Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, some local churches are taking part in this year’s Operation Christmas Child –an annual ministry project that provides shoeboxes filled with holiday gifts to children around the world.
The Samaritan’s Purse organization works with churches across the world to fill shoeboxes with toys, school supplies and hygiene items, along with religious materials, and then distribute the boxes to children in need.
Anyone interested in donating items or volunteering may call any of the churches participating in the program, including the First Baptist Church of Arnold, Friendship Church in Cedar Hill and First Baptist Church of Festus-Crystal City.
It’s a challenge this year to collect gifts and fill the boxes while practicing social distancing and other guidelines to stem the spread of the virus, participants say.
First Baptist
Festus-Crystal City
At the First Baptist Church of Festus-Crystal City, 107 N. Truman Blvd., in Crystal City, work on Operation Christmas Child is a continuous process for much of the year, said Kathy Brinkmann, the church’s Operation Christmas Child project leader.
“We’ll have our packing party at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 5, at the church,” she said. “Most of the time, it’s just our church members, but we’ll take anyone’s help. We’ll encourage social distancing.”
Brinkmann said in the weeks leading up to the packing party, congregation members collect items from the public for the project.
“From here, we’ll transport them to where they’ll be shipped,” she said.
Brinkmann said the church members she works with look at the yearly project as a labor of love.
“It’s a way to brighten someone’s Christmas,” she said. “A lot of places – Haiti, wherever – they don’t get a lot of presents. We’d like to do 200 shoeboxes this year. That’s steep, with COVID.
“Definitely, it means a lot to us. It’s through the love of Jesus.”
First Baptist Arnold
The First Baptist Church of Arnold, 2012 Missouri State Road, is a major contributor to the project.
Ben Schisler, the congregation’s mission pastor., said his church will have its annual “packing party” Saturday, Nov. 14, to put the items donated to the cause into shoeboxes and get them ready to be shipped.
Schisler said volunteers will work staggered schedules to adhere to social distancing standards.
Friendship Church
Friendship Church, 8827 Hwy. NN, in Cedar Hill, is the project drop-off center for the southwest St. Louis area, which includes Jefferson and Franklin counties and south St. Louis County, said Vanessa Nations of the congregation.
Nations said Friendship Church changed from having its standard one-day packing party and to spread it out over five days because of the pandemic.
“Also, all drop-offs of donations have been curbside. The volunteers all wear masks. The donors drive in with their vehicles.”
For more information about Operation Christmas Child, visit the website samaritanspurse.org.