St. Nicholas Ministry Making A Difference
It is easy to take things for granted, even Christmas with its usual feasting and celebrating and kids opening presents. But this recent Christmas and this past year hopefully made us more reflective. While many of us are blessed in so many ways, others don’t have much and have a hard time getting by. The pandemic of 2020 and the loss of jobs by some has made everything more difficult than usual for some folks.
Thirty-three years ago the St. Nicholas Ministry was begun by Pastor Herb Beyer and a few volunteers. And through the years, the number of persons helping with boxes of food, gifts of toys for young children, blankets and quilts, and other items for elderly persons, has grown.
As a result of this year’s happenings, many more people needed the assistance of the St. Nicholas Ministry. St. Nicholas Ministry 2020 for Colorado, Lavaca and parts of Fayette Counties completed their distributions at the sites of Faith Lutheran Church, Weimar and Lillie Appelt Johnson Youth Center, Hallettsville.
Over 235 families including many elderly and children from infancy to the age of 17 years (about 600 persons) were provided with boxes of food, toys for children, blankets and quilts, and other items. Our thanks for the support of financial gifts, toys, food, and other items and to persons who helped with preparations and distribution of gifts.
We provided over 250 boxes of food, lots of toys, blankets and quilts and numerous other items to children, their families and the elderly. Special thanks also to members of Faith Lutheran Church and the United Church of Christ of Weimar, St. Peter Lutheran Church of West Point, and the Lion’s Club of Weimar for their significant donations this year.
There were people who lost jobs and many more people in the tri-county area who needed assistance. This was especially evident by the greater number of people requesting help during the Christmas season through the St. Nicholas Ministry in Lavaca, Colorado and Fayette Counties. Once again, people were generous in their support through gifts of new toys, boxes of food, blankets and quilts and financial gifts to make needed purchases. This was a significant increase over last year’s efforts, no doubt due to the pandemic and unemployment. Planning for St. Nicholas 2021 will soon begin and individuals, churches, school groups and organizations wanting to be involved in the 2021 ecumenical effort are asked to contact Pastor Herb Beyer at (361) 798-0155.
Pastor Beyer commented: “I am particularly grateful to all the volunteers, especially to Sandy Pesak. Lisa Beyer, Michelle Herzik and Barbara Zapalac; to all those who donated monetary gifts, toys, food, blankets and such; and to clergy and lay leaders of our churches, public and the same persons who help every year, along with new persons joining in our efforts.. It is noteworthy, that a number of youth who began working with the St. Nicholas Ministry began doing so in Junior High and have continued to do so in their High School and adult years. To all of you in the tri-county area, thank you for your generosity and your willingness to work together to help persons in need. Together, we demonstrate compassion, kindness and love for the neighbor in need and help to make Christmas a bit merrier. The ecumenical effort of the St. Nicholas Ministry is evidence of Christ at work in the world.”
Area businesses like Dollar General, Brookshire Brothers, Walmart, Morton’s and Hoffer’s from the tri-county area provided opportunities for people to donate food and toys, or monetary donations to the St. Nicholas Ministry. St. Nicholas Ministry appreciates their cooperative efforts at providing space for prominently placed and identified containers (“St. Nicholas Ministry”) in their stores so that customers can donate to the St. Nicholas Ministry. Schools and churches also placed similar St. Nicholas boxes at their entries to receive gifts of new toys, food items, and blankets or quilts.