The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines “Outreach” as the extending of services or assistance beyond current or usual limits (an outreach program).  

At Church of the Nativity, reaching out to others is not just a Christian responsibility, it's a passion!  When we give, the joy we receive far exceeds the time, money or effort we give. This year we have been blessed to be able to help many different organizations in our community and internationally - truly watching lives being transformed with the love of Jesus Christ. There are many in our area who are in need and through our efforts we are able to touch many lives.

• Phoenix Rescue Mission — 153 Thanksgiving food boxes, donated and 500 Easter eggs filled with jelly beans for local children.  Monthly visits to make sandwiches for the homeless by members of the congregation.
• Chapel Rock Camp —  donated money to send 2 children to summer camp
• Knitting Guild — 20 Afghans for Homeward Bound child care center , 50 preemie caps and 4 blankets for Scottsdale Health Care Center , 30 bean bags for Navajo youth group.
• Homeward Bound — 70 Christmas stockings filled with goodies .  $1200 for Diaper drive.
• Navajo Indians — 100 blankets-the only new item they will receive this year, 30 t-shirts for their youth group.
• Foothills Caring Corps.— donated 2 large gift baskets for their annual auction and provided 7 volunteers for the event, 1 driver for seniors who need transportation.
• Vista del Camino — Angel tree for Christmas presents for those in need, Back to school backpack drive.
• Relay for Life —  provided a walk/run team to raise money for cancer research.
• Returning Military — greeted returning soldiers at Phoenix airport and gave gift bags. The gift bags had hand-written notes from our children, movie passes with sodas and popcorn and homemade cookies.  Provided 500 Prayer Books for the Armed Forces.
• Habitat for Humanity — $5,000 donation which was doubled by one of our parishioners for a total of $15,000.  Volunteers spent two Saturdays helping to build a home.
• Packages from Home — 500 prayer books to the Armed Forces, Collected used CDs, DVDs and books to be shipped to our troops.
• Operation Airlift — handwritten notes on soccer balls for kids in Afghanistan.
• Sudanese Church and Lost Boys — gave $500 each to the Church and Lost Boys

We also do international outreach to the Episcopal church in Mexico, in order to help the Millennium Development Goals.

• 2008 Project:  U2Charist to benefit water development goals in southern Mexico.  We raised over $7,000 to build wells and water filtration systems in two indigenous villages, vastly improving public health for hundreds of people, for generations to come.
• 2009 Project:  All You Need is Love Event, Sunday, May 3, 2009, at 5:00 p.m., featuring the music of the Beatles, and benefiting the amazing community outreach programs of our sister parish, Santa Maria Magdalena Episcopal Church in Barrio La Laguna, Veracruz, Mexico.  We raised over $8,000 to help children get an education, so they will have hope for the future.

Thank you to all who have contributed items, money and especially their time. We have set a high standard this year and next year we plan to reach even higher.  Working together we can continue to make a difference in our local community and our community around the globe.

Contact our Outreach leader, Bob Montheard, at rjmontheard@aol.com with your comments, suggestions, previous outreach experiences, and for ways in which you might join us in this effort.