Operation Christmas Child
Packages steadily flowing in to annual program People throughout the area are experiencing the holiday spirit as they turn in packages this week for Operation Christmas Child. “It’s a little slower in some ways than last year but it’s going good,” said Mina Brown, who coordinates the project at Mount Moriah Baptist Church, located at 30 Church St. in Smithfield, which acts as a relay center.
Operation Christmas Child is a ministry of Samaritan’s Purse, headed by Dr. Franklin Graham, the son of the Rev. Dr. Billy Graham. The program, which began in 1993, sends shoeboxes filled with gifts, such as hard candy and small toys, to children around the world in desperate situations, including flood, famine and war.
Brown reported Tuesday afternoon that Mount Moriah had received 719 boxes so far this week.
“They’re coming from all over – Brownsville, Dunbar, Smithfield, Farmington, Hopwood and Fairchance,” she said. “We even had a group from Virginia. My son, Mike Brown, teaches at a middle school in Covington, Va., and they made 12 boxes.”
It’s a festive atmosphere at Mount Moriah with holiday music, a Christmas tree with ornaments made by students at Mount Moriah Christian School and a table filled with treats.
Volunteers are helping from Mount Moriah as well as a number of area churches, including Brownfield United Methodist, First Christian Church in Grindstone, St. Therese Roman Catholic Church, Third Presbyterian and Abundant Life from Uniontown and Fairchance Free Methodist as well as the Homeschoolers of Fayette County.
In addition, students from Mount Moriah Christian School and Smithfield Elementary donated items to the cause and volunteers from Mount Moriah filled 86 shoeboxes with the gifts. Mount Moriah also is collecting from its congregation and will record its final amount on Sunday.
Mount Moriah will continue to collect shoeboxes from 1 to 5 p.m. today through Friday, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday and noon to 3 p.m. Sunday.
Several other churches are also acting as drop-off sites, including Liberty Baptist, 183 Oliver Road, Uniontown, 2 to 8 p.m. today through Saturday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday and 2 to 4 p.m. Monday; World Christian Outreach, 503 W. Georgia Ave., Connellsville, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. today and Thursday; 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Friday, 10 a.m. to noon, Saturday, and 1 to 4 p.m. Sunday; Fayette City Alliance Church, 211 Connellsville St., 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. today, noon to 3 p.m. Thursday, 4 to 8 p.m., Friday, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, noon to 4 p.m. Sunday and 8 to 10 a.m. Monday.