Holy Family Parish brings Christmas cheer to Baltimore’s northwest suburbs

RANDALLSTOWN – “Carol of the Bells” took on the sound of dings and beeps as groceries passed over scanners at the Sykesville Aldi store Dec. 8. A team of helpers from the St. Vincent de Paul Conference outreach at Holy Family Church in Randallstown filled two pickup trucks with nonperishable food staples, all headed to households in need.

Families from the Owings Mills, Windsor Mill and Reisterstown communities registered in advance to receive bags of food, according to Michele Schultz, president of the St. Vincent de Paul Conference at Holy Family, which coordinated the effort. 

“We have a very generous parish,” Michele Schultz said. “People are willing to help. You just need to ask them.”

In a normal Christmas, the outreach helps about 60 families. With COVID-19 increasing the number of households in need, this year it helped nearly 80, and directed a query from Rockville to local resources in Montgomery County.

Tom Denardis handled the registration of families, which were divided into three groups. 

A family of two received four bags; a family of four received five bags; and families of five or more received according to their needs. The outreach spent nearly $1,000 on vegetables, potatoes, canned meat, pasta and sauce, cereal, peanut butter and jelly, snacks and more.

Nearly 30 items were stuffed in each bag, all of which was made possible through the generosity of Holy Family parishioners. They also provided gift cards to local big-box stores in the amount of $30 each, to help provide Christmas gifts for more than 100 children.

“We work with the Liberty Resource Center (supporting local families),” said Schultz, who has been a member of Holy Family’s St. Vincent de Paul Conference for 20 years. “We get to know these people.”

Billie Leeper, a Holy Family parishioner of 26 years, who is also a first-year sacraments catechist said, “this is a little drop in the bucket,” as she talked about volunteering with St. Vincent de Paul. 

Wearing a holiday sweater that complimented her distinguished salt-and-pepper hair, Leeper said, “I’ve never been hungry … maybe one meal. To think about people who don’t really know where their next meal is coming from … anything I can do to help I want to do.”

The region’s first impactful winter storm in several years occurred just days before the scheduled Dec. 18-19 curbside distribution at Holy Family. Inclement conditions, however, did not stop the dedicated volunteers from showing up at the parish hall. 

Distribution Dec. 18, starting at 10 a.m., got off to a slow start, as families let temperatures rise to soften some of the ice and snow in Baltimore’s northwest suburbs before venturing out. By 30 minutes later, a steady flow of cars ensured the day’s distribution was completed by its noon deadline.

A Holy Family parishioner who preferred anonymity was one of the first to pull up, transporting his “best friend” to pick up her food.

Latarsha, a mother of six, meanwhile, borrowed her father’s car to take advantage of the distribution, since her van was having mechanical problems. Because of the coronavirus pandemic, the private housekeeper said she is no longer able to enter the homes she would otherwise service.

It was the third food distribution undertaken by the parish’s St. Vincent de Paul Conference this year, with similar efforts also occurring at Easter and Thanksgiving.

Father Raymond Harris Jr., the pastor of Holy Family, walked gingerly across a slippery parking lot to thank everyone for their efforts and offer a group blessing.

“Hunger knows no season,” Father Harris wrote in an email. “Our parishioners have been able to adapt during this pandemic to provide many items of food, contributions to the poor box, and gift cards in lieu of buying presents for our Advent Giving Tree. Our parish conference of the St.  Vincent de Paul Society coordinates our efforts. They provide a wonderful ministry.”

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