Join us in an exciting pop-up partnership between Friends Peace Teams and the Quaker Religious Education Collaborative!
We are starting a pilot project organizing Friendly Holiday Gift Fairs as a way to learn about, celebrate, and support peacemaking through “gifts in honor of” a family member or friend. You are invited to serve as a pilot site and help us refine our model and modes of support for a fuller launch in 2020.
Try Hosting a Friendly Holiday Gift Fair this year!
There’s still plenty of time.
Connect wishes for Peace on Earth with practical, on-the-ground, peacemaking by Friends Peace Teams!
“HOW TO” GUIDE
A Friendly Holiday Gift Fair celebrates and supports active peacemaking at the Christmas Season. Gifts to or in honor of friends or loved ones connect our wishes for Peace on Earth with the practical, on-the-ground, peace work of Friends Peace Teams and other ministries of your choice.
Sample Gift Card Inserts and The Gift Fair How To Guide are available on the QREC website now. A full collection of downloadable materials for publicizing, organizing, and hosting your Gift Fair will be available mid-October on our website.
The Friendly Gift Fair will include activities from five Friends Peace Teams areas of work:
- Toward Right Relationship with Native Peoples, Paula Palmer
- African Great Lakes Initiative, David Bucura
- Peacebuilding en las Américas, Monica Maher
- Asia West Pacific Initiative, Kins Aparece
- Power of Goodness Story Collection, Nadine Hoover
To add other ministries your members are engaged with, please register as a pilot project site with Beth Collea at bethcollea@aol.com. She can send you customizable templates.
Simple Steps to Host a Friendly Gift Fair
Materials needed:
- Boxes of assorted Christmas cards with envelopes
- A world map with locations of Quaker peace work
- Access to a computer printer or copier (It’s ideal to have access to a printer during the Fair so you can print more Stocking Stuffers and Card inserts as needed.)
- Several colors of printer paper, paper-cutter, narrow ribbon in colors
- Clipboards for shopping lists, if possible
- Glasses or containers to hold stocking stuffers for each activity.
- Tables and table clothes
- Pens for shoppers
- Cash box
- Display boards, optional.
Preparation
- Build Your Circle — Engage a First Day School class, a Peace Committee, your entire meeting, or a Peace Club at a Friends School to act as host. Print the sample materials from QREC‚ Friendly Gift Fair section on our website to help you convey the process when you propose the Friendly Gift Fair adventure.
- Set a date for your Friendly Gift Fair in November or early December. There’s still plenty of time! (You can also host a Virtual Friendly Gift Fair.)
- Announce the Friendly Gift Fair to your Meeting, Church or School and hang a Save-the-Date poster to encourage Friends to add this into their shopping plans. There’s a print-and-post version on the website.
- Read about and discuss the Friends Peace Teams’ work at the depth that works for you this year. Explore FriendsPeaceTeams.org, which gives us a front row seat on a wide variety of peacemaking initiatives!
- Discern local ministries that members of your group are engaged in that you would also like to support to give your Fair a local and global flavor. For these local ministries, write a description to fit the standard template QREC provides and add their names to the shopping list and tally sheet.
- Publicity — Generate excitement with stories and pictures in your meeting, church or school newsletters. Feel free to invite the community to your Fair through your local newspaper or posters. Announce after meeting/church and give updates on preparations.
- Create a display, simple or elaborate, using the pictures and descriptions online. Make a display for each peace activity. Add a map and more facts or reflections on why this activity is critical and how it helps make real our hope for Peace on Earth. It is useful to have the display elevated with a trifold board, an easel, or cardboard backing so it is eye-catching.
- Print Stocking Stuffers, Gift Inserts, Shopping Lists and Tally Sheet. If possible, assign one color for each peace activity. Print that activity’s description on that color and cut in half. There are 2 per page. Roll some activity descriptions into scrolls lengthwise and tie with a festive ribbon to offer as Stocking Stuffers. Leave some flat to be used as Gift Card Inserts. Print the Shopping List. It helps to have some clipboards on hand for the shoppers. Print the tally sheet to track the amount of donations to each peace activity.
