IPC renews tradition with Holiday House Tour

Independent Presbyterian Church will renew a church tradition when it hosts its 69th annual Holiday House Tour — dubbed “a moveable feast with a mission” — on Saturday, Dec. 8, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., and Sunday, Dec. 9, 1-5 p.m.

Attendees tour neighborhood homes, enjoy tea and cookies at IPC and help raise money for community ministries.

The 2018 tour will feature four houses with holiday decorations, according to event chair Penney Hartline.

Over 1,000 people from Birmingham, from Alabama and from other states usually attend, according to Hartline.

“It’s fun to see the many generations enjoying the homes and getting ideas for what may become new traditions of their own,” Hartline said.

IPC members also work hard to decorate the church interior with creative new designs each year, according to Hartline.

Members and staff host a tea in the Great Hall, too.

Ticket sales benefit programs such as Children’s Fresh Air Farm, a summer program; The Open Door, offering free literacy, GED and ESL classes; and STAIR (Start the Adventure in Reading), through which tutors work with Birmingham second-graders.

Tickets are $30 and can be purchased online at ipc-usa.org or at IPC and each tour house during the event.