Saint Chad’s, Chadwell Heath, Romford
A Christian Community Seeking To Serve Jesus
Operation Christmas Child has really caught the imagination and support of many people around the UK (and the world) and it is certainly no different here at Saint Chad's.
Operation Christmas Child is an annual project enables caring individuals, families, schools, churches, businesses, and other organisations to fill ordinary shoe boxes with small toys, school supplies, sweets, and other gifts for needy children around the world. Operation Christmas Child sends a message of hope and 'Love In A Box' to children around the world through gift-filled shoe boxes.
Since Operation Christmas Child was founded by Dave Cooke in North Wales in 1990, the project has brought the joy of Christmas to more than 47 million boys and girls throughout the world. Operation Christmas Child is now the world's largest children's Christmas project. Last year OCC (as it is known) sent 1.24 million shoe boxes from the UK to children in hospitals, orphanages, Internally Displaced Persons camps, homeless shelters and impoverished neighbourhoods. If you would like to know more about Operation Christmas Child, please go to www.samaritanspurse.uk.com
Click here to watch the 2007 distribution video
Click on the picture below to watch a PowerPoint presentation
about how to pack a shoebox and what to include!
Operation Christmas Child is an all year round event at Saint Chad's. We meet one evening a month wrapping shoeboxes and (some of the ladies) knitting the many hats and woollens that we put into our shoeboxes. From September to November we collect different items every month, such as toiletries, pens and pencils and woollens! At our family Harvest Celebration in October we collect a 'Harvest of Sweets' for our shoeboxes. Many of our church family also help out at the warehouses in Woodford and Chelmsford as well as taking assemblies at schools as well as other community organisations (If you would like someone from Saint Chad's to come and share the wrok of OCC with your group, please contact the church office and we'd be delighted to do so).
In November, we have our annual OCC weekend extravaganza. In 2007 we enjoyed a wonderful weekend (17th & 18th November) both in packing our shoeboxes (over 80 people, of all ages, were involved) as well as enjoying a vibrant, and moving, ‘Cafe Style’ Sunday morning All Age Worship service. So far, over 640 boxes have been packed and over £800 raised to buy items and to cover delivery (we understand these are going to Kyrgyzstan). This is a wonderfully generous effort and well worth all the hard work - well done to all those involved, especially to Pauline and the Mission Committee, for organising everyone and everything! NB. Please pray for Pauline and Emily as they travel to the Ukraine (Kiev) in January on a shoebox distribution team.
The vicar and John Pickton visited the Ukraine in January 2007 ((Paul as a team pastor and John as a musician) where they visited the port of Odesa (about 700 km south of Kiev) as well as the Crimea (Simperofol). Whilst on this trip, a news team from ITV Central News were filming. Click here to see two short reports they produced (there is an advert before and in the middle of these reports - so be patient!).
Coming Soon
Photographs of Pauline's visit to Belarus in December 2005
Photographs of Paul and John's visit to Odesa/Crimea in January 2007
Photographs of Pauline and Emily's visit to the Ukraine (Kiev) in January 2008
Office Address:
Saint Chad’s Road
Chadwell Heath
Romford
Essex
RM6 6JB