Dear CGS Family — 

This past Wednesday night Pastor Chuck challenged us during his Fireside Chat with this question:  “What do (we) really want for Christmas?.”   And you will recall that Chuck led us to a response suggested by King Hezekiah (paraphrasing): “We want God’s reality and person and glory to be made manifest to others in our world.”

It follows then that there is a corollary to Hezekiah’s “want”:  “We want to be a representation of God -- thru Christ -- to others.” 

But Also: There are parents outside CGS -- among the communities of Durham -- for whom the immediacy of “wants” is more granular: they want food for their school-aged children.   Full stop.

So -- our CGS family has another precious opportunity:   

Let’s merge these first two “wants” (our wanting God’s person and character to be manifest, and our wanting to be worthy representatives of Christ) with the poignant third “want”: that of parents, for their children’s daily bread...   

Here’s “The What”:

Help CGS partner with local elementary and middle schools – via CGS' personal connections with school officials and social workers -- to provide grocery gift cards to Durham families of schoolchildren who are facing food insecurity during this COVID Christmas... 

Here’s “The How”: 

Start by praying for yet another outpouring of generosity from within CGS. 

Then continue, by giving...

  • All Of You -- To help us distinguish between your regular tithes and your intended donations to this campaign, designate those latter checks and online giving to “Local Schools – Groceries”

  • Some Of You --  A number of CGS members are already assisting in combating food insecurity at specific schools in Durham-Chapel Hill.  If you already have a relationship with local school officials and an established mechanism to process donations, you can nominate your school to receive grocery assistance from CGS.  Contact Abigail Grebe in the church office for necessary details. 

  • Others Of You -- If you are not already participating directly with a local school in the above fashion, no worries:  the CGS leadership has established relationships with a number of area schools, and we have mechanisms of distribution pre-arranged with those schools. Furthermore, the social workers at these schools have cooperated with us to identify and triage among the neediest of families.  


Here’s “The Aspiration”:

  • Between today and Christmas Eve, CGS will be using any gifts that you designate for “Local Schools – Groceries” to assist families fighting food insecurity during the immediacy of this holiday season.  This type of giving is predominantly transactional.

  • But we also want to be able to stand with these same families through the remaining brunt of this COVID hardship.  This virus will not be departing for the North Pole on January 1.  And these parents’ children will still face food insecurity after Christmas Day passes...  

  • We want to build longer-term relationships with these schools and – God willing – with these families.  Such that when school buildings need painting next summer and school yards need attention, CGS will be seen as a potential partner.  And friendships will be built: all of which moves us towards the realm of transformational giving...

Here’s the “The Gig”:   

Q: How to accomplish our “Aspiration”?      A:  Thru cooperation within the Body -- 

Our church family is divided into six geographical Neighborhoods.  For the first six months of 2021, those six Neighborhoods are being grouped in three pairs, for the purposes of extending our “grocery drive” far beyond the Christmas holidays:

  1. Southeast/Northwest – Your months are January and April 
  2. Southwest/Downtown – Your months are February and May
  3. Central/Northeast – Your months are March and June

(The above pairings result in approximately equal numbers of households per pair.  If you are unsure which Neighborhood you reside in, check here).

Beyond your initial Christmas gift to this campaign (occurring between now and Christmas Eve), each family at CGS is being asked to consider giving twice more between January 1 and June 30 (once only during each of your 2 designated months, above).  Our end-date essentially coincides with Independence Day, 2021, which – God willing – may see our local school families through the worst of COVID.

  • During each of your Neighborhood’s two (only) designated months, your gift to “Local Schools– Groceries” will be combined with those gifts received from all others residing in your pair of Neighborhoods.  And those gifts will then be converted to grocery gift cards for families in our individual target schools.

  • In this fashion, all of the schools that receive grocery support from CGS prior to Christmas Day will also receive a degree of continuing support thru the end of the entire school year.

  • This is a modest "ask", but with potentially widespread impact: gifts of a mere $25 from each CGS household -- done in accord with the plan outlined above -- would enable us to provide a minimum of 50 Durham families with a $50 grocery gift card every month: i.e. not only during this holiday interval, but in every month thereafter until the end of June !!

  • Simple.  Compassionate.  Coordinated.  Christ-honoring.  

“Parting Shots”:

Pastor Chuck often refers to CGS’ capacity for “long and sturdy faithfulness”:  that capacity has been well in evidence during 2020. Your elders and deacons are deeply grateful to each of you for your tenacity, perseverance, and compassion during this pandemic.   And we are particularly appreciative of the fact that CGS has not turned inward upon itself:  you have extended yourselves outward towards our city with courage and great generosity.  This reflects honor upon Christ, throughout our community.

Godspeed --

Glenn Jordan