The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
The true meaning of Christmas hasn't been forgotten by the Sunday school students at the Northminster Memorial United Church. This holiday season, the children have organized a gift drive in which they and fellow congregation members donated some 40 Christmas presents to be given to needy area children. "It amazes me how much children identify with the idea that there are some children who don't have as much as they do," said Lisa Aune, Sunday school superintendent. "They really like to reach out and give to them. They have a real capacity for empathy that we don't always recognize." The presents, collected through a humanitarian initiative known as White Gift, have been donated to the local children's Christmas gift program. This year marks the 100th anniversary of the White Gift program, which began in Ohio and today is conducted at churches across North America. To commemorate the anniversary, the children on Sunday performed a play at the church on the history of White Gift. "People see it as a way of underlining the real meaning of the Christmas season," said Aune. Also through White Gift, the congregation members have donated money that will be split three ways: the sponsorship of a Third World child, the United Church's mission and service fund, and the Cross Lake First Nation.12/14/2004
