Outreach - St. Christopher's Episcopal Church

Aid for Friends- Please continue to bring in meals for Aid for Friends. Meal trays are available in the back of the church on a stool near the doors. We had a very successful work party to make meals in the kitchen of the church near the end of September, but they will disappear quickly and more meals are always needed.

The Lighthouse Youth Center Benefit Dinner and Auction will be held Friday, November 13 and 14. A dinner is held Friday evening when the items for the auction the next day can be viewed. The dinner and auction are held at the Oxford Presbyterian Church. Call the Lighthouse for more information and tickets for the dinner.

Ware Presbyterian Village Holiday Bazaar is Friday & Saturday, November 6 & 7, 9-4. Baked goods are needed and can be taken to the front desk of the health center between 11/5 & 11/6 at noon. A sign-up sheet is on the bulletin board just above the table in the back of the church if you can help.

CALENDARS FOR SEAMEN'S INSTITUTE - Do you get way too many calendars every year? We'll take them! Again this year we'll be collecting 2010 calendars for the men from the ships who come into the Episcopal Seamen's Institute each year. Any kind of calendar, desk, wall, pocket, etc. is fine. We'll continue to collect them and give them to Fr. VonDreele when he comes to visit at the end of January.

Each year, St Christopher's adopts a family through the Neighborhood Services Center in Oxford. We put up a small tree in the back of the Church decorated with cherubs that show the items needed by our Adopted Family. Cash is also requested for Grocery Gift Cards for that family's Christmas Dinner. Watch for more information during November when we get our family from NSC.

OUR ANNUAL HOLIDAY COOKIE WALK will be held on Saturday, December 5 from 9am to 12 noon, or until the cookies run out. The cookies are $6.50 a pound. Some Christmas candy will also be available. Christmas gift trays filled with cookies are available (you choose your cookies to go on the tray). Walk around the room and choose from a large variety of home-made cookies (including decorated sugar cookies)! Come to shop and relax and visit our "broken cookie" cafe, where you can get a FREE cup of coffee, tea or hot chocolate and sample broken cookies!

Help is always needed to bake all the wonderful cookies we offer both to our congregation and to the community. Watch for more information and sign-up sheets so you can show off your favorites!!

PRAYER SHAWL MINISTRY – We have blessed some newly finished prayer shawls during the 10:30 service on Sunday, October 4. The prayer shawls are given to those who have suffered a loss or are battling an illness, bringing comfort and peace to those who receive them.

UNITED THANK OFFERING - UTO blue boxes and envelopes will be collected at the Sunday services on November 15th and 22nd. The United Thank Offering is gathered each year from those who put coins of thanks in their blue boxes all year long. Envelopes and blue boxes will be available in the back of the church for those wishing to take them. United Thank Offering gives grants to Episcopal churches here and all over the world for greatly needed projects in the churches and their communities. http://www.episcopalchurch.org/uto.htm

Seamen’s Church Institute- The Outreach committee will be sending money and ditty bags to the Seamen's Church Institute in Philadelphia for Christmas. The money will enable Seamen’s to buy the items that go into the ditty bags. The bags are given to seamen who are in port on Christmas and are filled with personal and necessary items. The gifts received at Christmas when they are away from home means a great deal to the men. Our thanks go to Alyce Templeton, who has made several ditty bags for this year’s project. We look forward to a visit by Fr. James VonDreele of Seamen’s Church Institute in January to speak to St. Christopher’s about the work of the Seamen’s Institute. http://www.seamenschurch.org/

OPERATION CHRISTMAS CHILD – We have kicked-off our Christmas shoebox collection. If you are not familiar with the shoeboxes, we ask our parishioners to fill a shoebox (or BOOT BOX) with gift items that will be given to a child, such as school supplies, small toys, hygiene items, clothing, etc. A list of suggested items is available along with a list of items that must not be included. Reba Webb is in charge of this Operation and, actually, will shop and pack a box for you if you give her the money to do it. But, doing the box yourself is lots of fun. Boxes are identified as for a boy or a girl and for three different age groups. You are encouraged to include a personal note in your box. Many people do more than one!!! If you have questions, please see Reba Webb or Peg Graber. The deadline for the boxes this year is Sunday, November 15, when they will all be blessed during our Sunday Communion. For more information about Operation Christmas Child, use this link http://www.samaritanspurse.org/index.php/OCC/index/

MISSION STATEMENT:

To answer to our parish's concerns by responding to our church family's needs and by reaching out to our local and extended community, offering both FINANCIAL SUPPORT and HANDS ON INVOLVEMENT.

