If you wish to give a poinsettia this Christmas in honor or memory of a loved one, the deadline for ordering will be Friday, Dec. 19. The suggested donation this year is $12 per dedication. Please place your completed form (see blue forms in the narthex) and your check in the offering plate on Sundays, Kendall’s office door, or mail it to the parish office. You may also contact the office by phone, 706-546-7553 or email, office@stgregoryathens.org.
Pastoral Care: Needs and Opportunities to Help
For those of you who are too busy to join yet one more committee, but would love an occasional opportunity to further share your love with fellow Gregorians, the following are some needs from your Pastoral Care committee:
Ride Ministry
Do you have occasional time to offer a ride to someone in our church family who needs help getting to a doctor’s appointment, therapy, or church? If you can assist, please call, text, or email Tammy Bowman at 706-296-8876 or email.
Thank you for serving in this simple but meaningful way!
Meal Train Ministry
Would you be willing to provide a meal when needs arise in our congregation—such as after surgeries, illnesses, or other challenging times? To volunteer, please email Bruce Bowman. Thank you for helping care for our church family!
Christmas Boxes for Our Homebound Members
We are assembling Christmas boxes to bless members of our church family who are unable to get out easily during the holiday season. We invite you to contribute homemade cookies, candies or other festive treats. Please bring your donations to the Christian Ed building at church on Friday, December 19 between 1-4PM. They will be assembled into boxes at 10:30AM on December 20 and delivered on 21 & 22. If you need to arrange a different drop-off time, or if you would like to help assemble or deliver boxes, please text or call Tammy Bowman at 706-296-8876.
Thank you for sharing the love of Christ through your kindness and generosity!
Upcoming Youth Events: December
1) Our next Diocesan event is the Christmas Carol Camp-In in Macon, Dec. 20-21. This year the event will be hosted by Christ Church rather than St Francis. This is a very low impact event and we will return to Athens by approx. 2-3pm on Sunday. Wade will be attending this event and offering rides to anyone interested in attending!
2) If your middle schooler is interested in attending New Beginnings 51 in March you can register at the link below. Wade will be attending this event and offering rides to anyone who registers for the retreat or applies for Team!
3) Any high schoolers or parents that would like to join us on Team and make this retreat possible can apply!
The Diocese and St Greg's offer financial aid to students in need for all Camp Mikell events. All of these events can be accessed with the QR code to the right.
Opportunity to Help: Community Christmas of Oglethorpe County
You can help local children have a merry Christmas. We are collecting new toys and fun items for kids from birth to age 18, and also collecting money to help families with their bills. I represent Community Christmas of Oglethorpe County, Inc., a local non-profit. We've been helping families for nearly 30 years. With help from many of you and other neighbors, last year we served 366 children from 157 households. Parents were able to pick 3 nice gifts, several stocking stuffers, and books for each child from the gifts that were donated. In addition, each family received $200-$800 towards their rent, electric bill, etc. (amount depends on the family size). We hope to do that again this year. The need is greater than ever, and we help families year round. Our organization is also now co-sponsoring a monthly food distribution and bi-monthly diaper bank for local families.
How to help:
Donate funds on our website www.CommunityChristmasOglethorpe.org
or mail a check to 143 Bowen Farm Road, Crawford, GA 30630 (monetary donations are welcome at any time!)
Bring toys or other gifts to church and leave marked for Community Christmas
Teen items are always great, too. All fun items are due December 14 or 15.
We'll have a "free yard sale" with clean, very gently used clothes, coats, toys, baby items, etc. We would like to get these on December 14 or 15.
Please contact me at 706-201-7241 or cbdrewry@gmail.com
With hope, peace, joy, and love,
Catherine Bowen Drewry
Ride Ministry Request
Two of our parishioners at Terra Bella Senior Living on Epps Bridge Pkwy (who do not drive) have voiced a desire to attend Sunday School at 9:15 am. Currently there are drivers that can bring them to the 10:30 church service but not to Sunday School. Alternatively, they would be willing to come to the 8:00 service and stay through Sunday School. Please contact Tammy Bowman at 706-296-8876 (voice/text) or via email if you could be part of a team of drivers to assist with this. Thanks!
Family Promise—Help Needed!
Family Promise reports that they are currently experiencing more requests for assistance than they can meet. They have requested grocery gift cards from either Kroger or Walmart. If you would like to help, you can give cards or money for cards to Annette Bates or leave them with Kendall in the office. Thank you for your continued generosity!
Family Promise is an organization dedicated to helping families experiencing homelessness achieve independence. For more information, please visit their website at https://www.familypromiseathens.org/.