October 2013 - Old Town Mission

PO Box 1779
Cottonwood, AZ 86326
OR CURRENT RESIDENT
Gary Alden (Board President)
Dick Snider Frank Nevarez
Dan McIlroy Glenda Lalonde
Board of Directors
NON-PROFIT ORG.
US POSTAGE
PAID
COTTONWOOD, AZ 86326
PERMIT NO. 66
Mark Pelletier – Executive Director
Darlene Gamble – Office Administration
Kellie Wilson – Old Town Mission Manager
Old Town Mission Staff
Special need of the Month: Thrift Store is in need of Shelving to display misc. items,
kitchen items, and knick knacks. If you have any shelving that you would like to donate please
contact the Thrift Store at 928-634-7869.
Volunteers: Volunteers are Welcome!
Hygiene Items: Shampoo, conditioner, lotion, soap, toothbrushes, toothpaste.
Janitorial Supplies: Bleach, Laundry soap-(did you know we offer daily showers), floor cleaner,
bathroom cleaners, Windex.
Thank You for Supporting the Old Town Mission
Old Town Mission Wish List
www.oldtownmission.org
Old Town Mission is a 501c3 non-profit Christian charity serving the low-income and homeless population of the
Sedona/Verde Valley communities of Northern Arizona. Your tax-deductable donations are very much appreciated
and can be mailed or made online.
Mailing Address:
PO Box 1779
Cottonwood, AZ 86326
Mission:
116 E Pinal St
928-634-7869
Hours 8:00-3:00
Thrift Store:
810 W Minus Ave
928-634-1644
9:00-5:00
8:00-3:00
Administration Office
928-634-2977
Our Mission Statement
Old Town Mission is a
Christian faith-in-action
outreach to meet the basic
necessities of food,
clothing, and the Word of
God to those in need in
the community.
Page 2
Old Town Mission
November Newsletter
Celebrating the Reason for the Season
The Christmas season is celebrated in different ways around the world. On Christmas
Inside this
issue:
From the Director
December Events
Board Biography
December Events
Tax Credit
Old Town Mission
Current Needs
The Old Town Mission will be entering a Float in this
year’s Christmas Parade. Volunteers are now being
recruited to help design and decorate the float. This
theme of the Parade is
Nigerian towns and cities empty as revelers
return to their ancestral villages to be with
Mark Pelletier
Executive Director
family and to bless those less fortunate. Rather than having sweets and cakes, Nigerians
tend to prepare various meats in large quantities.
“Patriotic Christmas”
if you would like to be involved please contact Kellie at
928-634-7869, we would love to have your help. We
will also need volunteers to ride on the float and walk
alongside passing out treats. Donations of red, white,
and blue streamer and crepe paper and balloons are
now being accepted at the Mission in Old Town and the
Thrift Store.
Christians in Pakistan celebrate Christmas by going from
house to house singing carols, and in return the family
offers something to the choir. Money collected from such
carols is mostly used for charity works or is given to the
church. Their homes are decorated with local Christmas
handicrafts while artificial stars signifying the Star of
Bethlehem are hung on rooftops.
For many Japanese, Christmas Eve has become a holiday for couples to spend time together and exchange
gifts. A successful advertising campaign in the 1970s
made eating at KFC around Christmas a national custom.
On Saint Barbara's Day, which falls a couple of weeks
before Christmas, the Lebanese plant seeds, like chickpeas, wheat grains, beans and lentils in cotton wool, and
water them every day. By Christmas time, the seeds have
sprouted, and the Lebanese use them to decorate the manger in the nativity scenes.
In El Salvador children celebrate Christmas by playing
with firecrackers, fountains, such as the small volcancitos
("little volcanos") and sparklers, estrellitas ("little stars").
Teenagers and young adults display bigger fireworks or
Roman Candles. Families also have parties in which they
dance and eat.
In Brazil Christmas Eve is the most important day.
Unlike in the North American and Anglo-Saxon tradition,
Christmas takes action mainly near midnight, usually
with big family dinners, opening of gifts and the celebration of the "Missa do Galo" (the rooster's mass) in
churches throughout the nation.
(Continued on Page 6)
“God alone knows
exactly what you
and I must endure
in order to form
His character in
us. It is in our trials that God refines us and removes our impurities. Like refined
gold, when we
pass through our
trials, people will
see His perfect
reflection in us.”
― Wendy Blight
What happened during
the month of
November at the Mission
Lunches Served : 2365
Weekly Food Boxes: 1785 Representing
6791 individuals
Emergency Monthly Food Boxes: 295
Showers: 65
Hair Cuts: 11
Clothing Room: 682
New Friends: 158
The Old Town Mission welcomed
Over 250 volunteers this month. Thank You for
all your support. Volunteers helped collect, sort,
distribute, prepare, serve, and so much more.
Thank You we could not have done it without
your help.
