THE RESPONSE WAS COLOSSAL!
A few weekends ago, after the Sunday Masses, St. John the Evangelist parishioners were asked ON SHORT NOTICE to donate urgently needed items to the people in the communities that were hardest hit by Hurricane Helene in North Carolina. Our goal was set to fill a 20 foot truck that would depart only days later and THE RESPONSE WAS SO COLOSSAL that after collecting for 2 days WE FILLED NOT ONE, BUT TWO TRUCKS!
A COLOSSAL THANK YOU!
A continuous and unrelenting stream of critical supplies poured in for 16 hours bringing a couple thousand canned goods, sleeves of ready to eat pouches of food, an enormous glut of new sleeping bags, new tents and new weather resistant outer-wear, new coats and vests and boots and shoes and very gently-used warm clothing items that looked as if people took the very best of their own things from their closets! There were countless donations of new socks and new hats and scarves. Shelf loads of hygienic items and over the counter medicines for both adults and children filled countless boxes with the very thoughtful inclusion of additional special donations like Insulin and epi-pens! At a time when the cost of everything is elevated through the roof due to inflation, the generosity of our parish was ENORMOUS! EVEN THE DONATION OF THE COST OF THE TRUCKS WAS DONATED BY A PARISHIONER! But the most beautiful donation of all, might have been the countless number of people who showed up to help with the enormous task which far surpassed our sign-up genius request – some of whom only came to drop off items but then stayed for hours to help with unpacking the mountain of bags – and the tedious sorting and repacking of the items into separate boxes. One parishioner even coordinated food drop boxes at our local GIANT that yielded donations from beyond our parish from the greater Warrenton community. The St. John School children wrote cards with messages of hope and the youth group served dinner to the workers during our last shift. LOVE MULTIPLIES. And the God Who is LOVE ITSELF could be seen in all of this generosity performing the beautiful miracle of the multiplication of the loaves & fishes in and through the people of St. John’s! A VERY SPECIAL THANK YOU TO FATHER SMITH FOR SUPPORTING THIS INCREDIBLE OUTREADCH EFFORT!
To God be the glory!
Donna Marie Stanislaw & Christy Williams