The Giving Tree for Christmas

Help area families have a happy holiday! For 2024, St. Paul's will be providing $25 Target gift cards to families in need so they can purchase gifts for their children. 


This year we will be providing for families on our Hunger Ministry list plus those referred to us by partners at Montgomery County through the Department of Health & Human Services. 


Providing Target gift cards gives the recipient families maximum flexibility to select and purchase meaningful, age-appropriate presents. Thank you for your contribution towards the cost of these Target cards.


There are three ways you can participate:

  1. Donate a $25 Target gift card. Deliver it to the church office by December 10.
  2. Donate financial support in any amount! You can donate online (use the button below!) or by cash or check made out to St. Paul's with "Giving Tree" in the memo. These funds will be collected together and church staff will order cards in the $25 amount, directly from Target.
  3. Sign a card at the Sipping Ministry coffee hour following the 10:30 service on Sunday, December 8. The Ministry Team will have Christmas greeting cards ready. Please write a short note of blessing, encouragement, and neighborly love. These personalized greeting cards will be sent to all of our recipient households.


Holiday Giving Donation



Please note: We are NOT accepting gifts of toys this year. If you prefer to donate toys, there is a Toys for Tots collection across the street at the Kensington Town Hall. Toys for Tots donations must be received at Town Hall by 4:00 PM on December 12.

Please find details at: https://tok.md.gov/event/toys-for-tots-donations-2024/


Please deliver all gift cards to the church office by Sunday, December 10. 

To learn more about the Holiday Giving program at St. Paul's, please scroll down to read more!

Cookie tins & boxes

Sunday, December 8


Thanks to our volunteer coordinators Gail Broadhurst and Kathleen Stephens, we will be sharing Christmas Cookies with many Hunger Ministry recipients during the December distribution. 


Cookie tins will be offered to those who pick up in person at distribution night in the Fellowship Hall. Cookies in small boxes will be offered to those who received delivery due to health or transportation issues. Volunteer cookie coordinators Gail Broadhurst and Kathleen Stephens will be recruiting bakers and will manage collecting, assembling, and distributing the cookies.


Cookie bakers will drop off cookies at St. Paul's on Sunday, Dec. 8. Please contact Erin Steele in the church office at stpaulsunited@stpaulsk.org for details!

HOliday Giving at St. Paul's

The winter holidays are a special time to celebrate how much we can do together when the Spirit moves among us during the holiday season.  


Each year, members and friends of this congregation have provided food resources for hearty Thanksgiving meals, and Christmas-time gifts for children. We've made the holidays brighter for approximately 150 families (and over 200 children) yearly, even during the early days of the covid-19 pandemic. St. Paul's has also served annually as the Montgomery County local partner for the Department of Health and Human Services "Holiday Giving Project."


Whether you can tackle something big or do something small, it all adds up to make the holidays brighter for our neighbors. 


The Giving Tree - and all our holiday giving initiatives - are made possible by lay leaders and volunteers who serve our community in vital ways. These opportunities are above-and-beyond our monthly commitment to providing grocery resources year-round to food-insecure neighbors living in the 20895 ZIP code through our Hunger Ministry.


To find out more or volunteer, contact St. Paul's Ministry Table leader Grace Graham, or email Erin Steele in the church office at stpaulsunited@stpaulsk.org. 


For information about our food program, please view our Hunger Ministry page.

Thanksgiving Thanks

Thanks to the generosity of St. Paul's members and friends, our Holiday Giving coordinators were able to provide a special $50 Thanksgiving grocery card for households in our Hunger Ministry, plus local referrals we received through Montgomery County's Holiday Giving Project. This grocery card will enable recipients to build a Thanksgiving meal in 2024 that honors their traditions and accommodates food allergies. (Plus, it frees our volunteers from handling perishables like turkeys or pies...)


Thank you to all our generous donors and volunteers who made this possible!


We continue to welcome financial donations to offset the cost of this Thanksgiving project. Click the button to donate online to the Thanksgiving holiday giving initiative.

Thanksgiving Donations

You may also donate any time by check made out to St. Paul's UMC with "Thanksgiving" in the memo. 


Every contribution helps make the holidays brighter for our less fortunate neighbors. Thank you for helping St. Paul's serve our community this way!