Do some Christmas shopping….
And help someone in need!
Shop Differently….Give the Gift of HOPE
!
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St. James-St. Leo Christmas Market
& Knights of Columbus Community Breakfast
Sunday, Dec. 8 from 8:30 to 11:30 am
Parish Hall
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Have you ever asked yourself, “How can I make my Christmas
gifts more meaningful this year?"
One easy way is to purchase gifts that make an impact.
All gifts purchased at the Christmas Market change lives by supporting fair trade, our parish ministries, and follow our commitment to Catholic social teaching principles of justice and respect for human dignity. Take a ‘sneak peak’ at available gifts in the brochure attachment below.
The Knights of Columbus will also be serving their popular delicious breakfast
of scrambled eggs, sausage, country potatoes, pancakes, fruit, juice, and coffee. The cost is $7 for adults and children 12 and under are ½ price.
What better way to celebrate Christmas than to give a gift that continues Christ’s work to serve the poor, heal the sick, and promote peace and justice?
The Parish Hall will be festively decorated, Christmas music will be playing, and there will be many different options to shop for gifts that make a difference! So bring your friends, family, & co-workers for a morning to share breakfast together and do a little shopping.
And be sure to stop by our Mission Circle Table!!
Questions? Contact Katie Hodsdon; katekellyhodsdon@gmail.com
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HELP BRING CHRISTMAS JOY
To a Girl at Casa Eudes
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Volunteer elf Mike Larkin writes down Raquel’s wishes for Christmas.
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DANCING…LAUGHTER…FEASTING…and GIFTS FROM SANTA! Our Mission Circle Elves are busy preparing the annual Christmas Party celebration for the girls, the Sisters, and the staff at Casa Eudes Girls Home in Tijuana. Our hope is to bring the joy and wonder of Jesus’ birth to each of the girls. If you’d like to help our elves make some special wishes come true, there are many ways to help:
BUY A GIFT TO PUT UNDER THE TREE:
The gift elves need a little help to fulfill all of the Christmas wishes of the girls, the Sisters, and the staff. Helping is easy….
- take an ornament from one of the Christmas trees as you enter St. James and purchase the item requested
- return the gift item, UNWRAPPED, with the ornament tag attached
- Date to return gifts: by Sunday Dec. 29th (but returning your gift earlier gives the elves more time to check Santa’s list for each girl!)
HELP SORT THE GIFTS:
Some sorting elves are also needed to help sort the gifts as they are returned. If you would like to help, please contact:
HELP PREPARE THE MEAL
: Meanwhile, the chef elves are busy planning a Christmas feast! They will be busy prepping the meal on Friday, Jan. 10 in the Parish Hall kitchen. Volunteers are needed to help with the meal preparations.
- Contact Jeff Sturgis at jeffsturgis@me.com to help
- No food donations are needed, but donations to cover the cost of the food are greatly appreciated
TRAVEL WITH US TO THE PARTY:
All Christmas Elves are invited to join us! Families, individuals…from children to retired seniors…all are welcome! The Christmas Party is a fun event for the girls, staff, and especially for the volunteers who come along in the church van. As we arrive, final meal preparations are made, bags of gifts are brought in, the girls perform traditional dances just for us, a delicious feast is enjoyed by all, followed by the big moment that causes great excitement and shrieks….Santa arrives to distribute the gifts! It’s a full, joy-filled day you won’t want to miss!
- WHEN: Saturday, Jan. 11
- WHERE: Casa Eudes Girls Home, Tijuana, Mexico
- MEET UP: 8:00 AM St. James Parking Lot
- WHAT YOU NEED: To ride in the church van, passports are required, Global Entry is preferred.
- Confirm your space in the van with Kevin O’Connor at shamrockpool@gmail.com. Reserve early. Space is limited.
- RETURN: 6:00 PM approximately
MAKE A DONATION TO PAY FOR THE FOOD AND GIFTS
:
And of course the accountant elves always appreciate donations toward the purchase of the food and any gifts that are not provided for the girls.
If you have any questions, please contact the Head Elves:
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SHARE THE SPIRIT OF CHRISTMAS
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Looking for a great opportunity to serve others this holiday season? Mission Circle is organizing a volunteer group to work at Holiday Baskets, the Community Resource Center's annual event where 6,000 people in need receive gifts of food, toys, blankets, outerwear and much more. Our volunteer shift takes place from 4:30 to 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 14, at the Del Mar Fairgrounds; to sign up or get more information, email Anastacia Grenda at aegrenda@gmail.com.
