A New Life - A call for help
Changing Lives
What is Your Role?
Protecting Lives
Garden Party
News
The Board of Directors, Advisors, and staff of Christmas Village Foundation recognizes that nothing can be accomplished without our reliance on God and His provisions that are granted us in the form of volunteers and donations. We thank Him for you.
A Very Successful Year...
The year
of 2006 comes to a close with great expectations for 2007. The
Christmas Village has leaped off the paper and taken on the temporary form
of a beautiful Victorian house located at XXX. Brenda and I live the process each day and don’t back away often
enough to see the progress. We have learned to stop being disappointed
when one of our deadlines is not met. We realize that when we wait on
God to reveal Himself the results are far beyond our expectations. In
our first year (received our 501(c)3 status Dec 21, 2005) we have raised
enough money to acquire a lease, formed an Advisory Board and a Board of
Directors, and are on the cusp of opening our temporary location.
Nothing has changed in the original vision of a residential campus with a
‘village’ of cottages and support buildings, but we also realize that there
are many like the apostle Thomas who need to SEE in this world. Brenda
and I do not come from the established ministry so many of the hundreds of
people with whom we have shared the vision of The Christmas Village are
waiting to see this vine bear fruit. We understand and appreciate that
they are stewards of God’s resources and the only way for them to know our
hearts is to see our deeds. We know that the Canton house will allow
people to ‘kick the tires’.
We are thankful that all of you have not waited, but have been moved to
action. Your actions have represented to us encouragement,
confirmation, love, and support. We are now very close to seeing your
work pay dividends.
Please let us know if you can volunteer labor on Saturdays during January.
Lunch will be provided. We need to have the house open by the first of
February.
There is
a birthmother that is deciding if she will commit to staying with us.
Please be in prayer for her to know God’s will. If it is The Christmas
Village, we need to be ready. We have had at least two other calls
just this week of women needing a place. January will be spent with the
completion of renovations. We have come a long way and need to finish
with the kitchen, the bathrooms, refinishing the floors, a little paint and
some minor finish work. If we have the manpower, it will be
accomplished very quickly.
The plumbing and electrical work is 95% complete. It is all new.
Half of the painting is completed. Both bathrooms and the kitchen have
been completely renovated and updated with new appliances, fixtures, water
heaters, and layout. Please be in prayer that lumber is provided that
will allow Mike Boyette to build custom cabinets and a new pantry in the
kitchen.
Changing lives…
We are working towards Christian Women’s Job Corp certification. Some
of our volunteers are scheduled to go to classes in the spring. One of
our volunteers, Nikole Genous, began training this Fall in order to meet the
calling to be our site coordinator. This is where we need your
response. Over the past year, many people have told us that they have the
desire to share their talents with our guests. We have worked out the
schedule for CWJC training and need to build a database of which volunteers
have which talents and at what available times and days.
A typical day will look like this:
7 a.m. to 8:30 - Women shower/dress; prepare and eat breakfast; clean the
kitchen and make their beds.
8:30 a.m. to 9:30 – Volunteer-led bible study
9:45 a.m. to 11 a.m – Volunteer-led skills learning
11 a.m. to 12 noon – prepare and eat lunch. Clean the kitchen and begin any
preparations for dinner.
12 noon to 1 p.m. – Rest period
1 p.m. to 5 p.m. – CWJC and WIN Job Center training (Computer, communication
skills, Job training, etc)
5 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. – dinner and clean-up
6:30 to 7:45 p.m. – Volunteer-led skills training, Mentor relationships,
etc.
8:00 to 9:00 p.m. – Volunteer-led Bible study or discussion
9:00 to 10:00 – personal time
10:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m. – Lights Out
Your email to either
info@TheChristmasVillage.org or
TheChristmasVillage@gmail.org
will help.
What is your
role?
Please let us know whether you will be available for:
A) Occasional visits? or regularly scheduled
times? (lead a six week course or Bible Study)
B) Do you prefer morning or evening or are you perhaps
available for either or both?
C) What skill/talents would you like to share?
D) Are you willing to lead a Saturday outing or a
lengthier Saturday program at the Canton House?
E) Do you want to be a mentor ? (commit at least a year
to a woman)
Protecting Lives...Their Safety is our commitment
A)
Are you willing to pay for (approx $25)
for a background check before you interface with our guests
B)
Will you affirm the statement of faith?
http://www.thechristmasvillage.org/AboutUs.htm
We recognize that the safety and welfare of women in our care must be paramount. As a precautionalry step we will require all employees and volunteers who will have one-on-one contact with our guests to submit to a background check by the Madison County Sheriff's Department.
Because our entire ministry is built on the teachings of Jesus Christ, we must insure that no contrary doctrine is introduced that would undermine the mission of The Christmas Village. Therefore, we have asked all members of our Board of Directors, Advisory Board, staff, and volunteers to sign a copy of our Statement of Faith as an affirmation.
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Fundraising
Update |
While this section is always
devoted to a fundraising update, it would be irresponsible to not recognize
all the manhours and building supplies that have been donated to
renovations. Special thanks to Mark Smith who has unselfishly given of
his time, talents and possessions.
Monetarily we have deposited over $5,000 again in December.
While 2006 has been exceptionally successful, we want to change our fundraising methods slightly in 2007. Rather than a full-time Executive Director devoted to fundraising, we are asking partner churches to take ownership of one of our fundraisers. If your church would be willing to assist The Christmas Village in the planning, advertising, and executing a fundraising event please have someone contact Brenda or Michael at info@TheChristmasVillage.org or TheChristmasVillage@gmail.com.
A Spring Garden Party!
Mark your calendars for May 19, 2006. The gala event of the season will be white tablecloths, smooth jazz music, a live auction, and celebrity waitstaff in the backyard of Canton. Our co-chairs, Barbie Bassett and Edie Lea, with the assistance of The Christmas Village Bakery and local restaurateurs, and our unbeatable volunteer supporters will come together for a semi-formal night to raise our fundraising expectations.
Your input, ideas, creations, and energies are appreciated. We will set-up committees at the monthly volunteer meeting January 30th.
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Suzanne Saunders, owner
of Scallywags, LTD, donated a Mother Goose rocker by
Heirlooms of Tomorrow. It is a hand-made,
hand-painted, numbered piece that retails for $750.
This item was donated for our silent auction at Christmas in July, but did not receive a minimum bid. Therefore, we will use it all year at . |
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events as a
fundraisers by selling raffle
tickets for $5. Buy 2 or more tickets to
increase your chance of winning. Mother Goose will be available for display throughout the year if you would like to show it as an aid for ticket sales. The drawing will be held on December 5, 2007. |
Scripture for the Month
“And I will pour on the house of David and on the inhabitants of
Jerusalem the Spirit of grace and supplication; then they will look on Me whom
they pierced. Yes, they will mourn for Him as one mourns for his only
son, and grieve for Him as one grieves for a firstborn."
Zechariah 12:10 (NKJV)
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Christmas Village Events
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Grace Baptist Church
January 14th, 10:00 AM |
Board of Directors Meeting
January 25, 11:30 - 1:00 |
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Farish Street Baptist Church
January 21st, 1 pm |
Workdays at Christmas House
Saturdays in January |
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3D Ladies at Alley Cats
January 21, 2007 |
Monthly Planning Meeting
January 30, 2007 |
Questions or comments? Email us at info@thechristmasvillage.org