This past weekend, I got to attend a fancy tea party with other members of Live Oak, an offering I’d bid on last spring at our church service auction. What a treat!

We hadn’t had a service auction for several years and to a certain extent, last year’s service auction was testing the waters, seeing what works, and remembering how to do it. It was a success, so this year, we’re ready to go Big Time!

Mark your calendar right now, because this is going to be an Event: a Saturday night party with food, drink, entertainment, a silent auction, plus a live auction for several special items. Saturday, March 7, 6 pm.

Now, the details of the Gala are still to be decided, and that’s where I need a team of fun-loving planners and co-conspirators. Will it be a dance? Will there be music? How about the food? If you are able to help out, please email me at minister@liveoakuu.org so we can get to making our plans. We need all kinds of folks on the team, from project managers to decorators to marketing to creative thinkers to just “I don’t know what I’ll do, but I’m all in!”

For those who haven’t experienced a service auction before, let me tell you a little about it. Unlike the smaller auction we do at the Selfies with Santa festival, a service auction is geared toward our own members, and it’s fewer “things” and more services and events (like the tea party). All of our members will be asked to contribute a service that can be bid on. Past items have included a custom-commissioned cross-stitch, 3D printed charms, Brownie of the Month for a year, closet organizing, gardening help, and loads of parties. (This is the best way to fill up your social calendar for the year!) One of the most fiercely fought-over items was the VIP parking spot by the front door. So be thinking both about what you’d like to contribute, but also what you’d like to bid on. Talk it up – it may be that what you’d really like to win is a skill someone else has, but hasn’t thought about.

Now, let’s get ready to throw a party!