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HOSTING THE INTERFAITH SHELTER
January 5-18
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Volunteers and Donations Needed
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“It is all about serving as a safety net,” says Deacon Peter Hodsdon. “The working poor often live on the edge. When they hit a little dip in the road, the North County Interfaith Shelter throws out the net.” One man, a carpenter in his 40s, suffered heart problems, lost his job, then his housing and was clawing his way back to a normal, healthy working life. The Interfaith Shelter program caught and carried him when cascading issues had wreaked havoc on his life.
St. James has participated in the Interfaith Shelter, which is offered by church congregations throughout north San Diego County, for many years. St. James will again host the shelter from January 5 through 18, 2020. As usual, Community Resource Center (CRC) social service managers select, screen, and provide follow-up services for the fortunate guests of the interfaith shelter program none of whom can be experiencing drug or alcohol dependency problems.
To host the shelter in the parish hall, St. James volunteers create a cozy home environment by partitioning the space with PVC pipe and fabric “walls” into separate spaces furnished with air mattresses and blankets for families, single men and single women. The 12 to 15 guests
stay from 5 in the evening to 7:30 in the morning; lights go out at 10 p.m. During their stay, guests can sign up for hot showers complete with soap, wash cloths and towels. Each day St. James volunteers deliver a delicious dinner such as spaghetti and meatballs or a casserole, salad and dessert. Other donations allow breakfast and lunch makings to be available daily.
Many of the people CRC chooses to participate in the shelter program work at low-paying jobs and live out of their cars. From October until May, when the temperature drops, sleeping in a vehicle becomes even more uncomfortable than usual. The Interfaith Shelter program provides what is termed “urgent” housing not long-term shelter. It’s simply a safety net that catches, clutches and comforts the most vulnerable among us in a moment of crisis.
Hosting the Interfaith Shelter at St. James requires countless parish volunteers
to set up and tear down the space, greet and welcome, provide dinners, drive guests to the laundromat, chaperone each night and more. Anyone interested in volunteering to help can
sign up at the Christmas Market on December 8.
Needed donations include hygiene kits, games for kids and simple entertainment options.
Place donations in a bag marked “interfaith shelter” and leave them under the sink in the Social Room at St. James Church.
For further information, contact Deacon Peter Hodsdon at
deaconpeter@stjames-stleo.org
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St. James Mission Circle
P.O. Box 1376, Solana Beach, CA 92075
www.missioncircle.com 858.792.0516
November-December 2019
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Dear Mission Circle Supporter,
Thank you
for your support of Mission Circle and your ongoing donations of time and money! Through your support this past year Mission Circle has been able to:
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- Continue to help the girls at Casa Eudes with maintenance of the home, outings, craft and training activities, a Christmas party, a fashion show, and funding college for some of the girls
- Provide 1,000 peanut butter and jelly sandwiches per week to feed the homeless and prisoners in Tijuana
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- Tutor kids from pre-school to eighth grade two days per week at St. Leo’s Mission
- Help the parish pay for and package 54,000 meals that will go to crisis victims in the U.S. and hungry families abroad
- Procure, sort, and distribute 1075 pairs of new shoes along with 2200 pairs of socks for needy kids
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- Help provide 353 dozen cookies for the October Kairos retreat at Donovan State Prison
- Provide staffing every Friday for the Community Resource Center in Encinitas, which serves low-income individuals, families, and seniors, and people who are homeless, affected by domestic violence, or unable to work due to a disability
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- Help those who are most in need on both sides of the border through our Donations Program. We assist migrant families in Coachella, refuges, the homeless, and many others in desperate situations and families in crisis
- Help coordinate volunteer support for holiday baskets for people in North County with much-needed gifts of food, toys, blankets, warm jackets, baby supplies, and much more
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- Support the annual Christmas Market to fight world hunger
- …and more! Backpacks for kids, support for the Interfaith Shelter, the jail ministry, and other ministries.
But we can’t do it without you! Please remember Mission Circle in your end of year donations! Our funding is
very
tight, and we depend on you in order to succeed with our mission. You can donate online at missioncircle.com, via the parish website at
https://osvonlinegiving.com/4463
(be sure to designate Mission Circle), or by sending a check to Mission Circle at the address shown above.
Have a merry and blessed Thanksgiving and Christmas,
Kevin
Kevin O’Connor
President
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Just in case you missed it...