- Price it right for your community! Stocking Stuffers can be sold for $1 or $5 or $10 each depending on what you discern is the right donation amount for your community. Any amount will extend a wish for active peacemaking and spread the word about Friends Peace Teams and local ministries! The Gift Card inserts can be offered in whatever amount the buyer choses. This will not be disclosed to the recipient of their gift.
- Plan for refreshments if you choose. Pick-up desserts or small sandwiches make for a more festive atmosphere and can be offered as a bake sale. Offer water, tea or hot cider!
On Friendly Gift Fair Day
- Set up adequate table space in three areas:
- Area 1: Displays and pictures spread out for exploring and shopping.
- Area 2: Cashier with Gift Card Inserts, Stocking Stuffers and assorted Christmas cards. Use the tally sheet to track donations to each Peace Activity.
- Area 3: Refreshments and visiting area.
- Give each shopper a Shopping List with the names of all of the Peace Activities to fill out indicating the number of Cards and Inserts for each of the various activities and the amount of the donation for the Gift Card inserts.
- Have 2 or 3 Friends assist with the Check Out and Payment Process. One Friend will receive a shopper’s Shopping List, add up the total amount of donations for each peace activity, count the Stocking Stuffers selected and receive the payment. A second Friend could select the appropriate number and type of Gift Card Inserts. And a third Friend could help select Christmas Cards from the choices available and have colored pens to write holiday greetings if the shopper would like. Having each activity color-coded will make this task much easier!
To Host a Virtual or Pop-Up Friendly Gift Fair
- Prepare as usual.
- Publicize the variety of Peace Activities with bulletin board displays or other posts.
- Offer Shopping Lists and Designate a Friend or two who will collect orders and donations and pass out Christmas Cards with inserts and/or Stocking Stuffers directly to the people who ordered or at an agreed upon time and place.
- Tally up donations and report to your meeting/church or school. Kindle a sense of shared community commitment to Peace by celebrating the gathered support.
After the Friendly Gift Fair
- Send in Donations promptly, preferably within 48 hours. Send Friends Peace Teams’ donations to: Friends Peace Teams, 1001 Park Avenue, St. Louis, MO 63104-3720 USA. Send the local donations to the official office or coordinator for that ministry.
- Report to Meeting for Business and thank your Friendly shoppers!
- Give QREC feedback on your experience with a Friendly Gift Fair. See evaluation form online.
- Consider hosting a Friendly Gift Fair for Christmas 2020 or annually. Gradually learn more and more about how Quakers do peace work today and refine your displays and presentations.
Contact Beth Collea with questions.
An Introduction
The Quaker Religious Education Collaborative (QREC) is an international, cross-branch, grassroots network of Friends sharing a stewardship for lifelong Quaker faith formation through religious education. We formed in April 2014 and now serve more than 300 Friends in our network. We actively engage and support each other across languages and continents. We gather for regional and annual conferences and offer monthly Conversation Circles via an online conferencing platform.
Steering Circle
We share leadership as part of our collaborative mission, making decisions using the Quaker ‘sense of the meeting’ process, sitting in expectant, worshipful waiting for the emergence of shared truth. Read more…
Working Circles
Our work takes place in ‘circles’ or small groups of Friends who labor on a common task, usually meeting by video conference due to the geographic diversity of the membership. Read more…
The Resource Library
Finders Guide, a sampling of the collection
The QREC Resource Library is a place to share lessons and other educational information in support of our work as Quaker religious educators. This library is a forum for curricula, articles, videos and other educational materials on Quaker themes. You will also find principles, policies and procedures to strengthen operation of your child, youth and adult religious education programs.
