CVR Christmas Project
Happy Advent,
Allyssa, my wife, recently asked me what I wanted for Christmas, and I responded, "peace on earth and goodwill to all." She said, "well that's going to be difficult."
She's right, there's nothing easy about it. Yet, it's part of what it means to be the hands and feet of Jesus, and this Holiday Season, there is a way for you to bring little bit of peace to our city.
Over the last year, we've been partnering with Columbus Violence Reduction (CVR), providing support to individuals and families impacted by group and gang violence.
Here's what we know about violence: it's cyclical. Those who commit violence are most likely to experience it, and those who experience violence are most likely to commit it.
Here's what else we know: kindness and compassion can sneak into this cycle of violence and disrupt it for generations. This is the power of unconditional love.
That's why this Christmas we're supporting families connected to CVR. We will be providing a small gift card for the family and presents for their kids. So far, we have 6 CVR families signed up representing 11 kids. We expect to have around 20 kids by the end of the week.
You can help us bring "peace on earth" through this initiative.
Here's how you can help.
1. Donate. You can make a donation here. $40 will cover the cost of one child, but any amount you give will be appreciated!
2. Shop. We're getting the ages, genders, and toy suggestions from the families. If you or your family would like to go shopping, we'd love the help! If you have a child or grandchild of a certain age/gender, we can even try to match you. For example, as a dad of a 7 year old boy, I'm kind of an export on toys for this age group. But for a family of young girls—I have no clue. If you choose to go shopping, we will reimburse you for what you buy, in part or in whole. If you'd like to do this, please email Joe and let me know you're interested in this option.
3. Deliver. If you're willing to help us deliver presents, we'd love the help. It's not every day we get to be Santa's little helpers. :) If you're interested in helping deliver, please email Joe and let me know.
Finally, there's one more way to help us build a safer, nonviolent city. Every Christmas Eve, we give our offering away to ministry outside of our church. This year, we will be donating the offering to Mothers Of Murdered Columbus Children. This nonprofit is made up of mothers who have lost their children to group and gang violence and are committed to making sure this never happens again. They are one of our partners in our work with CVR and an amazing group of people. They are often the first on the scene of a homicide, providing support and compassion to families impacted by violence. Along with this, they do a lot of outreach and advocacy. At the 9:30am service this week, a few of their leaders will be joining us for worship and sharing their stories. It's going to be powerful. (We will show a video of this presentation at our 11am service the following week—this week, we're hosting the Friends and Family Network Bell Choir!). In the meantime, we encourage you to consider what you might give to our Christmas Eve Miracle Offering.
Let us take the words of the angels song seriously:
“Glory to God in the highest heaven,
and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”
Luke 1:14
Joe Graves
he/him
Lead Pastor - Cityview Church
www.cityviewcolumbus.org