Most people believe that the reason we give gifts for Christmas begin with the Christian belief that God gave his son to humanity to save them from their sins. While the commercialisation of the holiday rarely recognises this origin, the StandPoint thought it was important to talk to the many churches about what they are doing to serve the community and keep the focus on the importance of charity during this holiday season.

With much need here in the community, most of the churches have found a small niche to extend their charity.

At St. Williams Catholic Church, the parishioners have chosen the children of the prisoners at Her Majesty’s Prison to assist during the holiday season. The programme has been in place for several years, according to the parish priest.

The programme begins with the church members finding the ages of prisoners’ children. The names and ages are then hung on a Christmas tree at the church and members buy age-appropriate gifts for them. The gifts are taken to the prison to be given to the prisoners’ children - by the prisoners-  when they visit for Christmas.

The exchange will take place on December 22, and the parish priest said it has been a very successful programme.

Bethany Baptist Church members said they do not have any special programme for Christmas – their charity work goes on year-round. Church Pastor Silas Morton said people come to them for help all the time and the members of the church are willing to give them the assistance they need.

At the New Testament Church of Baugher’s Bay, a Christmas fiesta is held for the children of the community. The fiesta was held recently, and the pastor’s wife Patricia Charles said it went very well.

“We give different gifts of toys of games from different businesses,” Charles said. “This is the first time we did it this year, and yes we will do it again.”

At St. George’s Anglican Church, they reach out to the community’s shut-ins said Pastor Ronald Branch. Many people are unable to get out and attend church or holiday celebrations, so Pastor Branch said every year members of his church brings them food and gifts.

At St. Ursula’s Catholic Church on Virgin Gorda, the youth club visits the old folks’ home to sing Christmas carols. Along with the gift of music, the children give the elders a gift. The church also has a Christmas concert for members of the parish.

Some denominations of local churches do not even celebrate Christmas according to interviews, while most of the churches listed in the phone book could not be reached for comment before press time.

Some said they do nothing special for Christmas, but the ones that said they did, spoke highly of their charity work – doing their best to keep people’s focus on the origin of the reason people all over the world celebrate Christmas every year.