OCC collections continue. As we moved through early Spring, through April and May, empty shoe boxes kept appearing. We found some in the collection boxes, and some on the ledge above the stairway. Happens every year. Shortly after the boxes appear, they start to disappear. Happens every year. Then, as spring spins into summer, the boxes re-appear, wrapped lovingly in brilliant Christmas colors. Happens every year.

It’s all part of the year-round Operation Christmas Child process at Sewickley UMC.

The Fellowship of the Cross would like to thank everyone who remembers and answers our need for shoe boxes. And we love and thank Kara and her daughters, Elliett and Evarett, for wrapping boxes every year. The gift wrap, we’ve heard, brings as much joy as the gifts inside the boxes. This will be the 14th year FOTC has led our OCC campaign, and we’ve placed gift-wrapped boxes into the hands of more than 1,400 children in Ukraine, Africa, South America, Central America, and Caribbean nations, as well as nations that cannot be identified for security reasons. As we collect shoe boxes, we are also collecting toys, stuffed animals, school supplies, jewelry, combs aned brushes, balls, toothbrushes, ball caps, socks, T-shirts, puzzles, and books. Our collection bins are located outside the church office and in the narthex. We aim to fill 100 or more boxes every year.