Contact us at Outreach@StChrisOxford.org if you have questions or comments about Outreach Opportunities.

INREACH/ OUTREACH Committeee Annual Report 2008

MISSION STATEMENT: To answer to our parish's concerns by responding to our church family's needs and by reaching out to our local and extended community, offering both FINANCIAL SUPPORT and HANDS ON INVOLVEMENT.

Our committee is dedicated to doing our best to fulfill the above mission statement. This year, as always, we were amazed by the generous response from parishioners when opportunities were made available to help others.

Following is a list of events we were involved in this year and organizations that we helped:

UTO*
CROP WALK Prayer Shawls *
St Jude's Ranch/ Children *
Blood Drive *
Adopted Families (2) *
Adopted Children *+
Lighthouse Youth *+
Operation Shoebox (186 boxes) *+
Aid for Friends Meals *+
Neighborhood Services *+
Seaman's Church Institute *+
Soldier's Angels +
Smile train +
Church World Services +
Christian Children's Fund +
Gideons +
Joseph Richey Hospice +
Domestic Violence CC +
Relay for Life +
Ware Nursing Home +
ECS +
Covenant House +
Cornerstone +
VBS Mission Project Peru +

* items accomplished only by hands on involvement (THANKS!)
+ items accomplished by donation from the budget and our fundraisers (THANKS!)

Helping Hands, a service group in Oxford High School, brought us a ton of food just before Christmas. We were able to use some for Aid for Friends, give some to NCS and give some to one of our adopted families at Christmas. Our sincere thanks to them!

Respectfully submitted,
Peg Graber, Reba Webb
Co-Chairs

OutReach: We carry Christ's love to our members; and through our members, to the community.

Operation Shoebox- Provides Christmas gifts, necessities, and inspiration to disadvantaged children through Samaritan's Purse, in the fall.

Neighborhood Services Center- Support NSC in a variety of ways with our Time, Talents and Treasure. The Oxford Neighborhood Services Center provides assistance to area residents in need. One ongoing opportunity is our monthly collection of food items on the first Sunday of each month.

Community Involvement- Represent St. Christopher's as we support other area ministries and events such as Lighthouse Youth Center (providing mentors, activities and inspiration for Oxford area youth,) CROP Walk (raising monies for local hunger-relief agencies,) Red Cross Blood Drives, and Relay for Life (American Cancer Society,) Seaman's Church Institute, Episcopal Community Services, Episcopal Relief and Development, Small Beginnings, United Thank Offering, and many others.

Aid for Friends- Provide meals for homebound people in our communities. On scheduled dates, we gather at the church to prepare meals to be frozen for delivery at a later date. Or, you can set an extra plate at your table and bring it to our freezer in the tray provided.

Cookie Walk- Make cookies and/ or help in the sale. In December, we sponsor a Cookie Walk in our community to benefit Outreach activities. Make your specialty and sample the best of the rest.

Reaching In: tending to physical and emotional needs of our congregation.

Greeters- Welcome guests and newcomers, provide assistance with the bulletin, prayer book and hymnal. We answer any questions and put a face on St. Christopher's to those unfamiliar.

Sunday Drivers- Provide a ride to someone who is not able to get to church. If you have an extra seat, you can provide the gift of transportation to and from church. You will be called as the need arises.

Prayer Chain- Pray. We frequently receive urgent requests for prayer for members of our congregation or for others connected in some way to St. Christopher's. You will be placed on an e-mail distribution to be activated for prayer when special needs arise.