GPH Food Bank Needs
.
As promised I contacted the Greater Park Hill Food Bank to see what items they needed and was given a list of items that is different than I expected. I was told that around the holidays they received a glut of canned goods and now are more in need of personal care items. These items eat up a person’s income because they are more expensive but they’re also hard to do without. They are:
Toilet paper, laundry detergent, dish soap, body soap and lotion. They have enough tooth paste and toothbrushes at present.
Other items: Ensure, coffee, canned fruit and canned meat (chicken preferred), flour and cooking oil.
Thanks to everyone who has volunteered to collect food on the 1st Sunday of the month and take the collection to the food bank on the following Monday. February is staffed. Any takers for March?
By Marian Frank
St. Thomas "Virtual Christmas Card" Videos
How to make a Christmas Greeting Video.
Christmas Holiday Greeting Videos
We are inviting members of the congregation to make a short “selfie” video with their family wishing everyone a Merry Christmas. Send Season's Greetings and Blessings for the New Year to the members of our parish. We will put all the videos together and send out a greeting video to everyone in the congregation on December 23rd. The videos we have received so far are super fun and creative with dogs, bunnies and lots of Christmas cheer. Feel free to be as creative as you want or not – a simple holiday greeting with your smiling face will be enjoyed by all. Once you make you video, please email it to The Rev. Terri Hobart. If your file is too big to email, try texting it to 707 272-2539. If that does not work you can save it to Google drive, Microsoft one drive or Dropbox and send a link to it. Please send you video no later than December 18th.
How To Make A Video
Decide what Christmas Greeting you would like to share.
Gather with your family, pets or just yourself.
Use the camera on your cell phone.
Select the option for video.
Hold the camera horizontally in front of you.
Touch the record button (don't worry about the beginning and the end, we will trim it off when we put the video together.)
With the camera recording, share your greetings - bloopers are welcomed as well.
Stop recording.
Send the video or link to The Rev. Terri Hobart
Alternatively, you can ask a fried to record you from a safe distance.
If you do not have a cell phone with a camera, you can record using ZOOM. Let Terri+ know if you need instructions to record on ZOOM.
Let us know if you need more help. We look forward to all your greetings.
Our Neighbors Voices are Crying in the Wilderness by Angela Pleasants
First hand description of the economic impacts of COVID-19 on our neighbors.
We’ve all read news stories about the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, but It’s hard to fathom the toll of suffering the pandemic has wreaked until you encounter those most affected who are seeking help. In March, in a moment of blessed bipartisanship, Congress passed The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. One element of the CARES Act was to provide funds to local jurisdictions to aid residents impacted by the pandemic. I work for Jefferson County Human Services and my agency decided to use these funds to create a program to provide rent/mortgage, utility, and vehicle loan/insurance assistance to Jeffco residents. My usual work at Human Services is administrative and I do not interact with the public at all, but I ended up volunteering to manage our COVID-19 Emergency Assistance Program. For the first time, I am interacting with clients who are making choices between feeding their families and paying rent. Their stories are best told in their own words.
“I’m a single father of my 8-year-old son. I recently got a job back in mid-October. I’m not making enough because my son’s school keeps shutting down because of COVID. Now they are going to 100% remote learning. I don’t know what I’m going to do, I can’t leave my son alone but if I can’t work I’ll lose my job.”
“My husband was diagnosed with COVID-19 back in April and since then he has been on oxygen and has been suffering from liver, kidney, heart, and stomach issues. He requires 24/7 care so I’m not able to work.”
“My wife, who was our family’s primary source of income, was laid off because of COVID. Her unemployment ($223/week) will run out in two more weeks. We have completely exhausted our savings, and we are totally maxed-out on all our credit cards. Additionally, we lost a home to foreclosure earlier this year. We were blessed to receive a few food boxes from our church.”
“Before Coronavirus, i received family money from Brazil but with the pandemic the
exchange rate doubled, and the money is not available anymore.”
“I had a drastic cut in hours and pay. We’ve been unable to pay the rent for October and November. It
saddens me as a man to barely put food on the table or gas in the car and all the other bills because of the Coronavirus. We just need some help”
“I’m not getting many hours at Target and I’m seeking other employment while going to college full time. In the past 3 months I’ve been tested for COVID and out of work 3 times (over a month out of work). “
“I came up with $400 towards October's rent by donating plasma and pawning items from my house which leaves me with a balance of $975. Now I’m worried about November’s rent. I have worked so hard to make it on my own and have up until now. I don’t like asking for help, but during this rough time I really need help.”
Doing this work has made me even more grateful for the basics of life (food, clothing, shelter) along with a stable job, reliable transportation, and a safety net of family. The Right Reverend Robert Wright, Bishop of Atlanta, said at Colorado’s Diocesan convention recently, “God didn’t create the pandemic, but God can use it.” God is calling us to reach out to others, to dig deeper, to find any way we can to help our neighbor as a response to all God has done for us.