The annual Albany Chest campaign will continue for two more weeks, and another $12,343 is needed to meet goal of $42,000 set by the directors for the 2018 campaign. 

Donations of $29,657 have been given so far this year, including $4,550 contributed during the last week. Although 70.6 percent of the goal has been met, the end of the year, and the campaign, is fast approaching.

Twenty-six different organizations, including two new applicants, submitted requests for this year’s funding, all of which were considered by the board.

Two of the four candles on church Advent wreaths were lit this week, and they serve as a reminder that Advent is already half over, and Christmas, the celebration of the birth of the Messiah, is fast approaching.

Several local churches are hosting special activities to help pass on the joy God gave to us on Christmas by sharing gifts of food, presents, songs, and fellowship with others in their congregations and the community.

Ministerial Alliance 

Members of Matthews Memorial Presbyterian Church will once again prepare a Christmas feast for those that might not otherwise have the opportunity to enjoy a holiday meal, but they will  not offer a dine-in option this year.

Make-your-own spice sets, fragrant candles, and customized Christmas decorations are among the various choices available for patrons to create at the Old Jail Art Center’s Make & Take holiday gift workshop this year.

The come and go workshops are open daily from 10:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m. through Saturday, Dec. 15.

“Make a variety of affordable, creative, and modern handmade gifts you would actually want to receive,” said education director Erin Whitmore. “Everyone is invited to attend. Pay only for the projects you make.”

Parents who applied for Toys for Tots should have picked up their kids’ presents at the Youth Center this Wednesday.

“We sorted the gifts by families, and had them ready for parents to pick them up,” said Resource Care case worker Makenzie Marshall. “We don’t wrap them. We want the parents to be able to see what their kids are getting and for them to wrap the presents themselves.”

Marshall added that anyone who was unable to come by during the designated pick-up time can contact the Resource Center at 325-762-2447 to arrange to get their gifts.

The Albany Nativity, a play written by Robert Nail and traditionally performed biennially by local citizens during the Christmas season, will be presented free of charge at the Aztec Theater at 7:30 p.m. on both Friday and Saturday, Dec. 14 and 15.

Tickets will be available at the Aztec box office starting at 7:00 p.m. before each performance.

“The tickets are free,” said director Lorna Ayers. “We are only using them to keep track of audience numbers.”

The Albany Lions are playing Hamlin in the quarter-finals of the UIL 2-A division II football playoffs in Shotwell Stadium in Abilene this Thursday, Dec. 6, and the Athletic Booster Club invites local fans to participate in the send-off on Thursday afternoon.

Readers of The Albany News will receive the print edition of the weekly paper on Friday mornings until further notice as work continues to restore the press at the Abilene Reporter-News after a fire three weeks ago.

The News is currently being produced in Lubbock on Thursdays, and is in mail boxes and on news stands a day later than usual.

The online edition is available on Thursday mornings.

Table-top Christmas trees sporting bright ornaments greeted parishioners in seven local churches this past Sunday, and between them, the seven trees included the anonymous wish lists of each of the 36 teens enrolled in the Ministerial Alliance’s new “Believe Trees” program.

Members of the Alliance offered to take over the lead role in the teen Christmas gift program, and are now spearheading that holiday drive along with continuing their annual Christmas Baskets ministry.

Christmas Baskets

The local Toys for Tots program is still accepting donations of new, unwrapped toys and monetary donations at various donations sites around Albany, but according to ResourceCare case worker Makenzie Marshall right now the greater need is for people to adopt the seniors in the Vittles by Vehicle program.

“We have 37 senior in the Vittles by Vehicle program, and so far none of them have been adopted,” Marshall said on Monday. “Donations are still needed for the seniors!”

Adopt-a-Senior