Volunteers stand in front of the Breakfast with Santa sign at McKendree Memorial United Methodist Church before they began welcoming the children. The event was sponsored by the church members and Hands of Hope.
American Home design donated 76 bicycles to the event at Generation Church supported by Generation Church, Halltown General Baptist, and Portland C.A.R.E.S.
Volunteers gathered for breakfast at Generation Church before they began working with families and children during the Christmas event at the church. Generation Church was joined by Halltown General Baptist Church and Portland C.A.R.E.S.
The students in the youth ministry at First Baptist Church of Portland come together at Walmart in Franklin, Ky., before they begin shopping for the children on their lists. They are part of the GLOW program, an acronym for God’s Love on Wishlists.
Volunteers stand in front of the Breakfast with Santa sign at McKendree Memorial United Methodist Church before they began welcoming the children. The event was sponsored by the church members and Hands of Hope.
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American Home design donated 76 bicycles to the event at Generation Church supported by Generation Church, Halltown General Baptist, and Portland C.A.R.E.S.
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Volunteers help carry gifts to the family cars at the end of the event at Generation Church.
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Volunteers gathered for breakfast at Generation Church before they began working with families and children during the Christmas event at the church. Generation Church was joined by Halltown General Baptist Church and Portland C.A.R.E.S.
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The students in the youth ministry at First Baptist Church of Portland come together at Walmart in Franklin, Ky., before they begin shopping for the children on their lists. They are part of the GLOW program, an acronym for God’s Love on Wishlists.
Local churches in Portland, large and small, worked with schools, Portland C.A.R.E.S, Hands of Hope, and other non-profits to see that no family was left out during the Christmas season. Each group did what they could to show the love of Christ.
Mitchellville General Baptist Church worked with C.A.R.E.S. to get the names of several families that needed some help. The church members shopped for the children; and after one Wednesday night service, several members stayed and wrapped the gifts which were later distributed to the families.
Fountain Head Church of Christ reached out to its membership and provided help to some members who were struggling.
Portland Nazarene Church chose Thanksgiving to do their holiday benevolent work. According to minister Matt Taylor, the church chose Thanksgiving because so many other churches help with the Christmas season. This year, the church gave away 101 Thanksgiving baskets, which included a frozen turkey, two cans of green beans, a can of corn, mashed potatoes and brownies. The members also collected toys for the children who had parents incarcerated during the holidays.
Portland Church of Christ members contributed to an annual special fund in October to provide for families in the community who might need a little help with providing for their children during the Christmas season. Each child received a pair of shoes, a coat, clothes, some toys, a Bible; and each family received a food voucher at a local grocery store. Thirty-four children were chosen from a list provided by the various schools in Portland. In addition, the church also donated approximately 125 toys for the children who have parents incarcerated during the holidays.
According to Mike Byrd of First Baptist Church of Portland, the church does a program called GLOW, which is an acronym for God’s Love on Wishlists. They keep their eyes and ears open all year for those in need, and this year their priority was those who were widows, orphans or shut-ins. This year they bought a recliner for a 91-year-old man, who had been sleeping in an upright chair. Byrd took a group of 31 students in the youth ministry program to Walmart in Franklin, Ky., to shop for people who had needs. He used a card system with a name, age, and gift request and asked someone to shop for that person. The gifts were collected and the group returned to the church building to wrap the gifts in a room filled with Christmas music and had pizza. The students wore their Christmas attire and had a good time.
“It is one of our students’ favorite things that we do,” Byrd said. “It is really really a fun time and a good way to love on our people and serve our community. The neat thing about ours is that there is a lot of stuff done for kids, but I wanted to think beyond that. I wanted to think about our elderly, widows and orphans. I know we don’t have an orphanage here, but I know some people where there was a death of a parent this year so we tried to think beyond kids.”
McKendree Memorial United Methodist Church teamed with Hands of Hope to provide a breakfast and visit with Santa and gifts to the families. According to Youth Minister Karen Almendarez, the church provided the space for the event, the breakfast, decorations, Santa, stockings from Santa, and hygiene bags for the families.
Several things were planned during the breakfast and the reading of the story of the birth of Jesus from the Bible was a special time for the children. After breakfast, Santa came in and the children went by table groups for a visit with him and received a stocking. Hands of Hope provided a toy store for the children. The toys had been donated to Hands of Hope from the community. The volunteers sorted the toys by age groups. When the families left, they were given grocery bags of food for approximately four meals. The event served 70 families including 140 children. Approximately 241 people were fed at the breakfast provided by members of the Methodist Church.
Generation Church teamed with Halltown General Baptist Church and Portland C.A.R.E.S. to provide 491 children a fun event at the church, including a pancake breakfast, visit with Santa, and a kid’s party room complete with an escape room, movie and an opportunity to pick out gifts for their parents. While the children had their time, the parents were given information about other resources in Sumner County that would be available to them during the year. Then the parents went to the toy store to pick out gifts they wanted for their children. Translators were provided for families who needed that service.
This is not an all-inclusive list of the churches in the area that provided support to families during the Christmas season. It is a sampling of the goodwill shown in the Portland community during the holiday season.
