BATH–A local church will host its third annual tag sale this weekend, with the money raised going to the restoration of a historic building.

St. Thomas Episcopal Church of Bath will host the sale, which is held the first weekend of October and has invited the community to come out, see the many items donated by community members and possibly make a purchase, which will aid the church’s restoration project of the Glebe House, said sale chairwoman Lani Lefevre. Tonight, the church will host the pre-sale starting at 5:45 p.m. and lasting until the last person is done browsing. The church is asking for a $15 donation per person or $25 per couple, which will cover the wine and cheese provided to attendees, Lefevre said. Saturday morning, the sale will reopen at 7:30 a.m. outside and 8 a.m. inside and will last until noon.

Lefevre said the church has had masses of volunteers aid in not only collecting the items to be sold, but also in grouping and arranging the items. The items donated by community members have been grouped in sections, based on the type of item, and the church has filled its Noe building on the church’s campus, as well as the surrounding yard, Lefevre said.

The sale features: a section of brand new items that have been donated; a section of homemade jellies, jams, pickles, foods, cakes, cookies and other homemade snacks; a huge outdoor section of used furniture; an entire section of lawn and garden items; and a number of other various items, Lefevre said. There is also a jacket that was given to a local resident by David Letterman that will be included in the sale.

“It takes a whole community to really raise awareness,” Lefevre said. “It’s people like the newspaper, other churches and people who have come and spread the word for us. The community, at large, beyond Bath, has really chipped in to help us make this a success in year’s past. The whole [Noe] building is filled inside and we have the yard or campus of St. Thomas that has seven tents set up. Under each tent is everything you could imagine. We kind of divided it up into categories so we could keep it under control.”

One particular donation — an array of hand-crocheted afghans, scarves, lap robes and more — to the sale came from a World War II bride, Vera Edens, the mother of church member Ivan McRoy. Edens, who is from Coventry, England, married a United States Airman during World War II and came to the U.S. in May 1946, she said.

Edens has been crocheting since the age of 11, taught by her mother, who was a dressmaker, she said. She recently moved to the area from Tennessee to live with McRoy. Back in Tennessee, Edens was a member of Beaver Ridge Methodist Church, and she would frequently donate hand-crocheted items to the church’s events and members, she said.

“I crochet all the time,” Edens said. “I’ve been crocheting since I was 11 years old. My mother taught me when she was a dressmaker. Then, my grandmother bought me my first sewing machine when I was 12, and I’ve been doing it ever since. I always would usually crochet after supper, maybe three or four hours at night. It all depends on if I was going somewhere or something like that. It’s just something I’ve always done. I’ve never paid much attention to it. I’ve just always donated and been pretty good at [crocheting].”

Lefevre said the church has priced the brand new items at about a third of its value and there is also a section of items under one dollar. Any items remaining after the sale closes Saturday, will be given to charity. The church has contacted organizations like the Department of Social Services and charities to ensure the items left over will go to good use.

“Anything that is left, we do not keep it,” Lefevre said. “We give it to charity. We have contacted organizations like DSS, if they need a piece of furniture for a child or toys for children. We allow them to come pick whatever they want for their charity.”

The money raised from the sale will go toward a new electrical system, a new heating and air system and to replace flooring in the Glebe House, Lefevre said. So far, several items have been donated to go toward the renovation of the property, including flooring and supplies to rebuild a downstairs bathroom.

“We raised over $9,000 in seven hours last year,” Lefevre said. “We have even more stuff this year than we had last year. [The Glebe House} really is a real treasure.”