By Tricia Hall
Sojourner’s Truth Reporter
December is the month when families gather to celebrate the holiday season and when individuals gather to spread holiday cheer. The congregation at the historic St. Paul’s Missionary Baptist Church collect and distribute Christmas gifts for children that have at least one parent incarcerated.
The gifts were wrapped and delivered by the church’s van on Saturday, December 18 to various families located in Toledo, Ohio.
“Last year we had to give out gift cards because of Covid but this year, we’re going back to delivering gifts. The members of St. Paul and the families are so receptive to this each year and we’re elated about what God has allows us to do in this particular season,” shared Rev. James H. Willis, Sr., pastor of St. Paul MBC.
The annual service project is an activity of the church’s Christian Board of Education and affiliated with the American Baptist Conference of Ohio’s prison ministry. St. Paul’s MBC has participated in this project for many years and the co-chairs were Sister Yvonne Gayle and Sister Mary McKinley-Reid.
“It feels so good giving back to the community especially during this time of a pandemic. Now we get to see the kid’s faces as they receive their gifts. It’s a blessing to see their happiness and cheerfulness which impacts us each year as we express God’s love,” explained Gayle.