Christmas just became a lot brighter for 75 children living in a shelter in the Bronx, thanks to the youth of the Central Presbyterian Church in Summit.
The youth – all middle and high school students – reviewed gift requests from children in need and called on the Congregation to help make the Christmas wishes of those children come true through the church’s Sharing Tree project. The Summit-area students publicized their effort, made ornaments with gifts requests for the congregation to fulfill, and conducted shopping trips using their own money to buy gifts, which they wrapped and readied for distribution.
Thanks to their hard work and Christmas spirit, more than 250 gifts and grocery cards went to the Bronx shelter children and other people in need.
“We are blessed to have so many great young people here at Central Church who care about the community and each other. Youth at Central Church have a long tradition of caring for the community as an expression of their faith and their values,” says Rev. Deborah Huggins, Associate Pastor at Central Church.
Central Presbyterian Church, located in Summit, NJ, has a long-standing tradition of Sharing Trees. Each year at Christmas, a truckload of gifts is sent to the Sarah Burke House, a high-security shelter for women and their children, and another to Central’s sister church, Nuevas Fronteras (an outreach of the Presbyterian Church of Plainfield), which serves many families on the edge of poverty. The remainder of the gifts is distributed to Summit families in need of help this Christmas due to illness and difficult circumstances. Central Presbyterian Church, located at 70 Maple Street in Summit, NJ, offers regular worship services on Sundays at 8:30 in the Chapel, 10:00 a.m. in the Sanctuary, and a nontraditional service, WAVE, at 11:15 a.m. in the Auditorium. Free Sunday child care is available from 9:45 a.m. to 11:15 a.m. Christmas Eve Services will be held at 4:00 (Family Worship with Christmas Pageant), 8:00 and 11:00 p.m. (Candlelight services. Learn more about Central at www.centralpres.org , or call 908.273.0441.
(above) Central Church’s Sharing Tree is now empty of gift-request ornaments, thanks to the efforts of the church’s teenagers. More than 250 gifts were collected for those in need this holiday season.
(above) Middle Schoolers from Central Church in Summit, NJ shop for Christmas gifts for children spending the holidays in shelters.
photos by: Central Church
