This year's Christmas Auction will take place in Cox Hall at Trinity Episcopal Church located on Route 50 in Upperville, Va., Sunday, December 8, at 11:30 a.m. A cocktail party and preview of the auction items is scheduled for Friday, December 6, 2013 from 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. All proceeds will benefit the church's many ministries to local, regional and international communities.

"This is a wonderful event that benefits our community by providing support to our neighbors who need some timely help," says Rob Banse, Rector at Trinity Episcopal Church.

Trinity's Food Closet supplies non-perishable food items, English as a Second Language classes teach English and provide fellowship and dinner, and the Thrift Shop provides financial assistance for basic needs.

The parish hall hosts weekly meetings of both Alcoholics Anonymous and Co-Dependents Anonymous, and houses The Community Music School of the Piedmont, which offers classes, programs, instruction and music therapy.

Four times a year Trinity participates with the Churches of Upperville Outreach Food Basket program. The church supports the Piedmont Child Care Center by providing funds to the John Levis Scholarship Fund.

The Upperville Episcopal church supports several regional organizations. Six times a year, church volunteers prepare and serve food to over 400 homeless people in Washington, D.C. at the So Others Might Eat (S.O.M.E.) facilities.

The church contributes funds to the Windy Hill Foundation for affordable housing in Loudoun, Fauquier and Clark counties, the Kairos Prison Ministry of Virginia for spiritual support of incarcerated men and women and their families, the Fauquier County Habitat for Humanity to eliminate poverty housing, and the Laurel Center in Winchester to support victims of domestic violence.

The church provides funds to several international aid groups: Helping Haitian Angels in Haiti, the Mwiba Makao Community Center in Tanzania, MAP International of Kenya, and the Mogra Star Academy in Nairobi.

The auction is both live and silent. Silent auction items can be bought at "buy-it-now" prices at the Friday cocktail party. This year's auction will have something for everyone on your Christmas list, including original works of art, antiques, fine jewelry, sterling silver, vintage china, house décor, B&B stays, restaurant dinners, and vacations to far-flung and closer locales.