MCC SALE: ALL FOR ONE THROUGH FAITH & SPIRIT

2025 South Dakota MCC Relief Sale big in spirit, sense of community and funds raised — to the tune of $83,000

JEREMY WALTNER – PUBLISHER

Nothing like a little scandal to add an element of intrigue to a benefit auction.

It happened during the “pie guys” portion of the South Dakota Mennonite Central Committee Relief Sale in Freeman Saturday afternoon, July 19, when a fierce bidding war broke out between Joyce Hofer and Steve Friesen, who was being assisted in his bidding by two young grandsons. Back and forth the two went, each hoping to become the high bidder who would then pick a pie and, thus, declare the winner.

The battled featured three men: two-time defending “pie guys” champion Dan Graber and his battle-tested chocolate peanut butter pie; and challengers Matthew Tschetter and his apple pie in a Pioneer Woman pie plate, and Lance Friesen and his strawberry pie with a shortbread butter crust layered in cream cheese with a splash of vanilla.

Eventually the bidding was whittled down to two: Joyce, whom Dan had earlier credited for helping him with his pie-making skills, and Steve — father of Lance.

Past $3,000 the bids continued without a second thought, $100 increments at a time, until, finally, it was over. Joyce was the winning bidder, coming in at $4,000, and picked Dan’s chocolate peanut butter pie, hand delivered to her by the baker himself, to rousing applause.

Just then, Steve piped up.

He would pay $4,100 for the second choice — his son’s strawberry pie.

A murmur worked its way across the crowd gathered in the large dining room in the basement of Pioneer Hall. Sideways glances were shared between neighbors. There were smirks.

“What a crock,” said one who will go unidentified, but happens to be the wife of Lance, suggesting that even though her husband’s pie went for more, Dan — her brother — would walk away a champion for the third time.

Oh what tangled webs we weave.

So who had actually won? Nobody seemed to know in the moment, and does it really matter? Of course not. The spirit of community fused together by family and friends and the overwhelming generosity in support of the mission of Mennonite Central Committee — worldwide relief for those in need — is the headline here.

To that end, MCC is the winner.

And why not have a little fun along the way?

So just how much did Saturday’s MCC sale raise? Well, the $8,100 generated by Dan and Lance’s baking skills — and the $600 brought by Matthew’s apple — seasoned with a pinch of nepotism is but a small fraction of the pie.

According to preliminary reports announced in Mennonite churches the following morning, Saturday’s relief sale generated $83,000 through food and auction sales, the My Coins Count project for youngsters, and other cash donations.

Much of it came through the live auction, which featured 24 opportunities to bid on items ranging from quilts to furniture to food. This year’s sale also saw the return of a relatively new addition — blessing bids which afford the opportunity for multiple individuals to contribute to a specific project. This year’s blessing bids include food baskets for Palestine, goats and sheep in Rwanda, clean water wells in Mozambique and farming resources in Haiti.

The money raised through this year’s sale is a staggering outcome considering the relatively small and humble gathering inside the Pioneer Hall dining space on Saturday, where several hundred milled about for several daylight hours, socializing, fellowshipping and opening up their pocketbooks.

“It’s amazing how everybody just steps up,” said Ryan Wieman, whose family business, Wieman Land & Auction of Marion, has been calling the auction since the sale debuted in Sioux Falls in 1987 as a joint effort by Mennonite churches in Freeman and Mt. Lake, Minn. “Everybody just puts away whatever it is they’re dealing with or thinking about and want to help others. This is what it’s all about — helping people in need.”

Ryan remembers tagging along to the sale with his dad, Rich, and uncle, Gary, when it was in Sioux Falls — first in the Expo building on the grounds of the Sioux Empire Fair and later in the Sioux Falls Arena. And he makes an interesting observation as it relates to the generous spirit of this strong agricultural community, even in tough economic times.

“I’ve been an active part of this for maybe 20 years, and one thing we’ve noticed, is that even through lows in farming, people are always willing to give,” Ryan said. “I think sometimes they recognize it even more so when times are a little tougher.”

“It looks different today than it did when it was in Sioux Falls,” he continues, “but we’re still doing the same thing.”

Matthew Tschetter has also seen the generosity firsthand, and over many years at that.

One of three children of Larry and Edie Tschetter — the matriarch of South Dakota’s relief sale who has been the lynchpin in every one — he and his siblings have been around it since Day 1.

“I remember driving up to Sioux Falls with Mom and Dad, always filling the car up with stuff and then doing it again the next day,” said Matthew, who today lives in Sioux Falls with his family and is the executive director of Caminando Juntos — which means Walking Together — a Hispanic ministry that works with Latino migrants.

“This is one of the smaller sales (in the country), but when you think about all the MCC alumni who live in this area and the church’s continued support of MCC through offerings, it remains something that is important when we think about our faith and service.”

Faith and service is MCC, Matthes says, whether it’s as a volunteer spending time overseas or financial support here at home. And he has lived that out throughout his own life, serving as an MCC kid in Bolivia from 1980 to 1983, in Akron, Penn., from 1995 to 1997 and again in Nicaragua from 2012 to 2015. The 1988 Freeman Academy graduate has also served on regional and national boards for more than a dozen years.

All of this is, as MCC logo that states, “in the name of Christ.”

“It’s serving in a way that is also an openness to learning how Christ works in other places, because Christ is there, as well,” Matthew said. “It’s connecting with other Christians and other people, working together to try to bring justice and peace in whatever situation they may be in.

“This sale is a way of doing that, as well,” Matthew continues. “There’s just a deep commitment to raising money for MCC and its projects.”