Children's Education
Adult Education
Family
African Quaker Library
Youth Education
Small Meetings
Young Adult Friends
Biblioteca QREC
Events
Find renewal, companionship, and help for nitty gritty issues in Quaker religious education, all the while opening spaces for Spirit to work and listening together for God’s way forward.
QREC holds an annual conference and retreat. In addition we hold online Conversation Circles and post other religious education events as we learn about them.
Conversation Circles
Online conferences for Quaker religious educators to share about their work. Conversations are scheduled for two sessions per topic to encourage international participation. Join the conversation…
Other Events
Religious education events of interest to Quakers from all parts of the world. Please let us know about upcoming online or in-person events happening in your area. See the list of upcoming events…
Love at the Heart
Spiritual Practices
Discernment
Active Caring
Quaker Family Culture
Finding the Light
Faith at Home
Home is the heart of faith formation for all families. This is especially true for Friends. As an experiential religion, Quakerism is best learned through living in loving community. Indeed, the vast majority of faith formation for our young Friends happens at home in the busy swirl of daily life.
Become a Member
Submit Resources
Get Announcements
Donate
Attend an Event
Contact Us
Get Involved
QREC depends on all of us sharing our gifts and skills as religious educators. Here are some of the ways you can get involved…
Author: QREC, Friends Peace Teams
Illustrator:
Publisher: QREC
Age Group: All Ages
Preparation Time:
Related File: Click to view/download file
Related Link (or File): Click to go to link
Topics: Advent, All-Age Activities, Alternatives to Violence (AVP), Peace, Service Projects, Sharing, Social Action, Social Justice
An Introduction
The Quaker Religious Education Collaborative (QREC) is an international, cross-branch, grassroots network of Friends sharing a stewardship for lifelong Quaker faith formation through religious education. We formed in April 2014 and now serve more than 300 Friends in our network. We actively engage and support each other across languages and continents. We gather for regional and annual conferences and offer monthly Conversation Circles via an online conferencing platform.
Steering Circle
We share leadership as part of our collaborative mission, making decisions using the Quaker ‘sense of the meeting’ process, sitting in expectant, worshipful waiting for the emergence of shared truth. Read more…
Working Circles
Our work takes place in ‘circles’ or small groups of Friends who labor on a common task, usually meeting by video conference due to the geographic diversity of the membership. Read more…
The Resource Library
Finders Guide, a sampling of the collection
The QREC Resource Library is a place to share lessons and other educational information in support of our work as Quaker religious educators. This library is a forum for curricula, articles, videos and other educational materials on Quaker themes. You will also find principles, policies and procedures to strengthen operation of your child, youth and adult religious education programs.
Children's Education
Adult Education
Family
African Quaker Library
Youth Education
Small Meetings
Young Adult Friends
Biblioteca QREC
Events
Find renewal, companionship, and help for nitty gritty issues in Quaker religious education, all the while opening spaces for Spirit to work and listening together for God’s way forward.
QREC holds an annual conference and retreat. In addition we hold online Conversation Circles and post other religious education events as we learn about them.
Conversation Circles
Online conferences for Quaker religious educators to share about their work. Conversations are scheduled for two sessions per topic to encourage international participation. Join the conversation…
Other Events
Religious education events of interest to Quakers from all parts of the world. Please let us know about upcoming online or in-person events happening in your area. See the list of upcoming events…
Love at the Heart
Spiritual Practices
Discernment
Active Caring
Quaker Family Culture
Finding the Light
Faith at Home
Home is the heart of faith formation for all families. This is especially true for Friends. As an experiential religion, Quakerism is best learned through living in loving community. Indeed, the vast majority of faith formation for our young Friends happens at home in the busy swirl of daily life.
Become a Member
Submit Resources
Get Announcements
Donate
Attend an Event
Contact Us
Get Involved
QREC depends on all of us sharing our gifts and skills as religious educators. Here are some of the ways you can get involved…