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SOLANA BEACH — Sort bread into piles, slather on jelly, spread peanut butter, stack and repeat.
The task is routine, even mundane — but a group of North County interfaith volunteers gathered at St. Leo Mission Church in Solana Beach have made it a weekly ritual.
The 1,000-plus peanut butter and jelly sandwiches’ final destination? Downtown Tijuana, where a dedicated volunteer distributes the sandwiches to the city’s homeless and incarcerated.
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Want to Make a Difference?
~ VOLUNTEER WITH US ~
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On-going Volunteer Opportunities
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Casa Eudes Girls Home
Christmas Party
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To make Christmas brighter
for the girls, Sisters, and staff at Casa Eudes Girls Home in Tijuana, please take an ornament from the Christmas Tree as you enter St. James Church, purchase the requested item, and return it, unwrapped by Dec. 29. Thank you!
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Sunday, Dec. 8
8:30-11:30 AM – Parish Hall
Contact:
Katie Hodsdon, katekellyhodsdon@gmail.com
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Christmas Market & Community Breakfast
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Give the gift of Hope this Christmas by shopping for gifts at the St. James-St. Leo Christmas Market, where all gifts continue Jesus work to help the poor and support our Catholic teachings of justice and respect for human dignity. Also enjoy a delicious breakfast served by the Knights of Columbus!
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To sign up or get more information
Contact: Anastacia Grenda, aegrenda@gmail.com
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Mission Circle is organizing a volunteer group to work at Holiday Baskets
, the Community Resource Center's annual event where 6,000 people in need receive gifts of food, toys, blankets, outerwear and much more.
Our volunteer shift takes place from 4:30 to 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 14, at the Del Mar Fairgrounds; to sign up or get more information:
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Books Needed for Tutoring Program
Gently used or new children’s books, from Dr. Seuss to young adult, needed for the Tutoring Program’s library. Please place books in a bag marked TUTORING and leave in the social room at St. James. Our students and tutors GREATLY appreciate your donations!
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Peanut Butter & Jelly
Donations Needed
Every Week!
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It takes a lot of peanut butter and jelly to make
1,000 sandwiches each week to feed the prisoners and homeless in Tijuana. Please leave your jars of creamy PB & any flavor Jelly in the social room under the sink at St. James.
Contact: Stephanie Kowack,
stephkowack@yahoo.com
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Travel Size Toiletries
Please save the travel-size toiletries
f
rom your hotel stays and leave them under the sink in the St. James social
room. The prisoners in the Tijuana jail will greatly appreciate them
.
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MC General Meeting –
MEETING CANCELLED THIS MONTH:
Next meeting Jan. 13
7:00 – 8:00 PM
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Mondays & Wednesdays
After-school Tutoring Program:
T
eens to retired adults, needed to assist pre-k to 8
th
grade students with homework and reading practice Mondays and Wednesdays 4:00-5:30 pm at St. Leo Mission. Tutoring schedule is flexible to accommodate our volunteers. Come for a visit and tour!
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Thursdays
Make PB & J Sandwiches for Prisoners & Homeless in Tijuana
10:00 AM – noon
(or until all sandwiches are made)
St. Leo kitchen –
Come join us! Drop-ins Welcome!
Contact: Stephanie Kowack,stephkowack@yahoo.com
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Fridays
Food Distribution at Encinitas
Community Resource Center (CRC)
New Volunteers always welcome!
2 shifts: 10:00 AM – 12:00 PM & 12:00 – 2:00 PM
Encinitas Community Resource Center
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Maintenance & Crafts at Casa Eudes Girls Home,
Tijuana, Mexico
*
7:30 AM – 5:00 PM
Come join us!
Meet in St. James Parking Lot to carpool in the church van
Contact:
Jeff Sturgis,
*Must carry a valid US Passport Card (not a passport)
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“
Repurposing with a Purpose” work party!
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:00 – 11:00 AM
Teens, Young Adults, Adults
Need service hours? Volunteers ALWAYS welcome!
Donation Sheds – St. James parking lot
Join us as we organize donations for upcoming building and home furnishing projects.
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Dec. 13,14,15
Holiday Baskets: Learn more and sign up to volunteer on our Mission Circle Facebook Page
Sunday, Dec. 29
All Gifts due for Casa Eudes Christmas Party
Friday, Jan 10
Casa Eudes Christmas Meal Preparations in Parish Hall
Saturday, Jan. 11
Christmas Party at Casa Eudes Girls Home
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