A Thanksgiving Basket . . .
A few weeks before Thanksgiving, the Reading Room Librarian at Fourth Church received a telephone call from a lady in Central City who needed help. Two empty baskets were placed in the Sunday School, and these baskets were soon filled with canned goods and household necessities donated by church members, regular participants,and Sunday School students. A fresh turkey was purchased for this lady's Thanksgiving meal, and these items were all personally delivered to her on the Sunday before Thanksgiving. This lovely lady joined us for our Wednesday meeting on the night before Thanksgiving and gave her own testimony of gratitude for these gifts as well as the kindness of our church. Many thanks to the Librarian for coordinating this activity for us.
A Jazz Brunch. . .
After church on the Sunday before Christmas, we enjoyed delicious chowder, finger sandwiches, fruit salad, and lots of sweet desserts in our Sunday School. Christmas music was provided by our Sunday School Band, and it was a warm and happy gathering for our church family. Thank you to our coordinator Donna.
Christmas Caroling and Gift-Giving with the children from Angel Tree. . .
One of our members had a strong desire to reach out to the city's children with the gift of the Christ at Christmas. She contacted Angel Tree Foundation, a national ministry with the stated purpose of reaching out to the children of incarcerated parents. She was given the names of 13 children to provide with gifts and with cards from their incarcerated parents. Local Christian Science Reading Rooms donated Bible stories, Kid's Sentinels, and puzzles for the children. King James Bibles and Science and Healths were donated for the teenagers and adult caregivers. CD players were also purchased for the teenagers so that they could listen to the donated CDs from the Reading Room. These items were lovingly wrapped and placed under an "Angel Tree" in our Sunday School. (Angel Tree was a perfect description since homemade cookies in the shape of angels were hanging from this tree!)
Two days before Christmas, on a Friday afternoon, we met with the Angel Tree children and their caregivers in the Sunday School. We had Bible readings about the birth of Jesus, and we all sang Christmas carols. Our Sunday School Orchestra may have been small, but it provided full instrumentation with two violins and a viola, clarinet, trumpet, saxophone, and trombone! We all enjoyed the cookies and punch, but most importantly, we were able to share our faith with these families, and in turn, we learned more about their needs. Later on Christmas Eve, gifts were delivered to the homes of the children who were unable to attend. Great appreciation was expressed by all recipients.
Our local media had several stories at the end of the year about our city's rising crime rate and about how help was needed from everyone, such as teachers, parents, and ministers. We were so grateful that our church family could do our part!
