Students and community members went bargain hunting on G Street last week, at the annual United Church rummage sale.

The sale is held annually in the basement of the church on 20th at G streets. Up for sale were used clothing and household goods – all at competitive prices.

Students made the majority of customers during the two-day sale and had fun searching for cheap outfits and Halloween costumes. Elaine Lozier, the sale organizer, said she sees it as a great opportunity for GW students to meet the community.

“The church is a community,” Lozier said. “These kids – these people – need to see something that’s not on TV.”

The sale brings in about $15,000 from students, church-goers, community members and World Bank employees each year, Lozier said.

Church volunteers work throughout the year to gather and sort thousands of a clothes, books, toys, decorations and jewelry donated to the sale. Money raised from the sale goes to the church’s many outreach programs.

“I think there is more meaning to (the sale) than just cheap clothes,” Lozier said. Though the sale does a lot to help fund the running of the church and its outreach programs, she stressed that it is a community and cultural event.

This sentiment can be seen by walking around the basement of the church, which is normally a nursery. Near the racks of clothes, young students interact with older church members, casually chatting about potential Halloween costumes.

Meanwhile, men with strong German accents discuss geography, natural resources and international politics with middle-aged shoppers and a few interested students.

Event organizers said the sale is the only time in Foggy Bottom where people from different generations, social classes and backgrounds could come together and interact in a friendly environment.

Lozier said big businesses in the area, such as the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, dehumanize the city – something she hopes to combat.

“Being a part of living in the city is knowing the guy who makes your sandwich at the deli. I know that the church can offer that,” she said.

The sale also had a more urgent purpose. As several volunteers remarked, the make-up of the church is becoming increasingly “silver-haired.” With membership dropping, organizers are making every effort to recruit new members.

Church officials are “banking on the assumption that in 10 or so years, students who came to the sale will become more involved,” Lozier said.

Concordia United Church of Christ was built in 1833 as an essential component of an area predominately inhabited by German immigrants. In 1976, the German church merged with the Union United Methodist Church to form the United Church. The merger was largely the result of dropping membership when government buildings overtook Foggy Bottom, an area once populated entirely by family homes, shops, schools and churches.

GW sophomore Catherine Pepper said the event “makes you realize that Foggy Bottom is more than just students.”

Stephen Mills, a law student, said the event was important for college students.

“(This event) is really important . So many young kids come (to GW) and leave without having a strong sense of community.”

Event organizers hope that each year the event will raise student awareness of the church and what it stands for in the area.