St. Barnabas has adopted an African-American Family for Christmas:

Serah: 13 year old girl. Wears XL or size 14 juniors. Loves reading, knitting & Giants. Needs new winter jacket, clothes, twin sheets and comforter, pajamas & art or knitting supplies.

Calise: 8 year old girl. Wears size 12 girls’ clothes & size 3 shoes. She likes girly things, needs slippers, art supplies, twin long size sheets & comforter in girly colors, and socks. She needs learning toys.

Ashar: 2 ½ year old boy. Loves dinosaurs & Discovery toys, wears size 3T clothes & size 8 shoes, wants Elmo on drums, learning toys, winter jacket, toddler boy bedding, pajamas & trucks.

Parents: either an ironing board or a record player. Her father recently passed and left her all of his records.

Please help out if you can: the Food Pantry is desperately low on a number of items including: Parmalat/boxed milk, canned beans & green vegetables, canned pastas, canned soup, boxed macaroni & cheese and dried soups.

In addition the following food items are needed to help make Christmas special for the less fortunate among us: stuffing, cranberry sauce, gravy, boxed baked goods, rice, corn muffin mix, sugar & flour, coffee & tea, canned sweet potatoes, gift cards, and frozen turkey & ham.

Non-perishable items can be placed in the laundry baskets in Hubbard hall and they will be taken to the food pantry. Please drop off perishable items at the South Brunswick Municipal Building, Monday- Friday, 8:30 AM to 4:00 pm. For information please call 732-329-4000 Ext. 7672 or 7674.

On the third Tuesday evening of each month you can find a group of St. Barnabas parishioners and friends volunteering at Elijah’s Promise Soup Kitchen in New Brunswick. We help with the prep work for the meal when we arrive, then serve the clients dinner between 6-7 pm and clean up the work area afterward. In April and May we served over 200 meals and also prepared fifteen portions to go to the Ozanam Men’s Shelter each time.

If this sounds like something you’d enjoy doing and you’re available any third Tuesday, please consider participating in this rewarding ministry. Contact Stephanie Carr for additional details.

Our fifth resettlement of 2011 was completed the end of April for a young mother and her two year old son. She was so very appreciative when we delivered a complete set of den furniture and table lamps; an area rug; maple kitchen table and four chairs; silverware and kitchen utensils; and queen-size bedding and matching curtains. All these donations were made by friends of parishioners.

If you are interested in assisting with this outreach ministry but your time is limited, you can also help by contributing toward the $8 monthly insurance fee we pay to Lackland Self Storage for the storage unit they provide. Please contact Stephanie Carr for more information.

Please pray for all affected by the earthquake and Tsunami in Japan.  Pray also for the containment of the radiation at the stricken reactors.  If you wish to contribute www.e-rd.org is organizing through the Japanese Episcopal Church to bring supplies to the needy.  Or for a more general support contribute to The Red Cross. www.redcross.org.

From March 1 through April 30, the more donations made to the South Brunswick Food Pantry, the more money our community’s food pantry will receive from the Feinstein Foundation.  Both food (each donated item is valued at $1.00) and monetary donations to our Human Intervention Trust Fund are eligible to receive Feinstein Foundation grant funds.

Please email Stephanie Carr if you have any of the items listed below.

Wish List Items

•  Microwave
• Can opener
• Pillows
• Towels & wash cloths
• Mop and broom
• Cleaning supplies
• Kitchen set
• Computer

March 6-12 and March 20-26 – Our weeks in 2011 to help co-host the overflow from the Ozanam Men’s Shelter at Christ Church, New Brunswick. Three volunteers (at least one of whom must be a man) from the two churches spend the night (7pm – 7am) and provide hospitality (no cooking).  Sign up on the bulletin board, any questions please contact Jeff Flick.

If you missed Peanut Butter Sunday, it’s not too late! Bring your jar(s) this coming Sunday and they will be added with the rest to donate to the food pantry.  Also coming up is Souper Bowl Sunday on February 6^th; please bring canned soup.  The pantry is bare, so your generosity is needed and appreciated.

Our first client of 2011  from Women Aware (not a resettlement yet…still at the Shelter) is in need of the following items.

 For Baby Girl:

•  Clothing: 1 year, and up to 18 months
• Bouncer/bouncing seat
• Walker
• Baby bather
• Diapers  (12 mo. size +….she’s a big baby) 

 For Herself: 

•  Pants – size 8
• Sweaters – size M
• Shoe size – 7

 If possible, please bring any items to church this Sunday, or next Sunday.  If anyone needs to have items picked up, please advise and arrangements will be made.