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First Unitarian Universalist Society hosts ‘fun’draiser

ABOVE: Jim Rapp served as the fill-in auctioneer and Dianna Bonnell as emcee for the live auction.

Bids and banter flew Saturday night as the First Unitarian Universalist Society of Marietta (FUUSM) held its annual service auction at the Gathering Place on the Marietta College campus.

“We hold this event annually, we’ve had this for at least 20 years,” said Shari Ballantyne, this year’s organizer for the event.

Ballantyne said the event, which is open to the public, is the church’s annual fundraiser that brings people together with food and fun. The fundraiser included a silent auction and a country store raffle in addition to a live auction.

The FUUSM live auction featured 51 unique items to bid on, ranging from food and trips to babysitting and golf.

“I’m very pleased at the array of items that we have to offer,” said FUUSM member George Banziger as he listed off the items to be bid on.

Some examples were a five-course gourmet dinner, Sunset Safari at the Wilds, three nights stay in North Carolina, a trip to Israel, Egypt and Jordan in the Middle East, a weekend at Rising Moon Farm in Tyler County, a Super Bowl party and a Williamsburg, Va., weekend.

Other items offered to bid on included weeding services, a murder mystery dinner, a Chinese New Year’s Dinner, Peking Ducks, catering, readers theatre and a “Country Fixins” dinner just to mention a few. Things to be bid on are different each year.

“We have some strange and interesting items for sale and auction,” said the Rev. Kathryn Hawbaker with FUUSM. “We think it’s fun with some hidden gems. This year we have a fair amount of paintings from the congregation and local artists. This is a great tradition to get some of your Christmas presents. It’s a good way to get something interesting and it’s for a great cause.”

From start to finish, Hawbaker shared that the FUUSM congregation is all in with the event. What started out in the church’s basement has moved around over the years. It’s been a tried and true way to get people together.

Jim Rapp served as the fill-in auctioneer and Dianna Bonnell as emcee. Rapp also had items for sale including in-home catered meals and for the 15th and final year, his “Country Fixins” dinner served at his log cabin home out in the country. Offering the dinner is a natural as Rapp loves to cook and entertain.

“This a good social event, a big fundraiser,” said Rapp. “It’s grown and grown and grown. It’s a good time.”

“I’m a FUUSM member and I travel an hour and 10 minutes to come to church each weekend,” said Annie Warmke, who along with her husband own Blue Rock Station on their Muskingum County farm. “For someone who is progressive in their thinking, there’s not many places to go where everyone will accept you. This is a welcoming congregation.

“Our house is made of reclaimed garbage and we offer tours to see it,” smiled Warmke, a writer, farmer and traveler who promotes sustainable living.

This year the FUUSM auction was taking bids on a cheese making class and a Bodacious Women workshop that includes yoga, learning about healthy food and a wild food walk.

“The people in our society are very generous to offer their items and services,” said Warmke. “We need these types of events to come together and connect and share our resources. This is just a wonderful group of people who loves to get together. It also gives other people a chance to see who we are.”

Winning a bid on a Blue Rock Station Cheese Making stay was Dawn Hewitt.

“I am thrilled about going to Blue Rock Station and learn how to make cheese,” said Hewitt. “Blue Rock Station is an Earthship, a house made of trash with solar panels and water catchment. I can’t wait to see this place. It’s awesome. I love this auction. It’s so much fun. There’s so many surprises and fun things.”

Debra Miller and her husband James Grecni will enjoy a five course dinner with wine pairing by winning a bid on an elaborate dinner in the Mills/Neyman home.

“It feels great to get a winning bid on this,” said Miller. “I was at this dinner last year and it was wonderful. We come to this every year. There are lots of things to bid on.”

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