For the Spread of a Kingdom

Beginning the way we did, as a ministry of St. Luke’s Church, it seems we have always had an underpinning of service at The Church Mouse. What makes us smile when we think about it today, is how much fun it became to fulfill this mission of service.

The worldwide church from which St. Luke’s stems had a kind of course that young people took in the old days, as part of the process of being “confirmed.” The course was a series of questions and answers called the catechism. Enshrined in that course of instruction for confirmations, in the 1928 Book of Common Prayer, were a couple of questions about our duty to our church and to our neighbors. Part of the answer was that our duty includes, “to work and pray and give for the spread of God’s Kingdom.”

Memorizing the catechism seemed like a big chore at age 13, and so it is nice – and somewhat surprising – to see now how some of those words stick with us. “To work and pray and give for the spread of God’s kingdom.” At The Church Mouse, that duty becomes a pleasure.

Easy to Do the Right Thing

From the beginning, the volunteers who started The Church Mouse were intent on making it easy for Hilton Head Island visitors and residents to do the right thing. Finding new homes for the wonderful things we’ve been fortunate to use and enjoy – and supporting worthy local charities while we do it – was the basic idea. Making it easier was what set us apart just a bit. Our location has much to do with that.

Always located close to the Sea Pines Circle, the central point of “south island,” where the original vision of a world-class resort began, the Arrow Road site of The Church Mouse makes it the nearest thrift store for visitors to the Sea Pines Resort, as well as Forest Beach and the upscale neighborhood of Wexford. This favored location might also have something to do with the unusual quality and selection people find among the well-loved items people donate for The Church Mouse to sell.

Certainly, our location makes getting here for a quick look around an easy choice, whether the day you’ve planned is busy or languid. People say when they come through the door that it’s a bit more like visiting someone’s home. The selection of clothing, jewelry, and even furnishings and décor for a vacation home is easy to check out. Our bright, airy interior is a welcome contrast from what many expect to encounter at a thrift store.

When Good Comes from Good

The things people find to buy at The Church Mouse were well loved, and too good to retire. Instead, donors bring them here for a new chapter of their working life in a new home. It is a role that we are happy and grateful to fulfill – connecting the chapters of the useful life of these fine goods. Our donors chose wisely when they selected these items. Our shoppers choose wisely again when they take them home.

A second home on Hilton Head Island has been the fortunate destination for discerning folks for generations, and this does much to explain the surprising quality of the selection shoppers find at The Church Mouse. Ralph Lauren, Tory Burch, and Lily Pulitzer are just a few of the designer labels that find a second home from the local thrift store, when they are donated for sale at The Church Mouse. Furnishings from Henredon and Drexel Heritage, too. Home chefs – and the families that benefit from their passion for cooking – find the well-made means for cooking and serving that makers such as Le Creuset and Waterford can provide.

Best of all, some say, is the feeling that they’ve done the right thing when they donate or shop at The Church Mouse. The welcome people get from The Church Mouse volunteers plays a big part in that feeling. They’re dedicated, surely, yet they’re also having fun. This is the favorite charitable endeavor of some of the Island’s most interesting people.

We look forward to welcoming you to The Church Mouse, a boutique thrift shop where donors, volunteers, and shoppers all discover the joy of doing well while doing good.