As we gathered by candlelight and sang carols celebrating the birth of Jesus, another act of worship was unfolding: gifts were being gathered through our annual Christmas offering.

In 2025, the Christmas offering reached an extraordinary $51,691.74. Moved by the decision to support feeding ministries during a season of uncertainty – when SNAP benefits were being paused and restarted and local food ministries were experiencing a dramatic increase in need – one donor offered a $20,000 challenge gift. Together, the generosity of the congregation and that challenge gift resulted in the largest Christmas offering in our parish’s history.

The offering was shared between Feeding Charlotte and Galilee Ministries of East Charlotte. It has become something tangible: food for our neighbors.

At Galilee Ministries, our Christmas offering helped launch Our Daily Bread and Soup ministry, providing homemade meals to neighbors experiencing food insecurity. Every Food for our Neighbors Christmas offering becomes a tangible expression of love. Monday and Tuesday, volunteers gather to simmer soup and roll dough. Unlike many assistance programs, no registration is needed. The soup and bread are offered freely as a gift, often filling the gap between food pantry distributions and community meal programs.

At Feeding Charlotte, a portion of the gift funded the purchase of a much-needed electric pallet jack to support their large food rescues and meal packaging events. Director Rich Armenia shared, “Our team was so excited! That pallet jack has probably moved over 300,000 pounds of food already!”

The remaining funds continue to support Feeding Charlotte’s food rescue efforts and are projected to help deliver approximately 93,000 meals while keeping more than 115,000 pounds of food out of local landfills.

The Christmas story begins with a gift given for the sake of the world. Through your generosity, that story continues, one bowl of soup, one loaf of bread, one rescued meal, and one neighbor at a time.