental in Mount Gretna, an Airbnb rental in Mifflin County and a trout fishing trip. Also featured will be 100 pounds of ground beef in 10-pound packages from a local farm.

The silent auction will run from 5 to 7 p.m., with winners announced and items distributed at 7:30 p.m. The live auction will begin at 6 p.m. All sales will be cash only, and items or the information needed to collect them will be given out that evening. Attendees must be present to bid and purchase.

Food will be available from 5 to 7 p.m., including Chick-fil-a sandwiches, barbecue from Mission BBQ, chips, side dishes and beverages. Helping with the auction and food sales will be the students who will directly benefit from the event.

GCC Youth, open to students in sixth through 12th grades, meets year-round on Wednesday evenings. There are also two major summer mission trips that are the highlights of the year for students.

About 20 students will go to Boston from Sunday, June 12 through Saturday, June 18, where they will work with Next Step Ministries to help Boys & Girls Clubs of Boston renovate its facility, which serves hundreds of children throughout the year.

"We'll be doing light construction projects, painting and drywalling," youth pastor Kevin Lance said. "It's a very different cultural experience as well as a good spiritual experience."

The second trip, set for Monday, July 18, through Sunday, July 24, will take students to the Momentum Conference, held by Momentum Ministry Partners at Indiana Wesleyan University.

"It's essentially a conference that help students connect their faith with real life to help them get a deeper perspective on how their faith impacts their everyday life and how to take their faith out into the world," Lance explained.

Proceeds from the auction will help cover travel and trip expenses for the students. Each student receives a scholarship to cover costs.

"One of the things we really emphasize in our ministry is we never want anyone not to be able to attend the trip because of financial concerns," Lance said. "We hold this auction and events like this so we can offer these trips affordably for our students."

Grace Church is located at 212 Peach Bottom Road, Willow Street. For more information, call 717-464-5333 or visit http://www.gccws.net. More information about the auction is available by visiting http://www.facebook.com/gccws and choosing Events.