This Christmas, why not get the family to direct their holiday energies into providing relief to the needy? We know that Advent is the season of preparation and cleansing, during which the Church asks us to slow down and look within ourselves. There is no better way of getting children creatively engaged in preparing for Christmas in their hearts than to think of those who are less fortunate. Less fussing about presents, more focus on the Christchild’s presence among us.
The Outreach team at our church has "met victims of crime and abuse, people suffering with cancer or the lingering effects of strokes, people struggling with low wages, pregnant and/or abandoned women and children, and people who are simply forgotten members of our society, such as the alone, frail, elderly. And, yes, we have even helped homeless people, living in the woods,” according to the team.
Prince of Peace also helps 75 families interviewed by Guadalupe Area Social Services. Further, the Parish also adopts 100 families identified and interviewed by Sister Parish Resurrection Catholic Community, and 25 families from Women Helping Women, an abuse shelter which specializes in retraining women in non-traditional job skills to help them change their lives. All families participating in the Christmas program are either in crisis or qualify as the “working poor”.
How can you help?
The Outreach Team encourages you to adopt a family when you see the tables with the family forms this year. If you simply do not have time to shop, please give Outreach a financial donation and they will do the shopping, wrapping and packaging for you. If you prefer to donate toys or bikes, be aware that these will be kept in reserve for days when there is a shortage of gifts. Your cash donation can help pay for a family’s food, or clothes, or children’s gifts.
If you have never seen the Adopt-a-Family distribution day process, the Outreach Team invites you to see the miracle of Christmas for yourself. On December 15, approximately 150 Outreach volunteers show up to accept, move and organize gifts, deliver “goody bags” to recipients waiting in long lines of cars, and load people’s gifts into their vehicles. Those who have participated in the past can tell you their personal stories of children’s eyes lighting up at the sight of a bicycle, and mothers’ faces shine with gratitude. This is a breath-taking experience you will never forget!
This year, make your Advent and Christmas a time for the whole family to remember.
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