We were visited by a Secret Santa in June, and we’re hoping for a few more as we turn toward July.

On July 16, Sewickley UMC will celebrate Christmas in July during both worship services. We will have a tree in the sanctuary and share some Christmas music. The Fellowship of the Cross is encouraging our church family to bring some Operation Christmas Child gifts to place beneath the tree.

In the past two years, Christmas in July has become a key gathering point for our OCC campaigns.

In June, a friend of the SUMC family stopped by the church office with a dozen nylon backpacks filled with a variety of gifts. There was an additional shopping bag filled with gifts that didn’t fit into the backpacks. We gratefully accept contributions throughout the year and we’re very thankful for the backpacks.

As we move through our 13th OCC campaign, we have been blessed with more than enough toothbrushes, sunglasses, rulers, scissors, and stuffed animals to accommodate 100 boxes.

Christmas in July arrives at the same time as many vendors offer sale prices on back-to-school supplies. We need pens, pencils, colored pencils, pencil sharpeners, crayons, glue sticks, and notebooks.

We also need wearables (T-shirts, socks, caps), personal grooming items (brushes, combs, adhesive bandages), and “wow” gifts, such as dolls, balls, jewelry, hair accessories, and toy cars.

We also accept financial gifts to cover shipping costs. We will be gathering gifts and financial contributions through September and will schedule our annual packing party in late September or October.

FOTC donation boxes are located outside the church office, on a shelf beneath the bulletin board, and on the table in the Narthex by the main sanctuary entrance.

Since 2011, the SUMC family has contributed more than 1,300 boxes that have been presented, along with an opportunity to know Jesus and grow in His Light, to children in Ukraine, Africa, South America, Central America, and Caribbean nations.