Our Shoebox collection is now over and we had plenty to fill our twenty boxes so a big thank you to all who donated!!
Operation
Christmas Child
Shoebox Appeal
This year St. Cross is collecting for Operation Christmas Child. Fr. Chris and Joanne, our Sunday School Co-ordinator, are running the project and have this message to share:
When you turn on the news it is easy to get discouraged with all the terrible things that are happening in the world. But God is still good, and he is still at work!
A simple shoebox gift is changing the lives of so many children.
Last year alone Samaritan’s Purse delivered more than 11 million Operation Christmas Child shoeboxes to children around the world. God used these simple gifts to change the lives of many boys and girls and their families.
After the outreach events where children received their boxes, over 2 million went on to enrol in the Greatest Journey programme. Using trained, local teachers these children were part of a programme that teaches them how they can discover Jesus for themselves and begin their own journey of faith. Many of them are now sharing the good news of Jesus Christ enthusiastically with others!
Simple shoebox gifts, packed with love and prayer, open doors for the Gospel to be preached in over 100 countries. Local pastors across the globe are thankful for the opportunity these shoeboxes provide to multiply the impact of the Gospel in their communities. We have set our church's goal at 20 shoebox gifts for this year. We believe that God wants to use St. Cross to send Operation Christmas Child boxes to these children. Boxes from the UK are going to 14 countries in Eastern Europe, Central Asia and Africa this year (Albania, Belarus, Bosnia, Central Asia, Latvia, Lithuania, Macedonia, Romania, Serbia, Swaziland, Middle East, Ukraine, Zambia). We need you to pray, pack, and ship these gifts.
An information table and display has been set up in church or you can chat with us (Fr. Chris or Joanne) to get more information, learn how to pack a shoebox or find other ways to get involved. This is a great chance for us to grow in our faith and in our relationships as we work together, pray together, and pack together to reach our goal.
As a church God wants us to be a small part of sharing his love with the neediest children around the world.
So, get collecting and help us fill these shoeboxes!
So, how can you help?
The shoeboxes can contain many different things, both fun and useful, and each one is packed according to the age and gender of the child who will be receiving it but there are some restrictions due to the boxes being transported by air and going to countries where there have been/are difficulties. You can take a look at the photos of our display above for ideas of what is suitable or click here to download a copy of the list. There will be collection boxes for donated items with the display at the back of church until Sunday 14th October.