The Snead family worked together in signing cards that will go to nearly 5,000 veterans this Christmas
Photos: Brian Hobbs
For nearly 5,000 military veterans who must spend the holiday season in a hospital, they now can look forward to receiving some Christmas cheer. Over the past two months, members of Oklahoma City, Quail Springs have been signing personalized Christmas cards.
What started as a Sunday School service project turned into a church-wide effort that involved adults and children alike.
“In addition to our various outings together, our Young Men’s Sunday School class wanted to undertake a service project together,” said Brent Vawter, a Quail Springs member who led the project. “We decided to adopt a ministry called The Art of Encouragement that sends personalized Christmas cards to military veterans who spend the holiday season in VA centers across the country. It quickly became evident that this ministry was something the entire church would embrace if we’d simply provide the setting.”
Working with the Quail Springs ministry staff, Vawter organized a series of pizza lunches after church services on the first Sunday of the month, inviting everyone to write notes in as many Christmas cards as possible.
From donating pizzas to drinks to paper goods, members rallied to the project.
“Members of all ages have responded by the hundreds, signing just shy of 5,000 cards now in the past month,” Vawter said.
Brett Vawter, right, led the churchwide card-signing project, which originated as a project for his Sunday School class.
In addition to the card signing lunch events in October and November, the church also had a table available each Sunday where members could sign cards between services.
Vawter believes veterans deserve all of the love and thanks Christians can give them.
“It’s been a blessing to see how engaged our members are when it comes to showing love and appreciation to our veterans,” he said.
According to Vawter, the Art of Encouragement organization will seal each card, sending with it a Gospel-message insert.
To find out more about the program, go online and search for the Art of Encouragement
