Once the worship service is concluded the celebration continues with an auction of homegrown, homemade items with the proceeds going to help those who are less fortunate.

According to Kathy Schlabach, who co-chairs the praise service and auction with Barb Sprunger, the event started in 1888. Proceeds from that first sale totaled $115.30.

This year, the service and auction will be on Nov. 23, with the doors opening at 8 a.m. The praise service will start at 8:45 a.m., followed by the auction at 10 a.m.

In the past, the event has been in the church fellowship hall, but it has become so popular that it has outgrown the church fellowship hall, forcing organizers to find another location.

For the second year, the praise service and auction will be in the Sprunger Auction Building on the grounds of the Kidron Auction.

Schlabach explained that many years the money goes to international, national and local missions or to organizations to be used for disaster relief.

This year, the money is staying in the local community to assist four families who are connected to the church who have incurred high medical expenses during the year.

“The money will be divided equally among the families to be given as a love gift to be used by the recipients in such a way as to make their life easier,” Schlabach said.

“This is a true auction with an auctioneer and clerks. Pete Stauffer will be the auctioneer as he has been for the past 46 years. He is as much a part of the tradition as the auction itself. In the past, ‘Happy’ Sommer, David L. Zuercher and Cy Sprunger have sold the items for us.”

Sprunger explained that early in the auction’s history, items mainly consisted of produce, eggs and other bounty from the farms and gardens of the members of the congregation. Through the years, it has evolved to include quilts, rugs, baked goods, wood items and even donations from local businesses. Last year proceeds from the auction and praise service offering totaled $12,045.

The number and selection of items varies from year to year, based on what members of the congregation and the community want to donate.

Schlabach said this year’s sale bill includes a variety of items. One of the highlights each year is a quilt made by Women in Mission, the women’s group in the church. This year, the quilt is a peach and green “Feathered Heart” pattern.

Other items include crib quilts, a jean comforter, rag rugs made from blue jeans, wall hangings, fleece blankets made by Bible school children, a hand-knitted baby blanket and a hand-woven baby blanket. Sprunger said the jean comforter and the jean rag rugs are particularly popular items because they are attractive and durable.

The sale features baked goods ranging from ground cherry pies, homemade angel food cakes, stuffed peppers, homemade candy, English muffin bread, homemade rolls and a variety of desserts. One year the donations included a pie per month for six months, or a casserole per month for a year.

Other highlights include a weekend trip to the Ohio River for boating, skiing and relaxing; an Ohio State crock filled with all types of Buckeye goodies - Schlabach predicted that this should be a popular item; a revolving ceramic turkey filled with surprises including a home-cooked dinner for eight people.

Sprunger said all three youth groups from the church will contribute items to the sale. They may also be hired out to do odd jobs for family and friends with the proceeds also going to the auction. They will have a cafe area with coffee, hot chocolate and donuts for sale. “Stick your turkey in the oven on low and join us for the morning, we will have you out by noon,” Schlabach said.

On a serious note, Sprunger said that it has always been part of the history of the church to stress missions and giving to help others.

“When the auction and praise service started, people in the church did not have a lot of money,” he said. “This was a way that they could bring in money to the church to send back out for mission work. It is a way for us to help others who maybe don’t have as much as we do. This has always been a tradition in our church.”

Sprunger added that the Sprunger Auction Building will be open from 6-8 p.m. on Nov. 22 for people to drop off their consignments. For more information, contact Bob and Barb Sprunger at 330-857-7399 or Sam and Kathy Schlabach. at 330-828-2718.

This farm news was published in the Nov. 22, 2006 issue of Farm World, serving Indiana, Ohio, Illinois, Kentucky, Michigan and Tennessee.