FORTVILLE — Cheryl Stoner was among the shoppers last year, milling around among the fabric-draped tables, eyeing painted wood signs, Christmas ornaments and other hand-crafted items sold to help feed hungry people.
This year she’s helping make the merchandise as Fortville Christian Church prepares for its second Harvest of Talents. It’s a pooling of talents, from crafting and baking to hair cutting and furniture refinishing, to raise money for feeding programs of International Disaster Emergency Service.
“I was just impressed with what they did last year and thought I wanted to be part of that,” Stoner said, in between strokes of aqua paint applied to a wooden rectangle as the background for a decorative sign.
Several members of the church felt that desire to join in a couple of years ago, after seeing other churches organize Harvest of Talents events. They’d even traveled to IDES headquarters in Noblesville to paint crafts to be sold at those other churches’ events. Eventually they decided they’d like to have one at Fortville Christian.
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Harvest of Talents started in 1983 in Illinois. The idea spread to other churches. Today seven churches — three in Indiana, two in Kentucky and two in Tennessee — put on Harvest of Talents. Together they raised money in 2017 for hunger relief programs, a need ministry leaders say remains but is not always as visible as the natural disasters that IDES also responds to. In 2017 IDES provided more than 1.6 million pounds of rice, corn and beans for hungry families around the world.
Last year, organizers of the Harvest of Talents in Fortville hoped to raise about $4,000. They set the event the same day as the Cruise on Main in Fortville and passed out cards there, hoping visitors to the downtown Fortville event would also travel a couple of miles south and stop by the church.
The total of more than $11,300 raised far surpassed the pre-event goal.
“We were just amazed,” said Brenda Ayers. “I thought that was pretty amazing for our little church.”
Ayers said the new goal is to surpass last year’s total. She painted scores of signs over the winter, and other church members have been busy at home with painting, crocheting, quilting, refinishing and other projects, hoping to draw more shoppers and feed more people.
Others have donated furniture, decorative plates and other items for sale at the Harvest or its silent or live auctions. Still other contributions have come in the form of gift cards from local businesses.
At several craft nights leading up to the Harvest, people gather and chat as they fashion wreaths, plaques, Christmas ornaments and other items to be sold.
Across the table from Stoner, Amy Griffey was painting the script on a “Be still and know” sign.
“It’s fun to use God-given talents,” she said, “and to have a purpose that’s helping people who need food.”
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The second annual Harvest of Talents is set for 9 to 4 p.m. Sept. 8 at Fortville Christian Church, 9450 N. County Road 200W, Fortville.
Proceeds benefit International Disaster Emergency Service’s hunger relief programs.
Shoppers will find a wealth of decorative items, such as painted signs, fabric snowmen, garden rocks, Christmas ornaments and more. Hangers will be sold in bundles. Acts of service, such as baking cinnamon buns or doing yard work, can also be offered for sale at the Harvest.
Themed gift baskets will be up for bids until 1:30 p.m. in a silent auction. Larger items such as furniture will be part of a live auction at 2:30 p.m.
The day also features food: biscuits and gravy at 9 a.m., walking tacos at 10:30 a.m. and pulled pork sandwiches at 11:30 a.m.
A new church cookbook with more than 500 recipes will also be for sale. Cookbook sale proceeds will not go to the Harvest but will support the church’s work in the Dominican Republic.
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