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Founded by the Rev. Elizabeth Knott, 1993
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Pal Craftaid
is a proud member
of the Fair Trade Federation
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Pre-Christmas Sales near you!
Mark your calendars!
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November
Nov. 13-Dec. 25 - First Presbyterian Church, Hope Village, Charleston, WV
Nov. 16 - Parkwood Presbyterian Church, Pittsburgh, PA
Nov. 16 - Olivet Presbyterian Church, Bethlehem Bazaar, Charlottesville, VA
Nov. 16-17 - Christ Lutheran Church, Fair Trade Holiday Bazaar, Sedona, AZ
Nov. 16-17 - Covenant Presbyterian Church, Upper Arlington, OH
Nov. 16-17 - Westminster Presbyterian Church, Portage, MI
Nov. 17 - Westminster Presbyterian Church, Minneapolis, MN
Nov. 17 - First Presbyterian Church of San Leandro, San Leandro, CA
Nov. 17 - Northminster Presbyterian Church, San Antonio, TX
Nov. 17 - Covenant Presbyterian Church, Huntsville, AL
Nov. 23 - St. Paul's United Methodist Church, Pittsburgh, PA
Nov. 23-24 - St. Therese Catholic Church, Branford, CT
Nov. 24 - University Presbyterian Church, Tempe, AZurch, Kerrville, TX
Nov. 24 - Highland Presbyterian, Maryville, TN
December
Dec. 1, 8 & 22 - First Presbyterian Church, Kirkwood, MO
Dec. 1, 8 & 15 - Northminster Presbyterian Church, Seattle, WA
Dec. 6 - Hill Country Bible Church, Pflugerville Women's Christmas Event, Pflugerville, TX
Dec. 6 & 7 - Community Presbyterian Church, Ben Avon, PA
Dec. 7 - St. Mary Catholic Church, Branford, CT
Dec. 7 - North Decatur Presbyterian Church, Decatur, GA
Dec. 8 - St. James Lutheran Church, Grosse Pointe Farms, MI
Dec. 8 - Northbrook Presbyterian Church, Beverly Hills, MI
Dec. 8 - First Presbyterian Church, Arlington, VA
Dec. 8-9 - Orchard Park Presbyterian Church, Orchard Park, NY
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Greetings for Advent,
Christmas and the New Year
Check out Pal Craftaid's online sales
As I sit here at my desk in early November, it has gotten dark very early this evening. The day was beautiful, but cool; the fall leaves have just about completed their cycle and the trees will soon be bare.
The exception to this is the beautiful maple tree in our backyard which is just now beginning to turn the glorious yellow we see each year. Soon, the sun will glow on the yellow leaves and will flood our second floor bedroom with glorious light. That will last for a week or so and then the leaves will drop and we will be raking them as snow begins to fall here in Detroit. I always look forward to this tree turning its golden yellow, but know that soon we will be in the midst of Advent and winter.
As we enter the late fall and await the start of Advent, Pal Craftaid will be participating in many sales across the country. For some of the sales, Pal Craftaid will be the only vendor present, and at some, Pal Craftaid will join other vendors in an alternative Christmas event. Whatever the program, we hope that you'll check out our inventory when a sale is close to you and make some of your Christmas purchases. Please see the list of sales in this enewsletter.
Please check out www.palcraftaid.org for the wide variety of nativities, ornaments and sculptures which would make wonderful Christmas gifts. We definitely have items for everyone in every price category.
Because we strongly believe that everyone should take an opportunity to visit Israel/Palestine (I/P) and to see the facts on the ground, we want to share information about the upcoming conference, Mosaic of Peace:
Responding to a Call for Peace and Wholeness in a Land Called "Holy" trip to I/P sponsored by the Presbyterian Peacemaking Program. This conference will take place April 28 - May 10, 2014. Applications for this exciting study opportunity are due by Nov. 15, 2013. You can learn more about the trip at www.pcusa.org/mosaicofpeace (or call 502-569-8700).
On behalf of the Pal Craftaid Board, may I be among the first to wish you a most blessed Advent, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! We look forward to keeping in touch with you throughout 2014.
~ Rev. Carol Hylkema, Board President
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Bethlehem Carvers
Ready Seasonal Nativities
by Alexa Smith
If you ask Ibrahim Giacaman to estimate how many nativities he's carved in his 49 years, he just chortles quietly.
"I couldn't count," he says. "But I started early, yes."
He has been carving wood since he was a 10-year-old boy who helped his father in his grandfather's business.
