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  • Christmas Store Returns to the Valley

    ChristmasStore
    ANNUAL HOLIDAY OUTREACH FOR FAMILIES NEEDING ASSISTANCE

    BY Amelia Hadley

    For most of us, the Christmas holiday comes into focus as November ends and December begins. We put away our fall décor – if we had any out in the first place – and courageously tackle the wadded-up ball of lights we deftly shoved into a box a year ago. For volunteers at the Coachella Valley Christmas Store, planning began months ago and the holiday has been approaching at breakneck speed. The Coachella Valley Christmas Store, now in its eighth year, is a place parents and guardians in need can go to shop for free Christmas gifts for their children.

    The whole family goes to the store and while the children make crafts, adults pick out gifts for them, wrap them and collect a holiday meal box. Everyone hears the Gospel.

    The Christmas Store, while still a well-oiled machine, may seem different this year.

    “There are changes,” said Sue Ramirez, member of the Christmas Store facilitation team. “They may not be easy changes, but the need is so great.”

    Ramirez is referring to the addition of a fourth Christmas Store location at Belk Farms in Thermal. The group recognized the vast need in the east end of the valley, she said.

    By adding the Belk Farms location, families who normally take the bus to the store’s main location at Las Palmas Community Church in Indio can now be served closer to home, said Ramirez.

    The addition doesn’t come without a few challenges.

    “This is sort of a pilot,” said Ramirez. “We can’t handle the Thermal store the way we do the others.”

    The east valley store will be in an open-air structure for two days only. The ministry plans to reach 250 families at the new location. As of mid-November, 100 Thermal families were already registered.

    While four stores spread throughout the valley may present a unique set of challenges, Ramirez appreciates all the help from the Lighthouses of the Valley churches that have signed on to help.

    “The LOV churches have always been supportive,” said Ramirez. “This year, they’re taking a strong hands-on approach. The pastors really appreciate the discipleship aspect to the outreach,” she added.

    The goal of the LOV pastors is to reach out to the community in the name of Christ and disciple families. Since families shopping at The Christmas Store go through an application and interview process, pastors are able to keep in touch with them through their detailed contact information, she said.

    “Because the pastors are so supportive this year and have turned The Christmas Store into an initiative, if you will, we have double the number of churches helping from years past,” said Ramirez.

    The additional churches mean more volunteers. “Now we can have 15 volunteers in a room and they represent seven different churches,” said Ramirez. “But we are always in need of more volunteers.”

    With four stores running throughout the valley on multiple days, the ministry needs hundreds on hand to help.

    For information on how you can serve at The Coachella Valley Christmas Store, please call (760) 775-6200 or (760) 674-7024. You can also send an e-mail to CVCS@thenarrowdoor.org.

    If your family or a family you know needs assistance this Christmas, please contact a local church or your child(ren)’s school for application information.

    Coachella Valley Christmas Store locations and days of operation:

    • Las Palmas Community Church, 47783 Monroe St., Indio. Dec. 16, 19, 20 and 21

    • Belk Farms, 57300 Desert Cactus Drive, Thermal. Dec. 16 and 17

    • Grace Church, 17400 Bubbling Wells Rd., Desert Hot Springs. Dec. 15, 16, 19, 20 and 21

    • Our Savior’s Community, 1020 E. Ramon Rd., Palm Springs. Dec. 19, 20 and 21

     

  • Let Us Adore Him

    Christmas with Desert Churches + Ministries
    STORY BY AMELIA HADLEY

    Twinkling lights decorate houses. Wreaths hang from city lampposts. Stores are a flurry of activity. The Christmas season has arrived. As Christians, we understand the importance of the holiday – celebrating the birth of our Savior. Churches and ministries throughout the valley are celebrating by hosting Christmas Eve and Christmas Day services, holding food and toy drives and serving those in need. Check with your local church as well for ways you can reach the community in the name of Christ. The following pages are just a sampling of the ways you can serve and places you can worship this Christmas season.

    Services

    Church 212 will host a Candlelight Christmas at 2 p.m. on Christmas Day at 40700 Yucca Lane in Bermuda Dunes. The service will be a special time of celebration. For info call (760) 772-6212.

    Desert Chapel will host Candlelight Christmas Services on December 24 at 5 and 7 p.m. Christmas morning services will be held at 11 a.m. All services will be at their facility at 730 S. Sunrise Way in Palm Springs. For info call (760) 327-2772.

    Desert Springs Church, 43435 Monterey Drive in Palm Desert, will host Family Christmas Worship Services on Christmas Eve at 5 p.m. and Christmas morning at 10 a.m. For info call (760) 568-3646.

    Destiny Church, 82625 Showcase Parkway in Indio, will hold multiple services for the Christmas Holiday: Chanukah Service December 20 at 6:30 p.m.; December 24 at 8:30, 10:30 a.m. (Spanish also) and 12:30 p.m. Christmas Day Candlelight Communion Services will be held at 6:30 p.m.

