This holiday season, the spirit of giving was alive at First Congregational Church of Rochester.
For many families, COVID-19 has taken away jobs and food from dinner tables. We have seen on the news the long lines of cars waiting to have food placed in trunks and we may think to ourselves, “I’m so glad this hasn’t happened to my family, someone I know, or to families in my little town.” Well, it has happened to our local towns, and probably even to someone you know.
For eight Sundays prior to Thanksgiving, the members of First Congregational Church of Rochester donated a specific food item to help fill thankful baskets for local families in need. Each week, the food bin overflowed with donations of the designated weekly item. Food from the weekly list was also collected by Friend’s Market of Rochester and distributed via the church. Thirty-five thankful baskets, along with biscuits, potatoes, and onions, went out to senior citizens when they received their annual turkeys and butternut squash from the Council on Aging. In addition to thankful baskets, nine families at ORRHS, three families from a daycare center, and seven local families also received gifts cards so they could buy a turkey, baked goods, and other items they needed.
With a lot of volunteers and a little creative thinking due to COVID-19 guidelines, 256 shoeboxes were packed for Operation Christmas Child this year. The mission of Operation Christmas Child is to provide God’s love in a tangible way to children in need around the world, and together with the local church worldwide, to share the Good News of Jesus Christ. This whole process was made possible by caring individuals who packed shoeboxes full of quality gifts for children in need both nationally and internationally. Local scout groups, church members, the church’s ATOMIC youth group, and the Friends of Plumb Library all helped to fill the boxes. Operation Christmas Child may have looked different this year, but the joy on the faces of those who received our Christmas boxes was the same as in past years!
Keeping with the Christmas spirit this year, First Congregational Church of Rochester provided bell ringers for the Salvation Army at the JC Penney in Wareham Crossing on three Saturdays from 10:00 am – 4:00 pm. Members of the church also filled 110 Blessing Bags for the homeless. A Blessing Bag contains items that are useful to those who might be experiencing homelessness or are otherwise struggling. The Missions Committee provided a gallon-size Ziploc bag containing the following items: a toothbrush, toothpaste, a comb, soap in a container, and a “suggested list” of items church members could purchase to round out the contents of the bag. A Christmas or note card with a Bible verse completed the bag. The bags were then distributed through Mobile Ministries of New Bedford, a social outreach ministry for the homeless and indigent working poor. Being able to share a Blessing Bag with someone allows for a human connection to be made and a sense of dignity to be preserved.
The church’s Tri-Town Schools Care Team was also busy over the holiday season partnering with the Rochester Council on Aging and the Rochester Lions Club in adopting two children from the town employees’ annual Christmas Angel project. Members of the congregation generously sponsored a 13-year-old girl and 6-year-old boy and provided them with Christmas gifts of clothing and toys.
From filling thankful baskets for Thanksgiving and shoeboxes with Christmas gifts for children, to ringing the bell for the Salvation Army, being Christmas angels to children of two local families, and filling Blessing Bags for the homeless, it truly was a season of giving for members of First Congregational Church of Rochester who gave generously of their time and donations.
By Nancy Sutcliffe