Christmas joy for those in need
By Francisco Valdez
What occupies our minds during the Advent and Christmas seasons? Often, it is activities such as spending time with family, buying gifts and working on our favorite holiday recipes. What about those people without a stable family life or those grappling with poverty? During this holy season, the Archdiocese of San Francisco’s Office of Human Life & Dignity hosts events that help struggling families.
Christmas Angels is a festive event centered on recognizing the birth of our Savior, Jesus, and includes a gathering that offers children Christmas gifts, food and drink, and photos with Santa Claus. Most of the beneficiaries of the Christmas Angels event are single moms with children whose fathers are not present in the home.
“Christmas Angels is all about the joy and hope of the holiday based on Christ,” said Julio Escobar, coordinator of the Restorative Justice Ministry. “This special annual event sponsored by the Archdiocese of San Francisco creates for families in need a safe place that offers the hope, love and peace that they deserve.”
Many people with stable families and incomes take Christmas traditions for granted. Some of the families attending the Christmas Angels event do not even have the space or money for Christmas decorations.
Escobar recounts hearing a child at the event say to a volunteer in a Santa costume, “I’ve never seen Santa!” The child touched the volunteer and said to Santa, “Are you real?” These experiences, along with sharing the meaning of the holy season, are touching to families that would not have anywhere else to spend Christmas.
Cards of Mercy
Along with the Christmas Angels event, Escobar also heads the Cards of Mercy program, which provides those in prison with four blank Christmas cards so they can write to their loved ones. These cards are delivered by Restorative Justice volunteers, along with holiday treats. The driving force behind this program is mercy, even to those who have committed crimes. “While justice for those in prison is important, we believe in rehabilitation along with justice,” said Escobar. “Mercy and the grace of the Lord can change hearts.”
Advent Giving Tree
Another activity sponsored by the Office of Human Life & Dignity is the annual Advent Giving Tree, a holiday event where people donate gifts to those in need during the Christmas season. Maria Martinez-Mont, Respect Life coordinator in charge of the Gabriel Project Ministry, told Catholic San Francisco that this event is a way to support pregnant women in need as we celebrate the season. Donations support the Gabriel Project, which helps pregnant women throughout the year through volunteers who are called “angels” at parishes in the three counties of the archdiocese.
“The Advent Giving Tree is our annual fundraiser to support the ministry of the Gabriel Project,” said Martinez-Mont. “The Gabriel Project is a ministry that helps pregnant moms in need, and the need means either material need, spiritual need or emotional need. Donations are used throughout the year to help support mothers with baby clothes, diapers and other necessities.”
“We invite everyone to get involved, to participate in these special ministries and experience the joy that comes with working with vulnerable families,” said Escobar. “The Holy Family of our Lord Jesus Christ depended on the help and kindness of others during this season,” said Martinez-Mont.
Those interested in donating or volunteering to be a Christmas Angel or participate in the Advent Giving Tree program can visit sfarch.org/christmasangels-adoptafamily or https://www.sfarchdiocese.org/gabriel-project-advent-tree/ .
Francisco Valdez is a reporter for Catholic San Francisco.