    Gospel Fellowship Christian Center Church, 5898 Adobe Road in 29 Palms will host their annual Christmas Program at 11:30 a.m. on Christmas Day. Everyone is welcome. For info call (760)401-7970.

    Hope Lutheran, 45900 Portola Avenue in Palm Desert, will host Christmas Eve services at 5, 7 and 9:30 p.m. and a 10 a.m. service on Christmas Day. Everyone is welcome. For info call (760) 346-1273.

    Joshua Springs Calvary Chapel, 57373 Joshua Lane in Yucca Valley, will celebrate Christmas by hosting an Old Fashioned Family Christmas & Candlelight Service on December 21 at 7 p.m. and December 24 at 5 & 7 p.m. There will be a Family Service on Christmas morning at 10 a.m. New Year’s Eve there will be an all church potluck at 7 p.m. followed by a movie and an 11:30 p.m. praise and worship service and message to kick off the New Year. For info call (760) 365-0769.

    Las Palmas Community Church, 47783 Monroe Avenue in Indio, will host a Christmas Eve service at 6 p.m., as well as a Christmas Day service at 10 a.m. For info call (760) 347-0051.

    Palm Springs Baptist Church, 1696 S. El Cielo Road in Palm Springs, is hosting a free traditional and inspirational concert with Christian recording artist Blake Bolerjack at 10 a.m. on Christmas Day. For info call (760) 323-1013.

    St. Andrew Community Presbyterian Church, 47192 Monroe Street in Indio (across from JFK Memorial Hospital), invites you to a candlelight Christmas Eve service Saturday December 24 at 7 p.m. Enjoy the beautiful sounds of the Chancel Choir and the Winds of St. Andrew in celebration of the birth of our dear Lord, Jesus Christ. The entire family is invited. For info call (760) 347-5344 or visit their website at http://StAndrewIndio.org.

    Victory Christian Center, 34500 Bob Hope Drive in Rancho Mirage, is hosting a free evening of worship at 7 p.m. on December 24. The focus of the evening will be to draw near to Christ during a time that can often become hectic. There will be a Christmas morning service at 9:30 a.m. New Year’s Day Services will also be held at 9:30 a.m.

    For info call (760) 328-3313.

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  • Local Agencies Seek Families of Faith

    Local_Agencies_HEADLINEPALM DESERT — Children across the Coachella Valley are in need of safe homes where they can temporarily reside and even live permanently. Fortunately, more and more families in the valley’s faith-based community are opening their doors and their hearts to these kids.
    “The more faith-based families we have – taking in children – the better partnership and network we have with the community,” said Cameron Galford, Riverside County Adoptions supervisor.
    Danny Sells, director of Safe Families for Children through Olive Crest, echoes that sentiment. “We partner with the faith-based community to provide children a safe place to temporarily stay as a step before they’re part of the system,” he said.
    Olive Crest is an organization that works with at-risk children. Safe Families for Children is a program that trains volunteers who are willing to temporarily care for a child or children. Families who participate in the program allow their child(ren) to stay with a host famiy, said Sells. “These children are not part of the system,” Sells pointed out. “We’ve created a deflection system to try and prevent their situations from worsening.”
    Also, children who participate in Safe Families are not abused or neglected children, Sells said. Typically parents are dealing with homelessness, addiction or domestic violence; they want their children somewhere safe while positive changes are being made, Sells explained.
    Safe Families currently partners with Southwest Community Church in Indian Wells. The church supports program volunteers by facilitating volunteer training programs.

    Unfortunately, sometimes situations escalate and that’s when Social Services are forced to intervene. In 2010, Riverside County received 58,528 hotline calls alleging child abuse.
    After investigations, nearly 2,800 children were removed from their homes and 49 percent of those children were placed in foster care. “The need is great, unfortunately it always is,” said Galford. “We have ongoing recruitment of foster families; it never goes away.”
    When social workers determine that a child needs to be removed from his or her home, they first seek other relatives or friends for placement. This is an effort to keep the child(ren) in a somewhat familiar environment, explained Galford. If relatives aren’t available, a child will go into a licensed foster care home.
    “We have families who want to be part of a permanent plan,” said Galford. Those are families who go through the licensing process, but want to adopt a child rather than foster, she said.
    Currently, the valley has a number of families who are waiting to permanently adopt children. Only five percent of children are relinquished by their parents. The other 95 percent of children are removed from their birthmother; if the birthmother doesn’t complete appropriate steps (rehabilitation, classes, programs, etc.) those children may be adopted. “(The parents) aren’t bad, but something keeps them from caring for their children,” Galford said.
    “There is still a need in the valley for foster families willing to take more than one or two children; often times there are four or more children in a family and they shouldn’t be separated. The situation for these kids is already frightening enough,” said Galford. “It makes it so much harder when siblings are split up and spread out.”
    For more information about Safe Families for Children through Olive Crest, please visit their website at http://olivecrest.org.
    For more information about becoming a licensed foster care provider or adopting through Riverside County, please visit their website at http://dpss.co.riverside.ca.us/ChildProtectiveServices.aspx#Top.