12/12/2021 Newsletter

mosaicnazarene
Dec 12, 2021
4 min read

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Matthew 13

Nazarene News

California church helps local families with Christmas

Anaheim First Church of the Nazarene (A1 Naz) in California is providing a Christmas experience for marginalized families in the surrounding community through its annual “Christmas Now” event.

The event began in 2013 when Oona Casanova, children’s pastor at A1 Naz, felt convicted to make a greater impact in the church's neighborhood.

“I read a book about missional living and thinking for the church and it said, ‘If your church were to close its doors, would anyone in the neighborhood notice?’” Casanova said. “And I had to answer no.”

Leaders at A1 Naz connected with the nearby elementary school and asked for a list of families who were in need of assistance. National poverty guidelines in 2021 for a family of two parents and one adult is around $22,000. To qualify for many assistance programs, a family’s household income needs to be at 130% or lower of the poverty threshold. In 2018, a household income of less than $87,450 was considered low income in Orange County, according to the Orange County Register. Christmas Now targets families who live between the gap of what is considered low income for their area and what is actually low enough to receive assistance from programs.

Families who are invited to Christmas Now are treated to activities organized by a local ministry called Kids Can Cosplay. The cosplay ministry aims to help kids explore and build their creativity by dressing up in costumes of their favorite comic book, cartoon, and movie characters. The children also get to enjoy special food and meet Santa, who provides a present for each child with his or her name on it.

Part of Casanova’s passion for the project comes from her own childhood experience. When she was a teen, her mother separated from her father due to a dangerous situation. During that first Christmas season, her mother had no way to provide Christmas presents for her children. The family’s local church knew of their situation and surprised the family with a special Christmas meal and presents on Christmas Eve.

Casanova makes sure that every child in these families, no matter the age, gets a present because when her childhood church dropped off the presents for her family, they didn’t leave a present for her. While she was thoughtful about her younger siblings needing the Christmas experience, her younger brother was heartbroken that his older sister did not receive a gift.

“Advent is hope, peace, joy, and love,” Casanova said. “How can we fully express that as a church if we’re not expressing that to the entire family? That [approach] is inadequate.”

In the program’s first year, roughly 75 children and youth were able to experience the Christmas Now event. This year, leaders are preparing for over 500 local children and youth to come through their doors. One family who participated in two previous events has signed up yet again, but this time as volunteers because they were able to get out of poverty.

It doesn't trouble Casanova that many of the families who attend the event are affiliated with other churches. The families often see A1 Naz as a safe place, asking for a little assistance here and there from A1 Naz instead of the other church they are attending.

“This is a [comfortable] place for them,” Casanova said. “If we really want to be kingdom-minded, that can’t bother us. When Jesus fed the 5,000, He didn’t just feed His disciples; He fed everyone, so we’re going to do what we can for people in need.”