December Outreach Newsletter
A Season for Serving
There are many ways to give this Christmas season without spending a lot of money. The most rewarding and positive way to share the love of Jesus Christ is to serve in your community. You can read in the flowing two articles how you can serve in the church with the CPS Giving Tree and at CAM with their Christmas Store, but what else is happening in the community in the next month?
One of the top places to look for opportunities to serve is to go to the United Way of San Antonio and Bexar County United Way Volunteer website. There is a special section designated for Holiday Helping Hands Opportunities. Of all the opportunities that are listed there, the one that I think tops the bill is the HEB Feast of Sharing at the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center on Saturday, December 21. The Feast of Sharing is a great way to serve, but this year the volunteer spots were filled in less than 12 hours on Dec 2. So save this Idea for next year.
Other opportunities include serving at the Food Bank where during the holiday season need increases and volunteers decrease. On their site, they have a detailed calendar that breaks down all volunteer opportunities by time and location. For those that live out near Boerne, there are volunteer opportunities at Hill Country Daily Bread.
You can also be unconventional and “serve” in your neighborhood. Is there an elderly person on your block that could use your help putting up the lights or a tree, cleaning gutters, raking leaves or another task? Is there someone that is secluded from family that you can invite to dinner?
And how about New Years? I’ve been to all kinds of New Year’s events in my life, but the most impactful is the one my neighbor has. They have a family party (that we walk to) and they gather everyone up 15 minutes before midnight and have a group prayer. Every year it has been impactful for all those in attendance, Christian and non-Christian. I can’t invite you to my neighbor’s party, but you can get together with your neighbors and do something similar.
Whatever you do this Holiday Season, don’t forget to show the love of Jesus Christ in a way that is genuine to you and meaningful to others.
CAM Christmas Store
The CAM Christmas Store provides an emergency, free shopping experience for those less fortunate in San Antonio facing a severe crisis. Parents are able to select gifts, books, stuffed animals, socks, gloves and other goodies that their children will like. Join us in sharing the joy of the season and making a difference in the lives of San Antonio families by donating new toys and/or hosting a toy drive at your home, work, or church.
Starting NOW, CAM urges folks to start these toy drives so we can supply the Christmas Store with lots of toys for families in need. We need gifts for boys and girls ages 0 – 18 years. All toy donations need to be new. We can also use new or used Christmas lights, decorations or gift wrapping – even partially used rolls of paper! If you’re interested in purchasing toys and gifts for children in need, Click here for CAM’s Amazon registry. From the ease of your computer or phone, purchase toys and gifts for those in need and they’ll be shipped directly to our Downtown CAM location!
Another way folks can join in on all the merriment is to volunteer to help with the setup of the store and then assist the families when choosing toys during their appointment. To volunteer, click here to sign up!
Summer Interns
Do you know a college student that is interested in working with the church next summer in Outreach, Student, Kids or Recreation Ministries? They can go to the church website and see the intern job postings.