Helping Feed Our Community Over the Holidays

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Good morning,

I hope that each of you enjoyed the Thanksgiving holiday weekend.  It was great for our family to have Greg and Abby home from college for a few days and it was especially wonderful to have all of us around the family dinner table again for a few meals.  Whenever the kids are home we try to have some really nice meals with some of their favorite foods and we even cook some “special” (and by that I mean not cheap) foods at least once.

Our Thanksgiving day was spent around full tables of food as well, first with Mary’s family for the noon meal and then with my family for the evening meal.  There were plenty of leftovers for us to dine on over the weekend and Mary even found time to bake some Christmas cookies for Greg and Abby to take back to school with them.  I would imagine that many of you had a similar holiday experience as well.

Having plenty of food available in my home has never been an issue for me.  Although we were far from wealthy when I was growing up, the family pantry was always full of food.  I have never (and I mean never) once worried about where my next meal would come from.  It is a blessing that I unfortunately take for granted far too often.

For many in our community, however, that worry is constant.  With grocery prices trending ever higher, more and more families are facing food security issues.  The solutions to these issues are systemic and complex and far above my “paygrade” to be able to address, at least by myself.  What I can do…what each of us can do…is look for opportunities to help.

This week begins our Advent giving project for Solanco Neighborhood Ministries.  We will be collecting items to help support their SWEEP (Student WeekEnd Eating Program) ministry.

This ministry helps to serve students in the area who are in kindergarten through 6th grade and deal with food security in the home.  Each Thursday volunteers at SNM pack bags of food for the students to take home on Friday, including food for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

At the last meeting of the Solanco Pastors Fellowship it was shared that the ministry is currently supporting nearly 270 students!  This is both a great and growing need in our community.

We will be collecting the following items, starting this Sunday through 12/17:

 

Chicken Noodle Soup                                               Tomato Soup                                                Pudding Cups

Applesauce Cups                                                        Fruit Cups                                                      Juice Boxes

Chef Boyardee Micro Meals                                   Pasta Sides (Mac & Cheese)                   Ramen Noodles

Cup of Noodles                                                           Oatmeal Individual Packs                       Pop Tarts

Granola Bars                                                                Fruit Snacks

Peanut Butter Cracker Individual Packs

 

After the 17th we’ll be taking the items over to SNM so that they can be distributed to the students before the Christmas break.  As always, please consider giving as you are able.  If you can give a can of soup, give that.  If you can give more, consider doing so.

 

Also – On Sunday I announced that Bruce Fite has agreed to serve as elder for the 2024-2026 term.  We will be having a vote of affirmation on Sunday, December 10 after the service.  As I mentioned on Sunday, the elders believe that Bruce is eminently qualified to serve as elder and we as a group are excited to have Bruce serve!

Here’s what’s happening:

  1. Advent begins this Sunday, December 3rd!  I am once again looking for some folks who would be willing to provide special music during the morning worship services.
  2. Junior Youth meets after the worship service on 12/3.
  3. The Senior High Youth Group meets after the worship service on 12/10.
  4. The annual Christmas Caroling will be on Friday 12/15.  We are meeting at the Kreider home at 6:15 pm.
  5. The children of the Bridge will be performing a short Christmas pageant during the morning service on 12/24.
  6. Christmas Eve Candlelight service is set for 7 pm.
  7. We will not be having Sunday School on 12/24 or 12/31 to give our teachers a holiday break.

 

This week we begin our Advent sermon series on the Old Testament prophecies regarding the Messiah!  On Sunday we will be looking at Genesis 3 and God’s promise that the Messiah would be born of a woman.  We’ll look at what that means, why its important, and why its worth celebrating this Christmas season.  If you know of someone who is struggling to get into the “Christmas spirit” this year, invite them to join you at the Bridge this Sunday.