Advent Volunteer Opportunity!
December 17, 2016 News
St. Raymond’s Christ House Committee Advent Preparations
Preparing Christmas Gifts for our Christ House Dinner Guests
St. Raymond’s Christ House Committee members and 50 or so Friends of St. Raymond’s Christ House Committee have prepared for and cooked up a warm dinner in the months with a 5th Friday over the course of now almost two years. During this Season of
Advent and into the Christmas Octave the Committee invites you to put together your choice of ONE or TWO Christmas Gifts for our 70-75 dinner guests whom we will host for Christmas Dinner at Christ House in Alexandria on Friday, 30 December.
The Committee had the idea of gifting guests a small Christmas Gift so we asked Sister Annie who heads up the CCDA volunteers at Christ House what she thought about the idea of our Parish Christ House Committee gifting each dinner guest a Rosary and Sister asked if we would also like to gift the guests a “Toiletries Kit,” so given
Sister’s needs-based request, we are launching a Rosary and toiletries Kit w/Christmas Card, an “Advent Angel” Campaign. Sister Annie loved the idea of our gifting a Rosary to each dinner guest and asked if we could include a little leaflet on How to Pray the Rosary (thank you to St. Raymond’s Gift Shop for donating the
leaflets). As we have a full team on board for 30 December, we plan to tell our dinner guests a little bit about the significance of the Rosary AND pray some Hail Mary’s with them. To add to the Christmas festivities, some of the high school youth and collegians will sing Christmas Carols and then invite all to join in a
Christmas Carol “sing-a-long”!
Noting that we all receive so many Christmas Cards from various religious organizations this time of year, Committee members agreed to sign such cards and bring them in, and to, either individually and/or as a Committee, donate money to the Religious Orders/Organizations who sent us the cards. We invite YOU to gift a favorite Christmas Card depicting the Holy Family or Mother Mary and Jesus OR any lovely Christmas Cards purchased from the Knights of Columbus, AND SIGN your card(s)
as instructed below.
Please SIGN Christmas Cards as follows:
Merry Christmas and a Blessed New Year!
on behalf of St. Raymond of Peñafort Parish
_____________________________________________
Regarding gifts, you may choose to gift one or a combination of the following gifts: a Rosary and/or a Toiletries Kit PLUS a Christmas Card.
DROP-OFF Points for Christmas GIFTS:
1) Rosaries ~ place each Rosary in a sandwich bag (in Box labeled “Rosary Gifts”
LOCATED in and outside of St. Raymond’s Gift Shop)
2) Toiletries Kits * (place in Food Storage Bag(s) in Box labeled “Christ House
Toiletries Kits” LOCATED TO THE LEFT OF the Parish Library)
3) Christmas Cards (one card/Toiletries Kit)
* Toiletries Kits for Men * Toiletries Kits for Women
Travel Size Only Travel Size Only
* Toothpaste * Toothpaste
* Deodorant * Deodorant
* Shampoo * Shampoo
* Conditioner * Conditioner
* Body Lotion * Body Lotion
* Soap Bars * Soap Bars
* Shave Cream * Shave Cream
* Nail Clippers * Nail Clippers
* Hair Comb(s) * Emery Boards
* Hair Brush * Hair Brush
* Feminine Products (Daily Liners & Pads)
Disposable Items Disposable Items
* Toothbrushes * Toothbrushes
* Razors * Razors
St. Raymond’s Christ House Committee will check on these Collection boxes weekly and gather all items by 29 December before we serve Christmas Dinner at Christ House on 30 December. We are aiming for 45 Kits for Men and 30 Kits for Women.
We extend our gratitude to everyone for their participation in our Committee’s collective effort of Making Gifts for our Parish’s Christ House dinner guests during our “Advent Angel” Campaign, during these days of Advent preparation as we await the Celebration of Our Lord’s Birth and His Second Coming.
Come, Lord Jesus, come, Your holy people are waiting. Let us also remember to keep the Christ House staff and volunteers and all the dinner guests in our prayers, in thanksgiving for all God’s blessings in our lives, as we pray for everyone’s temporal
and spiritual well-being during the “holy”days of Advent and Christmas and in the New Year to come. And, a special thank you to our Pastor Father De Celles and our Vicar Fr. Smith, who lead us sheep upward and onward, on our journeys home to heaven!
God bless us each and every one.
Sincerely in Christ,
St. Raymond’s Christ House Committee