Dear Friends of ACLEA,

As you know, 2020 has been an interesting year. Thankfully, FIRE 2020 was successfully held just before Covid-19 threw our country into turmoil. The virus has disrupted our lives in so many ways – from the way we work, to the way we honor our dead, from the way we worship, to the way our children are taught, and the severe isolation of our elderly brothers and sisters. These examples are but a few of the ways our regular lives were interrupted and put on hold.

At this moment, the ACLEA board is busy planning for FIRE XVI, to be held in the spring of 2021. As with all public events nowadays, FIRE is going to undergo some changes to our scheduling and presentation. These changes are necessary due to the financial risks involved with planning our annual event, as it could be postponed or canceled by the health authorities on very short notice.

With that said, we want to assure you that there will be a FIRE event in 2021, different than usual, but still designed to benefit both our schools, Christ Lutheran Juniata and Zion Classical Academy. We will again need to line up volunteers to make it happen and collect items for the live and silent auctions. With the changes coming to our auctions this year, we have decided to put even more emphasis on higher value live auction items. For the silent auction, which will require a smaller number of items because of the change in format, we seek to offer high quality and more unique items. If anyone who regularly donates items for the silent auction is wary of shopping for items due to Covid, we would be happy to do your shopping for you by grouping these cash donations to search out interesting items for the silent auction.

Amid all the uncertainty in today’s world, one thing is for sure, we will need your help in making FIRE XVI a success in 2021. Please keep us in your prayers as we work towards that goal. We look forward to seeing God’s handiwork unfold as we venture into this new format.

We look forward to sharing all the details about FIRE XVI in the coming weeks, and we thank you for your continued support of Christ Lutheran Juniata and Zion Classical Academy.

 

In His service,

The ACLEA Board – Dan Rayburn, Chad Nienhueser, Candice Katzberg, Andy Riales, Laura Hargis, Andy Blessin, Toni Bockerman & Brian Hueftle