Page 6
Old Town Mission
(Continued from page 2)
In Ireland candles signify symbolic hospitality for Mary and
Joseph so it is usual to see candles, or a candle set, placed in
several windows around homes. The candle was a way of saying there was room for Jesus' parents in these homes even if
there was none in Bethlehem. Almost the entire workforce is
finished by lunchtime on Christmas Eve or often a few days
beforehand. It is traditional to leave a mince pie and a glass of
Guinness for Santa Claus along with a carrot for Rudolph on
Christmas Eve.
Mexican Christmas festivities start on December 12, with the
feast of the Virgin of Guadalupe and end on January 6, with
the Epiphany. At midnight on Christmas, many families place
the figure of baby Jesus in their nativity scenes. In the center
and south of Mexico, children receive gifts on Christmas Eve
and on 6 January, they celebrate the Feast of the Epiphany,
when, according to tradition, the Three Wise Men (Wizard
Kings) brought gifts to Bethlehem for Jesus Christ.
In Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic St. Nicholas,
or Santa Claus, does not come for Christmas. He visits families earlier, on the dawn of St. Nicholas Day on December 6,
and for the well-behaved children he has presents and candybags to put into their well polished shoes that were set in the
windows the previous evening.
In Ethiopia they celebrate Christmas on January 7th, not December 25th. Christmas in the Ethiopian Orthodox Church is
called Ganna. Twelve days after Ganna, Ethiopians start the
three day celebration of Timkat. It celebrated the baptism of
Jesus. People don't give and receive presents during Ganna
and Timkat. Sometimes children might be given a small gift
of some clothes from their family members. It's more a time
for going to church, eating lots and playing games!
And in the Verde Valley of Arizona, all of us at the Old
Town Mission wish that all of you, regardless of how you
celebrate the gift of Christ’s coming, will have your very best
Christmas season ever. Thank you for all you have done for
the needy of this community and will do in the coming year of
2014.
“The virgin will conceive
and give birth to a son,
and they will call him
Immanuel”(which means
“God with us”).
Matthew 1:23
That staff of the Old Town
Mission and The Mission
Thrift Store would like to
wish everyone a
Merry Christmas and a
Happy New Year!
Picture Above:
Old Town Mission Staff
Jim King, Kellie Wilson,
Darlene Boudreau, Jeannie Nelson,
Mark Pelletier (absent from photo)
Billy Rodriguez
Picture at Right:
Old Town Mission Thrift Store: Dennis Kreiner, Mary Bertram,
Donovan Mewhinney, Jennifer Cochran, Joseph Rodriguez, Brian O’Connell,
Hazel Russell, Dustin Gooslin, Jaycen Coldiron
Thank you to the following business who have contributed to this year’s Fall Food Drives:
Tae Kwon Do
Curves
Wells Fargo
Fry’s
WalMart
Safeway
Mr Rooter
Grahams Automotive
Page 4
Old
OldTown
TownMission
Mission
ARIZONA
CHARITABLE
TAX CREDIT
ARE YOU PAYING TAXES THIS YEAR?
Burning Desire to Feed the Hungry
December 13th & 14th
Donations are collected at local grocery stores. Volunteers are still needed to help collect food. All canned
goods and proceeds collected benefit the Old Town
Mission. To sign up for this event contact Jeannie at
928-634-7869.
Old Town Mission
DONATE UP
TO $200 PER
PERSON OR
$400 PER
COUPLE!
Did you know YOU can choose to have your tax
dollars spent serving the needs in your community? The Arizona Charitable Tax Credit allows YOU to decide where your tax dollars are
spent! This credit is “dollar for dollar”
and is available even if you take a School
Tax Credit.
MAKE YOUR CONTRIBUTION BY
DECEMBER 31st 2013
Please indicate on your check
“tax credit”
The Old Town Mission is collecting new unwrapped toys to give away in our Christmas
Toy Store. If you would like to donate a new
unwrapped toy please drop it off at the
Mission Thrift Store at 810
W. Mingus ave or at the
Old Town Mission 116 E.
Pinal St. Cottonwood, AZ
86326
Annual Christmas Toy Store
“Christmas is
most truly
Chritmas when
we celebrate it
by giving the
light of love to
those who need
it most.”
-Ruth Carter
Stapelton
Thank You for
Volunteering!
Donations of new and gently used
toys are needed for this event.
Our Toy Store will be opened December 16th –20th. Volunteers are
needed to assist shoppers. Families
signed up for Old Town Mission
services prior to December 16th are able to come and
shop for a gift for their child.
Christmas Dinner and
Gift Give Away
December 20th at noon
Volunteers are needed to help prepare, serve, and clean up after this
event. The menu for this year’s Christmas Dinner is:
ham, sweet potatoes, green bean casserole, rolls, and
pie. We will also be presenting our friends with a small
Christmas Gift, which vary each year but usually consist
of warm winter gloves or socks and a small gift card to
McDonalds. Donations of new socks and financial donations can be made for this
years gift at the Mission Thrift
Store or the Old Town Mission.
Please sign up to help for this
event by contacting Kellie or
Jeannie at 928-634-7869.