Christmas Gathering - The Church at Battle Creek

Wow! Is it ok to start a blog post with 'Wow!"? Well, that is all I could think of to start with. Last night I had a great time! Let's rewind about a month. Amy, my teacher friend who lives in Bartlesville emailed me and several other friends to see if we wanted to go to an event called Christmas Gathering that she attended last year. She said they give out a bunch of freebies at the church. It is a program by the church's ladies ministry. I remembered her talking about it last year, so I said sure, we all said sure... Free stuff? Fun night out?? Of course!


Amy went online to get the tickets. Panic! She could not purchse on line because the web site was down, nor by phone, because that is not allowed. Someone local (not in Bartlesville) had to dash to Broken Arrow to buy the tickets at $20 each. Panic! I was at work, so was Nellie. Gina was tied up. Samantha was our last hope. I emailed her and she was able to go get them! Thanks Sammy! You were our hero! About 2 weeks later we had a slight setback when it seemed that Nellie could not come along. But it turned out that she could. :o)

Samantha and Gigi.........................................Nellie, Amy and Lisa (me!)


We all met at our favorite restaurant, Qdoba for dinner first. Yum-o! Then we piled into Sammy's van and drove down the street a few miles to The Church at Battle Creek. Most of us were not sure exactly what to expect. Would it be mainly a religious experience? Was it more about the stuff? What was going to happen, and would we get there in time for dessert?!? We were directed in our parking without any trouble, and had a short walk to the doors. The church is in an amazing building. Apparantly it used to be an outlet mall? How did I miss that? I never knew we EVER had an outlet mall here!!

Samantha, Amy and Lisa

We had plenty of time so before we got some dessert, we shopped in the store they have on-site. Gigi bought an adorable owl door mat and we all bought silver tote bags for only $5!! The prices were very reasonable. I think a few other items were purchsed as well. Next we visited the dessert tables. There were lots of different yummies to try. So delicious. Most everyone liked the cream cheese on a oreo thingy with the cherries on top. Amy, daring to be different, declared she preferred the Puppy Chow. I liked it all. And that Red Velvet Cake dealie was divine!

After goofing around and posing for pictures, including our required picture of all of our feet, we we lined up to enter the sanctuary. There were a lot of ladies there. I heard there were 1500 each night. Thursday and Friday night, and they had several hundred ladies at a live feed in Pryor. I am not 100% sure of those numbers, but think lots and lots of ladies. Everyone we met and encountered was very pleasant and happy.

Amy, Samanth and Gigi waiting in line

The line moved quickly and we quicly found seats. We were on the last row, but that was no problem because there were 3 giant screens to watch if you could not see the stage area. This is obviously a first class operation! There was an excellent singer....I think her name was Alissa. She had a beautiful voice and was singing Christmas music. Of course we all enjoyed that!







Next they started several presentations, with music between each segment. We had a segment on Home Decor, Crafting, Cooking, and Shopping. During each segment our Elves would roll out with free gifts for everyone! First we received a great little tape measure in metalic colors. So cute and handy! During the cooking segment they sent out elves with these handy little kitchen gadgets called "Extra Hands". You use them to mix things instead of using your hands. Very nifty! During the crafting segment we recieved these handy little boxes of matches and recipie (did I spell that right?) book that has gift ideas in it. The final gift, right before we left was featured in the shopping and organizing segment. It was this awesome tote/hamper. It is so beautiful and functional. The exit was orderly and organized.

We all had a fabulous time, and if there was one sentiment that we all wanted to share, it was that we really wish there was a way to thank the ladies at this church who have worked so hard at setting this up! What a fun night we had. The segments were hilarious, the music was inspiring and the desserts were delicious. Thank you so much!!!