St. Alphonsus Rodriguez Church in Woodstock is reaching out and helping families in need at its sister parish, St. Gregory the Great, in Baltimore.
Parishioner Shirley Doresey spoke with Weis representative Chris Whitlock and manager Doug McPherson about providing turkeys and other staples to families in need this past Thanksgiving.
Through Weis' points program for customers to earn free turkeys or hams, many customers donated back to the store to benefit St. Alphonsus' Holiday Baskets. Thirty-six turkeys, two hams and 10 bags full of food were distributed to several local families at St. Gregory.
St. Gregory takes applications from over 1,000 families for food as well as gifts for children at Christmas. St. Alphonsus' parishioners are supporting 68 Sandtown families for Christmas this year. They also take referrals from parishioners for any local families that may need help and are providing for 10 locally this year.
This partnership began in 1985 after receiving a letter from St. Gregory's pastor asking for help with food and gifts at the holidays. St. Alphonsus began a food drive and adopt-a-family that year. The seasonal food drive evolved into a year-round collection where parishioners make donations and send a van full of food each month to help stock a food pantry that operates year round at St. Gregory's.
While many of us are blessed, there are many families who struggle to make ends meet, especially during the holidays. If you are shopping at Weis, consider donating food in the collection box at the check out. To help with St. Alphonsus Rodriguez' mission to make the holidays a little happier for those less fortunate, contact the church at 410-461-5267.
Members of St. James United Methodist Church in Marriottsville, will board a school bus at 11:45 a.m. on Sunday, Dec. 21, to go Christmas Caroling. They will be visiting shut-ins from their congregation as well as Rockland UMC's congregation.
The bus will return to St. James around 4:30 p.m. Anyone from the community that would like to go Christmas Caroling are welcome to attend. This has been a fun and rewarding experience for many years. For more information, please call St. James United Methodist Church at 410-442-2020