By Mark Early
The Christmas holiday season traditionally is a time of gathering with family and friends to celebrate the joy and hope found in Christ's birth and to strengthen relationships with one another.
But what about children separated from their families during this joyous time of year? Who insures that they have fond memories to associate with Christmas as they grow older?
Just as it meets so many other physical, emotional and spiritual needs, the Virginia Baptist Children's Home and Family Services strives to give every resident in every program a joyous Christmas to remember.
Christmas parties begin early in December each year as foster care families gather in Richmond and Salem for regional events that bring families and foster children together for a time of fellowship. Though individual families provide personalized Christmas experiences for their foster children, these large social gatherings enable the families to lend each other emotional and spiritual support that lasts throughout the year.
As December progresses, churches, groups and individuals help sponsor Christmas parties for emergency and residential care residents, as well as the boys and girls in the two Wilderness Outdoor Opportunity Discovery Schools (WOODS) programs. The Children's Home also conducts a special Christmas service and dinner for each of these programs.
Throughout the festivities, an effort is made to communicate to residents, many of whom have little or no church background, exactly why Christmas is so important to the Christian faith.
“I have been amazed this year at how the residents have received the Christmas message,” said Jenny Call, director of Christian education for the Childre's Home. “It's very rewarding when the residents get engaged and actively participate in chapel or Christian activities, and I feel that this has happened more frequently during Advent.
“I've also been impressed with our residents, whose schedules have been full of parties and gifts, yet they wonder when we will be able to resume our regular schedule of Christian education activities like the rescue mission and the music lab trips. Sometimes the best teacher of all is personal experience, and I'm glad that our activities and events provide that opportunity for the residents.”
Special to the Herald
Mark Early is assistant director of communications for the Virginia Baptist Children's Home and Family Services.