Christ in Christmas

SPARTA  Jenna, a young girl, finishes stuffing a small brown-haired teddy bear that she made and places it on a large table in McKenna Hall of Our Lady of the Lake (OLL) Parish here, piled high with even more bears. Before letting go, Jenna gives the bear a big hug — a touching send-off with love for the stuffed animal, destined for a young homeless or neglected child in need of a friend.

On Dec. 7, Jenna joined 250 children, ages 5 to 11, who each built a bear for a child in crisis at a homeless shelter in Sussex or Morris counties during OLL’s annual Christ in Christmas event. Helping them in most instances were the children’s grandparents or parents and an army of experienced mentors from Pope John XXIII middle and high schools and Sparta middle and high schools. This year, local musicians and singers treated participants to a Christmas concert after to thank them for their generosity and celebrate the outreach’s 10th anniversary, said Katherine Korkidis, event chairperson.

“This bear’s name is Bethy. Bethy will love and care for you,” Jenna wrote in a letter to the unknown future recipient of her bear. Like the rest of the participating children, she also filled out an “adoption certificate” for the bear. “When you hug it, Bethy loves you even more. She will love you to the moon and back. Bethy is so very, very, very, very fluffy. I’m happy to give it to you. Have a great Christmas and a great New Year — wherever you are,” she wrote in the letter.

Recorded Christmas music played softly as the children, their families and mentors divided up at different tables in McKenna Hall to build the 15-inch-high bears, starting at 2 p.m. They worked with donated “bear” necessities: a bear kit with a face and body, stuffing and a small heart that they placed in the stuffed animals, baring the sentiment, “Best Friends.” They used pencils, coloring supplies and paper provided to write a letter to the recipient and fill out an “adoption certificate” with a name of their choosing, such as Fluffy, Curly and Polar, and a physical description of the bear, such as its color, which covered a wide range from black to brown to pink.

For one mentor, Isabella Vendesco, the event reminded her about when she would make the bears as a child with her mother, Linda, years ago.

“It’s really enjoyable. It’s great to know that you are helping kids,” said Isabella Vendesco, a 15-year-old sophomore at Sparta High School. “In making the bears, I tell the kids, ‘Take your time and don’t rush. There is no right way to do it. Get into the zone with it,’ ” she said.

From their home later, Linda Vendesco told The Beacon, “Making the bears was a wonderful experience with my daughter. It’s great to know where they are going — to children in need.”

After spending 45 minutes building the bears, the children brought them to a table, adorned with a Christmas tree, where Father David McDonnell, OLL’s pastor, blessed them. He prayed, thanking participants for their generosity and then blessing the bears, participants and their families and the child who will receive the bears. By the end of the building session, the table was piled high with bears.

“The hall is filled with children and their parents and grandparents, doing something in common — creating a bear for a child in need somewhere,” Father McDonnell said. “This helps participants focus on the message of Christmas, which is about giving to others and sharing our gifts with the needy, especially with children.”

After their hard work, participants listened to a Christmas concert by local singers, instrumentalists and groups, including the Sparta High School Chamber Music Quartet, OLL’s Adult Choir, the choir of Rev. Brown School and Father McDonnell. During the final song, “We Wish You a Merry Christmas,” Santa appeared, giving out candy canes to the children and packing the bears in his sack. Playing Santa for years has been Art Mursh, of the Knights of Columbus Marquette Council 588, who helps with the event. It concluded with the children enjoying hot chocolate and desserts.

In the past, OLL sent bears to Family Promise of Sussex County and Samaritan Inn, both in Newton. This year, the parish will expand recipients to include Project Self-Sufficiency, also from Newton; Adopt A Family; and the faith community’s outreaches to Haiti and Kenya. Like last year, seniors from a local assisted living facility will make more bears in January. Over the past 10 years, Christ in Christmas has placed more than 2,500 bears in homeless shelters throughout Sussex and Morris counties, said Korkidis, a science faculty member at Morris Catholic High School, Denville.

“Thank you for sustaining our organization. Your partnership helps to provide supportive services and hope for homeless families,” Julie Schuldner, executive director of Family Promise, wrote in a letter years ago, thanking OLL for the gift of “priceless bears, personal letters and adoption certificates.” In it, she also indirectly referred to the parish’s other supports to the agency. “Members of the community like you make a difference in the world,” she wrote.

In 2009, Korkidis devised the idea for Christ in Christmas after visiting Samaritan Inn where she talked to Ann, a 7-year-old resident. Ann cried that she did not take her teddy bear with her from home. An enthusiastic Father McDonnell quickly endorsed Korkidis’ idea for the teddy-bear ministry, she said.

“This is a meaningful event. Kids come year after year, often bringing siblings and becoming mentors. The kids feel that they are helping someone else and doing something good. The parents are happy too,” Korkidis said. “The kids are excited to give away the bears, which are for children who feel isolated and are having a bad day. The bears can put a smile on their faces, so they don’t feel sad or afraid — at least for that moment in time,” she said.