Building on the energy and enthusiasm of past year’s Advent giving, the Social Concerns Committee has arranged for opportunities to bless several organizations in Silverton which serve our friends and neighbors in need. Each week of Advent different local organizations will be the recipients of our giving.

First Week of Advent – December 1st
A Time of Hope – Once again our friend Helen Thomas who works at the high school with homeless students has helped us with an idea that will meet a big need for these young people. We will cover them from top to bottom by collecting hats, underwear, and socks. All adult sizes are needed and the kids appreciate what ever we provide, but if you are not sure what style to choose ask any of our young people at church what type of hat or socks they prefer, (not likely they will share about their underwear choices!)

Second Week of Advent – December 8th
A Time of Love – Most of you are familiar with Young Life Clubs. This year we asked Rebecca Ortega if there was some item we could collect for our local Young Life and she gave us an enthusiastic YES! The leadership had just developed a plan to start distributing snacks to stu-dents who are involved in various activities at the schools as a way of supporting them and making positive contacts. For this week please bring any kind of snacks or juice boxes/pouches that are prepackaged in individual portions.

Third Week of Advent – December 15th
A Time For Joy –The Mission of Hope is a food distribution project of Silver Creek Fellowship. One of their distribution sites is under the bridge in Salem where they provide a meal and friendship to homeless people who are living on the streets. Many of you have met Rob and Trish Ambrose who often volunteer alongside our servers at First Christian Church. Trish sug-gested we collect duct tape, tarps, and batteries that they can distribute to the people they get to know when serving dinner under the bridge. This may seem like an unusual request, but when you hear Trish talk about the needs of these folks you will understand the importance of these supplies.

Fourth Week of Advent – December 22nd
A Time of Peace – Silverton Area Community Aid provides hope to many in our town by offer-ing food assistance. Teresa Warriner, who is the new director of SACA, spoke of the need for foods other than canned or preserved items. She said that they rarely get fresh dairy items and asked us to collect cheese and yogurt this year. When you purchase these items she requested that we bring the individual size yogurts and we would suggest that two one-pound cheese packages are better than one two-pounder as the prior can serve two families.