The factory sits a block off of Manger Square in Bethlehem's ancient city center. Inside, woodworkers shape aged and dried olive wood into religious heirlooms for sale at Il Bambino, the family store near the Nativity Church.
Oddly, the closer it gets to Christmas, the more quiet the wood shop gets.
In the fall, the place hums as items get polished, packed and shipped for sales around the world, big orders and small. "It is almost the end of our season now," says Giacaman, who now has two sons who lend a hand at Salem Giacaman and Sons, the latest in a family line that runs back four generations.
 | #218, 6 1/4 inches
1-piece nativity with animals
$28.00 |
An increasingly popular item is the one-piece nativity, which comes in a variety of styles and sits in bits on the shop's shelves drying for a few weeks before polishing and shipping. The family creates single-figure designs in every imaginable size, but this style is becoming popular.
"We've always made these... but they are selling well, especially in the last two years. They're less expensive, especially the four-to-five-inch grottos," says Giacaman.
Tourists find them easy to pack; and once home, they are not limited for use at Christmas, but may be displayed year-round.
 | #215, 7 inches
1-piece nativity with bell
$28.00 |
"I think people like that the people within the carvings are without details. You can look at this image and imagine the face that you want. You can imagine how Mary looks, what Joseph looked like. You can see each image the way you like," he says.
The back of each nativity is cut from one piece of wood and the other individual bits, the characters, the animals, the frame, are done with a hand-cut saw and glued into place.
Giacaman says that his favorite one-piece nativity nests the scene inside a bell.
But new designs are already percolating. He's just waiting for more quiet.
"One of these days I'll sit in the office at the factory... grab a piece of wood. Turn a panel. And I'll start sketching," he says.
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Melia Campaign
Builds Womens' Businesses
by Carol Hylkema
The Pal Craftaid Board invites you to share in its annual fund-raising campaign for one of our long time partners. This year, we are focusing our fund-raising efforts on the Melia Shop in East Jerusalem, a gathering place for women and a conduit for Palestinian embroidery to be sold around the world.
Pal Craftaid purchases much of its beautiful needlework from the Melia Shop.
Through this campaign, our gifts to the Melia Shop will help support hiring consultants to work with needlework artisans in the development of new designs for customers in Europe, America and the Gulf States, as well the implementation of new marketing strategies.
The needlework artisans work in cooperatives around the West Bank and in East Jerusalem, and, as many as 500 women are on the shop's artisan list. The design consultant will work with staff at the shop, as well as visit with artisans in their homes, as it is not possible under Israeli occupation for all of the women to come together.
The conditions in the Palestinian Occupied Territories continue to be dire and harsh. These needlework artisans often find themselves, unexpectedly, the primary wage earners in their families.
The gifts to this campaign will give the kind of boost needed to enhance their opportunities for new products and new markets through the Melia Shop. Won't you join us? Thank you.
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Checks can be made out to:
Pal Craftaid
and noted for the 'Melia Shop'.
Send to Virginia Priest, treasurer, at: 3520 North 30th Street,
Tacoma, WA 98407.
Thank you for your support!
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Blessed Mary
by Jean Henderson
 Mother of Jesus, Mother of God, Queen of Heaven, Lady of Sorrows, the Blessed Virgin, New Eve, Handmaid of the Lord, Star of the Sea, Bride of Heaven, Mother of the Church, Queen of Wisdom...
So many titles this woman has been given over the centuries by followers of Christ all over the world.
All of those titles are depicted in the beautiful olivewood sculptures of Mary offered by Pal Craftaid artisans:
- Mary standing alone.
- Mary with her baby Son.
- Mary with her Son and Joseph.
- Mary as part of a crèche scene.
All which are so much a part of family Christmas traditions.
 | #219, 8 inches
1-piece nativity, musical (Silent Night)
$58.00 |
When I use one of the sculptures for morning devotions, I see Mary's joy, her sorrow, her humanity, and her divinity, as the scenes of her life scroll through my thoughts about her.
My favorite crèche among my collection is a musical one - and I imagine Mary singing the lullaby tune it plays to lull Jesus to sleep, as I did with my girls when they were small.
What wonderful gifts to give this holiday season!
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Your Gifts to Pal Craftaid Are Appreciated
Your donations are used to support Pal Craftaid ministries. To donate online, click the link below.
You may also mail your gift to Pal Craftaid, 520 N. 30th Street, Tacoma, WA 98407. Pal Craftaid operates as a 501(c)(3) organization. Gifts are tax deductible.
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