Updated December 30, 2005

Mount Tamalpais UMC in Mill Valley provided Christmas gifts to teenagers of the Ritter
Family Center in San Rafael. Ritter Center serves homeless, or nearly homeless, families with . a health clinic, counseling, showers and laundry, food, clothing, and school supplies. Ritter Center "angel tags" on a giving tree at Mount Tam list specific gift requests from teenagers. Says Christian education director Nicole Trotter: "Most organizations want to buy cute baby and children's gifts, and the teenagers tend to be the last on folks' list." Mount Tam also gives backpacks through its summer church camp...Woodside Road UMC in Redwood City, for the 27th year on early Christmas morning, delivered sacks, hand-decorated by Sunday School children, of apples and homemade cookies to inmates of the city jail...

The kids of First UMC of San Rafael made mobiles on Kids' Sunday, December 11. According to the Rev. Liza Klein, "They make an attractive and unusual Christmas season decoration and are fun to make. If you would prefer to make a mobile to be given to a nursing home that is also okay. We will have all the parts for the mobiles, but need you to bring any old Christmas cards, or magazines, or other pictures that have winter/Christmas/Nativity/Madonna and child type images that would be nice for the mobiles"...Novato UMC announced in its newsletter that pajamas were okay attire for the Christmas Day worship at 10:30 a.m. The Rev. Rebecca Irelan explained the story is "the pastor's reluctance to get dressed and get going on Christmas morning. I tried to get the service scheduled for noon, but they wouldn't have it. I don't know what I'll wear that day"...Christ Church UM in Santa Rosa said "sweatsuits" were okay for Christmas Day.