Annual Church Festival and Marketplace: Join Us Dec. 3 For Fun Day to Support Our Ministries

Being separated from friends, family, and the greater community throughout 2020 and 2021 made for difficult times. In turn, such a long separation makes us all appreciate an event like the St. Francis Church Festival and Marketplace all the more. This year, we will gather on Saturday, Dec. 3, for this fun event on the feast day of St. Francis Xavier, the patron saint of our parish.

The Church Festival and Marketplace offers a fun opportunity to shop for craft items and eat breakfast or brunch. Baked goods, candies, and freezer meals will be for sale. There will also be a raffle and plenty of games to entertain children. If the weather is nice, attendees can enjoy a hayride. Consider bringing a group of ladies for a fun day!

Margie Ponce is in her first year of taking charge of the event, also coordinated through the Xavier Women. Having been a member here at St. Francis Xavier since the new parish opened, Margie loves this opportunity to gather and celebrate the feast day of St. Francis of Xavier.

“I am a crafty person, and I love going to the festival and other craft fairs,” Margie says. “I’ve been volunteering since the parishes merged more than four years ago. The festival has always been close to my heart.”

The event has three purposes — to get people together, to fundraise, and to donate to a local charity. The money raised this year will benefit Birthright of Stillwater. In the past, money raised has gone to the Early Childhood Development Center, Stillwater Catholic Charities, the program for high school youth, and our parish’s Spanish Ministry.

“As a church, we are supposed to be family and a community,” Margie says. “It’s great getting together to support each other and our ministries.”

Margie is proud to continue this important tradition that dates back at least 30 years. “You can use this opportunity to shop for birthday and Christmas gifts, but more importantly, get together to be in community and support important ministries and programs,” she says. Margie also enjoys sharing her time and talent to make rope rosaries on Fridays, and knitting and crocheting shawls for the Wrapped in Prayer Ministry. With her love for crafts, these are perfect ministries for her. In addition, she helps with Becoming Catholic and teaches religion at the St. Francis Xavier Early Childhood Development Center.