As has been previously mentioned on the blog, PCC is participating in a Season of Giving. Generally this time of year we receive a Thanksgiving offering for something outside our church. Last year the offering was given for Samaritan Purse’s work in Darfur, Sudan.

Last year’s offering was a part of a 4 week sermon series where we looked at what the Scriptures say about poverty, wealth, justice, and generosity. If you click the photo you will see the refugee tents we had on stage to remind us of how much of the world suffers daily from injustice. If you look closely you will also see (pastor) Brian in a suit… truly a miracle. Those of you who were around last year when we collected this offering, you may remember that PCC’s generosity totaled over $64,000!

As we talked about this year’s Thanksgiving offering, we decided to expand the offering to a Season of Giving. Rather than collect donations for one project or cause, we’ve decided to identify 4 ways that PCC folks can make a tangible difference in the lives of people who are in need. Our thinking about this included two major ideas: we never want to neglect to love and care for those in our own church and neighborhoods, and we want to move from simply giving money to making tangible connections with those experiencing significant need.

The Season of Giving includes caring for those in the Parkview family as well as our neighbors. Here’s how it works:

The Parkview Family
With the help of some volunteers, we’ve identified 2 ways to provide for those in our congregation with financial needs.

• Gift card drive. Tags representing $20.00 gift cards to Shell, Target, or Jewel are available at the Season of Giving display in the lobby.
• Clothing drive. There are certain members of the Parkview family who could use some specific items of clothing. Envelopes with instructions are available at the display.

Our Neighbors
There are two ways we’re partnering with our friends at Outreach Community Center in Carol Stream to help with their annual Christmas Store.

• Christmas Store gift drive. Each year new gifts are donated to the Christmas Store so that OCC clients can purchase gifts for their children. Apparently there are never enough gifts donated for older kids (middle and high school)… so we’ve committed to purchasing 60 gifts for this age group. Gift tags and gift ideas can be claimed at the lobby display.
• Christmas Store volunteers. We asked OCC to give us the volunteer shifts that are the hardest to fill. Here’s what they gave us (15 people per shift): Decorating and Set-up (Friday, 12/7, 3:00-6:00), Shoppers Helpers (Saturday, 12/8, 12:00-3:30), and Cleanup Crew (Saturday, 12/8, 3:00-4:30).

For more information and sign-ups, stop by the Season of Giving display in the lobby next Sunday. Thanks for your involvement!

Update…

Because of your incredible generosity, most of opportunities listed above were taken this past Sunday. Awesome. I will be working with some of our volunteers and OCC this week to determine if there are more needs we can meet. What an excellent dilemma to face. I’ll update you later in the week.