It was a hosting week for our parish at the In Hour of Need (IHN) Family Shelter, starting December 3rd. The families as well as volunteers had a wonderful week of sharing. Sharing time, gifts, hospitality, laughter, faith, love, and joy. On Thursday it was the first day of Hanukkah, and a Jewish family invited the residents and the evening volunteer to participate as they worshipped and thanked God, singing the prayers in Hebrew at the Menorah lighting. On Saturday evening Terri King, Dave King, and Sheri Lynn hosted the annual Christmas party at the shelter with food and Christmas presents. The families were grateful. The generosity of many people made this week a success.

We want to give a large thank you to all those who contributed. Thank you to those who offered prayers and those who made monetary donations. the volunteers who spent evenings and overnights at the shelter and who worked directly with the families were very much appreicated. Thank you to the volunteer hosts Michael Muir, Christine Muir, Janel Such, Tina Buona, Terri King, Dave King, David Hennessy, John Wild, and Andrew Cipro. A special thank you goes out to Cathy Richardson, our amazing gift shopper, her assistant Carol Wolfe, and Bob Richardson, our phenomenal gift wrapper. They were key to making the Christmas party a success.

The Shelter is looking for anyone willing to sign up during weeks that do not have enough volunteers. Please contact Jim Lindsay at [email protected], if you are interested or if you would like more information. The next service week for our parish begins on June 9th.