One of the most satisfying aspects of The Tablet’s Bright Christmas Campaign is opening the mail and reading the personal notes that so many of our readers send with their contributions.
“I’m grateful to God for the many blessings He’s bestowed on me that enable me to share with others,” writes Marie Fleuranges of Jamaica. “I hope every child and family has a truly Bright Christmas.”
As quickly as the requests for help have arrived, so too have the donations from our readers. In the first week of our drive, more than $50,000 has been received and is now ready for distribution to the parishes and diocesan groups that have asked for help.
By now, you know the drill. We ask for your help to assist parish and agency leaders who minister to children and families in Brooklyn and Queens. As the money comes in, we mail it to the priests, sisters and laypeople who are in direct contact with folks who are coming up short this Christmas. The goal is to make sure that no child goes without a present at Christmas.
A childhood friend from Greenpoint responded to my solicitation with a check for $1,000. A nun from upstate New York sent her check for $10. Every amount helps us to achieve our goal of $100,000. Last year, we managed to go over goal. This year we will need to do the same if we are to fill the requests that have come in.
This week, we heard from Sister Maryja Wspomozycielka, S.S.V.M., coordinator of religious education and youth ministry at SS. Peter and Paul parish on the Southside of Williamsburg.
“Our sisters have been serving here for more than 21 years,” she writes. “One of the many services and ministries we provide in the parish community, one of the most energizing and evangelizing is our Christmas play. Families spend a day celebrating, sharing and experiencing this Christmas joy as a parish community.
“The majority of our parishioners come from low-income housing and we have a growing art and movie industry community. It is our mission to gather both of these communities to share the Christ Story of hope.”
Sister Maryja can be assured that The Tablet’s readers will once again assist them in making Christmas Day a memorable one for everyone in her neighborhood.
Bright Christmas has a history that stretches back more than 50 years. Louise Troisi of Bay Ridge recalls years back when former Tablet reporter, the late Sister Betty Lamb, O.P., “got us all involved at Harbor of Grace Convent in College Point. We shopped and wrapped. Very happy memories.”
Great memories indeed!
Tablet readers have been making Christmas magic happen in our diocese for such a long time. Happy memories for recipients and donors alike.
To help the memories continue, send your Bright Christmas donation today to The Tablet’s Bright Christmas, 1712 Tenth Ave., Brooklyn, N.Y. 11215.