And so the requests continue to arrive here on my desk.
With The Tablet’s Bright Christmas campaign now in full swing, diocesan leaders in child care write to us asking for some special help at Christmas.
For instance, Sister Breige Lavery, R.S.M., who runs the Dorothy Bennett Mercy Center in Fort Greene, has reached out for help with the children’s Christmas Pageant.
The Dorothy Bennett Center is a place for young people to go after school for help with their schoolwork. But this time of the year is special.
“The Christmas Pageant provides an opportunity for them to discover new talents and use their developing skills,” says the Mercy nun. “The preparation for the pageant has been a real community effort with help coming from many quarters.”
The children will be performing their rendition of the first Christmas in the convent auditorium on Friday, Dec. 13.
From East New York comes the annual plea from Sister Maria Esperanza and Madre Myriam Almah of the office of religious education at St. Michael-St. Malachy parish.
“I would like to request your help once again for our children at St. Michael-St. Malachy,” says Sister Maria. “For the past several years, you have been so generous with our children. It is with your help that we are able to give more to these children, keeping them fed, spiritually and materially.
“Last year, our youth in the parish helped organize the Nativity Play. This year, the young people are even more involved in the Nativity Play and are helping prepare the children and all the other details. It is a great opportunity for both the children and the youth to bring joy to others. Their desire to help organize the Nativity Play is one way of forming the future leaders of the Church.”
Not only do your donations to Bright Christmas bring the immediate results of providing a gift this Christmas, but they also pay off with dividends for the future because the kids realize that someone cares about them. The Church becomes real because you have empowered some parish leaders to brighten Christmas in another part of the diocese.
For more than 40 years, The Tablet’s Bright Christmas Drive has been helping kids like those at the Dorothy Bennett Mercy Center and St. Michael-St. Malachy parish. These are places that might not be able to get things done at Christmas if not for the check they receive from Bright Christmas.
Last year, we were able to make special contributions to parishes and programs that were hit especially hard by Hurricane Sandy. We may not have had a natural disaster this year, but the ravages of Sandy continue to be felt. And while the national economy continues to improve, for some it is too slow. The only assistance they may get this year could be from Bright Christmas.
We need your help again this season. To participate, simply write out a check to The Tablet’s Bright Christmas and send it to us at 1712 Tenth Ave., Brooklyn, NY 11215.
