Many Christian churches observe Advent, beginning four Sundays before Christmas, to prepare for the celebration of Jesus’ birth. Downtown Wilmington’s Episcopal Church of Saints Andrew and Matthew (SsAM) invited their congregation to join in their Advent Calendar for Community Food Banks from November 28th through December 19th. For each day, they listed a different food item to gather to donate to their joint collection or directly to a favorite food pantry. In addition, they were encouraged to, “say a prayer over every item, for the people getting the food and for yourself, thanksgiving that you are able to share.”

LCS is blessed to be one of the food pantries SsAM gifted with their collection. Our executive director Rob Gurnee, a member of SsAM, picked up the donation on Monday, December 20th, with fellow SsAM members Ernestine Brock-Walker and Peggy Shane helping to load the van. Pauline Webster dropped off an additional donation to LCS the next day. Rob explained, “This church is always looking beyond its walls and reaches out to help in many profound ways.” Members of SsAM gifted over 270 items of food worth over $515 to LCS, including items that will add variety to our shelves. Thank you to all who organized and contributed to this wonderful drive. What a creative way to celebrate Advent and support others!