Sunday 19 November was Shoebox Sunday at St Columba’s.

For many years, the church has supported Samaritan’s Purse’s Operation Christmas Child project.  People from all over the area have been coming to drop off shoeboxes at the church, and many were added in today’s service.  A couple of hundred boxes were piled up at the front of the church and blessed before heading out on a journey around the world.

Each shoebox is filled with gifts such as toys, games, balls, paper and pens, hats, scarves, gloves, soap, toothpaste and brush, given with love, to be transported to a church in a poor country, for a child who otherwise might not get any Christmas presents.  There is also an option for the child to learn about Jesus and the Christmas story.

In today’s service, we reminisced on Christmases past, particularly those in the era of post-war rationing, when parents had little to give to their children in this country.