It's an ideal time to kick off our 135th celebration!
March 25th is Founder’s Day, the day in 1887 when Christ Child Society Founder Mary Virginia Merrick chose to celebrate the establishment of our organization. Miss Mary had a spiritual reason to choose this date instead of the actual program launch because of its significance as the Feast of the Annunciation. It is the date, nine months before Christmas, that commemorates the scene described in Luke 1:26-38 when the Angel Gabriel appears to the Virgin Mary to announce that she would conceive the Christ Child and her fiat, or “yes,” to the start of her extraordinary transformation as the Virgin Mother of Jesus Christ. The booklet, ‘In Service of the Christ Child’ states that, to Miss Mary, this intellectual vision of the Incarnation was a vivid reality and served as the foundation for the Christ Child Society. She always strived as a leader to combine this spiritual foundation with a modern approach of the emerging field of social work and well-run service organizations. Many chapters take this time every year to gather for a day of reflection, to celebrate new members or
engage in other member recognition events.
This year we are celebrating 135 years in service to children. What better way to kick off this celebration in your chapter than to take time to remember the founding days of the first Christ Child Society Chapter in Washington DC? Start your history tour on the NCCS web site and view the video about Mary Virginia Merrick. I’m sure you will be inspired by the story whether you are a new or longstanding member of the Christ Child Society.
Looking back, each chapter has a founding group who gave much to lead the first board, raise the first funds, invite the first members and make those first layettes. So, toast your founders, recognize fellow members and thank them in person if you can. Celebrate where you started and pledge to do what is needed to continue as a strong chapter into the future.
As the pandemic eases, some of us may feel as if we are emerging from two years in a rather dark cocoon. Remember, there are children who need you and organizations who are counting on your partnership even more than before. Let this year of our 135th birthday celebration move forward as a luminous group effort to get back together, invite new members and spring forward in a new beginning to serve children in your community. And while you are at it, set aside Sept. 15-17 to bring as many members as possible to our National Convention in Tucson, AZ where the celebration of all things Christ Child Past, Present and Future will continue.
The booklet 'In Service of the Christ Child' is available here
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