A Year of Giving through Service

By the Mission & Outreach Committee

One of the central themes of the Christmas season is that despite a difficult situation and environment, many came together to welcome the baby Jesus. Each came with whatever gifts they had– the innkeeper offering his lowly stable, Mary and Joseph’s preparation of a crib, the animals providing warmth, the shepherds’ words of welcome and the wise men with their rare offerings.
Our celebration of the Festival of Gifts this weekend is the perfect time to acknowledge the many ways that CCC parishioners have shared their gifts of time, labor and prayers to help create a better life for our brothers and sisters in need.
In addition to our charitable financial grants to Community Partner organizations and projects, CCC volunteers have:

… Served The Hungry

• Provided approximately 2600 meals at Baldwin Center, 1200 breakfasts at All Saints, 600 meals at Crossroads and nearly 700 meals for South Oakland Center guests.
• Produced 32 bags of produce for the All Saints Produce Market.
• Donated canned goods and snacks to SOS and Focus Hope through the “Item of the Month” project.

… Helped Provide A Home

• • Created a temporary home for 32 people who turned to South Oakland Shelter because they had nowhere else to go.
  • Assisted 2 refugee families, one from Syria and one from Iraq, to establish a new life by helping to rehab, furnish and landscape homes plus provided assistance for transportation and educational opportunities.
  • Landscaped and created gardens for a residence that offers trafficked women a sanctuary to start a new life.

… Enriched Lives

• • Served as school year academic tutors/mentors for 24 children in the Bound Together program.
  • Provided Focus Hope after school photography and summer enrichment reading programs with CCC volunteers.
  • Showed inmates at the Oakland County Jail that we care by donating 6,400 stamps, warm clothing, games and soap.
  • Delivered over $8,000 of clothing, toiletries, books and other basic necessities through “Item of the Month”.

… Created Community

• Provided space planning for a Well Baby/Pediatric clinic plus staffed health outreach programs serving the Focus Hope community.
• Offered hands-on volunteer and financial assistance to the Hurricane Harvey- devastated parish community of Iglesia Episcopal San Mateo.

While these numbers are impressive, there are literally thousands of hours that have gone into project planning, implementation and follow up. Most importantly, it’s impossible to quantify the impact they’ve had on the lives of those served. Nor can we calculate the satisfaction and fellowship of working side by side with fellow parishioners.
This coming week we will share with you our Mission & Outreach plans for 2019. We pray that even more parishioners will find it in their hearts to share the gifts that God has blessed us with and join in this work that truly helps to change people’s lives.

---