Seasonal Sharing
The Seasonal Sharing ministry was formed more than 20 years ago and today is widely supported by the people of St. Mary’s. It's focus is to coordinate St. Mary's efforts to help provide families in the Manchester community with food and necessities during the Thanksgiving and Christmas season. Names of local families are given to us by the Manchester Area Conference of Churches ( MACC), by local schools and by community groups that are aware of families in need. We also serve families who, because they have missed the MACC deadline, would otherwise be turned away. Our baskets have been called “designer,” since we tailor the contents to exactly what the family needs.
For Thanksgiving, St. Mary’s supplies needy Manchester families with a week’s worth of groceries, plus an entire Thanksgiving meal. We typically provide for close to 30 families at Thanksgiving. The donations of non-perishable food items by St. Mary's parishioners make this possible. At Christmas, we traditionally gain more families, pushing it up to a total of 40 families. Our church family will once again provide both non-perishable and perishable food items, plus a gift for every family member.
Coordination of Efforts – The Seasonal Sharing organizing committee includes very dedicated church members who painstakingly coordinate all the details. But this important ministry could never be successful without the help of every church member. The members of St. Mary's Church all help by donating canned goods and produce, sorting and packing the baskets and delivering the baskets to the families.
Key Dates for 2012
Thanksgiving:
Sunday, Nov. 11—Produce Sunday: Bring donations of fresh fruits/vegetables.
Saturday, Nov. 17—Packing day: Packing of food boxes begins at 8:30 a.m. in Neill Hall.
Sunday, Nov. 18—Delivery Sunday: Come to Neill Hall after the 10 a.m. service to pick up boxes for delivery.
Christmas:
Sunday, Dec. 16 – Produce Sunday: Bring donations of fresh fruits/vegetables
Saturday, Dec. 22 – Packing day: Packing of food boxes begins at 8:30 a.m. in Neill Hall.
Sunday, Dec. 23 – Delivery Sunday: Come to Neill Hall after the 10 a.m. service to pick up boxes for delivery.
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