Grace Cathedral
Article | November 22, 2023
Welcoming the Family with Joy and Hope
Blog|Steph McNally
Children can help us remember, and re-connect with, the joy at the heart of something. This is especially the case with the holiday season. Children respond to this season with a joy that teaches us all to be joyous and an excitement that reminds us of the great hope of this time.
The love children have for the holidays is a sacred and beautiful thing. Nurturing this hope, and providing a joyous holiday experience for children, can be the source of stress for many families. This is especially the case for families experiencing financial and housing insecurity, where parents and caregivers have to make careful financial choices every day.
The Office of the Congregation, the Congregation Council, and Women in Community are working with the Homeless Prenatal Program (HPP) to celebrate and support families this holiday season. In December, we will be welcoming a number of families who participate in HPP programs to a holiday party at Grace. This will be the first in-person holiday gathering the HPP has held for families since 2019, and we are delighted and honored to support this important act of re-gathering.
At this party, taking place on a date near the Feast of Saint Nicholas, Saint Nick will present gifts of pajamas and books.
If you would like to contribute to this gift-giving, please visit our Amazon wishlist.
We are collecting until Sunday, December 3. We appreciate your interest and contribution in supporting the preschool this holiday season!
We also would welcome offerings of baked goods, as well as volunteers to help wrap the gifts and ready the room for the festivities! Please do contact Steph McNally with any questions.
We would gratefully appreciate your support in this celebration for families whose courage and strength so richly deserve to be celebrated.
This is a truly “grace-filled” initiative: we are grateful to Joanne Compean and members of Women in Community, as well as members of the Council’s Social Justice Subcommittee, for their partnership.
It is a gift to a member of a community where congregants practice welcome to families and all who come to Grace, and embody the joyful hope of this season. In a time where we make room in our hearts and minds for the family seeking shelter, I give thanks to the great and loving family of Grace.