Christmas Outreach Project “The Angel Tree”

In keeping with our congregation’s Christmas theme “Global Community,” the Angel Tree Project will serve four groups: members of El Buen Pastor Lutheran Church, Azleway foster children, the Village Learning Center in Kingwood, and ELCA World Hunger through the “Good Gifts” program.

The Angel Tree will be in the narthex on November 13, 2011. There will be four categories to choose from when you decide to be part of this project:

Angel cutouts will represent families and children from El Buen Pastor Lutheran Church. We will provide a gift for the children of this sister congregation and a grocery store gift card for each family to help ensure that each family from this congregation can share a Christmas meal together.

Hand cutouts will represent items needed for the Village Learning Center in Kingwood. The Village Learning Center is an organization that works to create the support and services needed to affect positive changes in the lives of individuals with developmental disabilities, their families, and our local community.

Child cutouts will represent foster children from Azleway Children’s Services, a foster care agency located in Humble but that serves children from 13 Texas counties surrounding Harris County. This year we will be giving to children who are coming into foster care right before Christmas who would otherwise have no gifts, as this has become a rising need.

Animal cutouts will represent animals that are part of the ELCA Good Gifts program with ELCA World Hunger. Each animal donated will be sent to a family in a needy community overseas.

The tree will be decorated with the Angels, Hands, Children, and Animals. The back of each cutout will give you more information about the group you have chosen and how to proceed. Your gifts will be due back on Sunday, December 11, 2011 for our big Christmas celebration.

Thanks you so much for your participation in this outreach project. If you have any questions, or would like to help with this project, please call Melissa Schiefelbein at 832-247-3683.

Thank you for participating in our annual Christmas outreach project. Please call Melissa Schiefelbein at 832-247-3683 with any questions.

Martha Circle has been making quilts for Lutheran World Relief for over 15 years.  The fabric and money for supplies are donated by church members.  The group meets twice a month, on the first and third Tuesdays.  There they assemble the quilts using the tops, bottoms, and bindings that were put together by the members at their homes.  The first year Martha Circle began making quilts for Lutheran World Relief, they created a dozen wonderful blankets for those in need.  Now that number is over 100 per year.   It is a daunting task, one that takes much time and planning.  And fabric.  Lots of fabric.  In fact, there have been times when the ladies of Martha Circle wondered if they would have enough to make all of the quilts.  “Sometimes when our supply of fabric gets very low and we wonder how we can make more quilts, it seems God always provides us with someone who brings another box of fabric for us to use,” said Joan Dekan, leader of Martha Circle at Holy Comforter.   “We have never run out of fabric – God always provides.”

The quilts sent by Martha Circle and Lutheran World Relief are sent to those in need all around the Globe.  From Africa to Southeast Asia, people who have almost nothing are being helped kept warm with these hand-crafted quilts made with love and God’s hand.  These quilts sometimes are the only blanket someone may have, or the only roof over their head. It becomes a person’s bed, backpack, room divider, or at times even a home.  Lutheran World Relief quilts were first made by recycling old clothes, blankets or other items.  Many quilts are still made this way, but, as is the case with quilts made at Holy Comforter Lutheran Church, new pieces of fabric are used.  Every blanket made is one of a kind, and is made as a “gift of hope” by Lutherans both at Holy Comforter and Lutheran churches around the United States.