Put down the Halloween candy and set aside the Thanksgiving decorations. It’s time to think about Christmas!
Be not afraid, for everyone on your list wants socks, food, and cash. At our Christmas Eve services this year, we’ll hand out gift bags stuffed with items that provide relief or joy to our unhoused neighbors:
- Love Notes — handwritten messages of hope from First Church members
- Gift Cards
- Slim Jims & other snacks
- Cash
- Headlamps, and more. See the full list here.
This year we’re asking the congregation to support the purchase of the larger items via monetary donations, and to focus on gift cards and snacks for in-person donations. Here’s how you can participate:
- Donate early to support the big shopping run: Realm or PayPal (for giving through PayPal, pls. indicate your donation is for Christmas gift bags – thank you!)
- Sign up right away for a physical item, if that is your mission
- Dec. 4 & 11: Join us during the After Party to write Love Notes for the bags. A Love Note is a simple hand-written message of hope and comfort to let the recipient know we are thinking of them.
- Dec. 11: Last day for physical donations to arrive
- Dec. 18: Help assemble the Gift Bags during the After Party