Trinity Hill Christian Reformed Church's Cookies and Carols event in Chanhassen, Minn., raised more than $500 for Love In the Name of Christ Carver County in December 2023—enough for the congregation to want to repeat the effort this season. The congregation plans to host a hymn sing and donation drive in early February 2025.
The church first hosted Cookies and Carols in 2022. Pastor Kyle Sandison said the idea came from a desire to have a fun event that would be a blessing to their community. The church, which has an average worship attendance of 40 people, hosted close to 60 people at the first Cookies and Carols event. About a dozen of those were not Trinity Hill members.
In 2023, the church thought to connect the event to Love INC, an organization that helps communities with career opportunities and daily needs and with whom Trinity Hill partners several times a year.
“We asked them what we could do to help,” Sandison said. He explained that Love INC is so busy during the holiday season that donations of everyday items such as toilet paper, toothpaste, and diapers get overlooked. Trinity Hill combined its Cookies and Carols event with a drive for these everyday items. Bringing a donation “wasn’t required to attend,” Sandison said, “but we ended up with a mountain of donated household products.”
This year’s event was moved to February to accommodate the schedule of The Galactic Cowboy Orchestra, the band Trinity Hill has booked for previous events. Though the event won’t be called Cookies and Carols, there will still be food and singing, Sandison said.
About the Author
Callie Feyen is a writer living in Ann Arbor, Mich. She attends First Presbyterian Church of Ann Arbor. Callie writes news for The Banner and contributes to Coffee+Crumbs, and T.S. Poetry Press. She holds an MFA in Creative Writing and is the author of The Teacher Diaries: Romeo and Juliet, and Twirl: My Life in Stories, Writing, & Clothes.