Your sharing hearts have made “Christmas in July” at Sewickley UMC a celebration that resonates in distant corners of our world.
This year, we will celebrate Christmas in both services on July 12. There will be a Christmas tree in the sanctuary. We will sing at least one Christmas carol. And there will be room under the tree for your Operation Christmas Child contributions.
This is the 16th year that our Fellowship of the Cross youth have directed our OCC campaign. We have filled and shipped more than 1,600 boxes, at least 100 each year since 2012. Your generosity has brought joy to children in Ukraine and Thailand, as well as multiple countries in Africa, Central America, South America, and the Caribbean.
July is when many vendors feature bargain prices on school supplies, and those supplies are included in each of our boxes.
We need pencils, pencil sharpeners, pens, crayons, markers, colored pencils, rulers (with metric edges), notebooks, erasers, scissors, and glue sticks. We are also accepting wearables (socks, shirts, hats, etc.) toys, dolls, balls, children’s jewelry, hair accessories, sunglasses, flashlights (with batteries), puzzles, games, and stuffed animals. Everything must fit into a shoe box. We cannot pack anything liquid or edible, or anything that celebrates war or violence.
If July doesn’t fit for you, we will continue to collect through September. Collection boxes are available outside the church office and in the narthex. FOTC will host a packing party in the Simpson Room in late September and bless the boxes during worship in November.
The Fellowship of the Cross is thankful for all who have been contributing through winter and spring, and for all who join us moving forward. It is a blessing to share your love and faith in God.