Welcoming the New Year
As we welcome 2021, there is much to be grateful for as we look back on 2020.
In the midst of a global pandemic, the SSJ Neighborhood Center has been hard at work trying to provide for our neighbors in need. Although we’ve been restricted in the ways we can gather in-person, we found ways to connect and continue our ministry online in the fall semester. Our English classes, which transitioned online suddenly in March 2020, were completely virtual this fall. While it took some adjusting and training to pull off, our volunteer teachers and students were amazingly flexible and resilient in adjusting to the new format for learning. With both morning and evening classes online, we found that we could meet the needs of our students unusual pandemic schedules, adjusting to having children and home and making space and computers available at the Center for those without proper technological access. We celebrated the end of the semester with a bilingual Advent prayer service online, which brought together students, volunteers, board members, and sisters to share in the season and to give thanks for God’s many gifts.
Our distribution of food has continued outdoors as we’ve moved into the winter months. Heavy jackets and gloves to stay warm are a small price to pay for the health and safety of all those we serve. We give thanks for the generous donors who keep our food pantry stocked and the volunteers who help on distribution days, without whom we wouldn’t be able to meet the growing needs of our neighborhood.
In December, we also hosted our first Neighbor to Neighbor Sharing Market, a opportunity for neighbors to choose home goods, decorations, gifts, and other wares that we have stored up while the “free table” has not been running at our food pantry during the pandemic. This event was a wonderful success, utilizing the whole hall beneath the Center and sharing the abundance we are blessed from our neighbors near and far with our neighbors here in Camden.
2020 was a difficult year in many ways. We miss seeing our neighbors as often as we’re used to and have had to adjust the way we do what we do, but with God’s grace we trust that 2021 holds the promise of better days and are discovering the graces that came with the adjustments required by the coronavirus pandemic. We pray that the year ahead bring good health and blessings to all. Thank you for the many ways you join us in community and here’s to all 2021 will hold!