Relief. The bank serves one in five county residents. 20 of the county turns to up for help. We distribute millions of pounds of food through different agencies. Pantries just like sarahs, in fact. There is your code queue. We serve about 700 families per month which is about 2500 people per month. We serve all of berkeley. We serve everyone from every walk of life. Someone will turn to us for food every day. What happens, you have a need and then just show up . Yes. You come to our pantry and we will give you a certain amount of food, depending on how large your family is. That is enough to last three days. So nine meals per person per household. What about with christmas and holidays. People get extra food. They find themselves anxious around the holidays because so many of the people we serve our families, they become anxious about being able to provide something for their families at a time that is so food and family oriented like thanksgiving and christmas. The pantry and the food bank are in alameda county. This is going on all over the bay area right . Yes. We are part of bay area food banks. We serve San Francisco and santa clara. All of the counties are served by these food banks that are part of this coalition. The support during the Holiday Season you can go to bay area. Org. It is good to give food and people can donate food directly. It is also a better deal to give a cash gift . Is that right . Yes. We do encourage people to donate in the way that feels good to them. Food banks can typically deliver six dollars worth of food for every dollar donated. The food banks are fourstar rated charities. Many for at least eight years. We are in the one of the Top Charities nationwide. Why do you do this . What you get out of it . It is such an essential thing to have food to feed your family. We have so many clients who have children. Sometimes they come and ask if we can save the place because they have to run often pick their children up from school. It is heart wrenching. We can make them feel a little bit at ease about food and the ability to pay their bills. That is a huge reward. How about you, how did you get involved . It is amazing every day sting the relief that on their families face and they get help from us. Half the people we serve our children and two thirds are seniors. People are vulnerable to hunger. Our food bank is there to help people and people come to us. They were hesitant at first and they may have waited longer than they should have. After they get off the phone and they are directed to agencies like sarahs, there is a sense of relief and comfort knowing the community is looking out for them. Being hungry is a difficult thing but is not something that anybody should be ashamed of. The quicker they can get help the quicker we can help them in the better off they will be. Whats the phone number . 800 635 food. Okay. Very clever. The two of you, for what you are doing, bless you. It is a joy to have you on. Give our regards to the food bank and to working in the pantry service. Thank you very much. We will be back. Give something to the food banks this christmas. Stay with us. We want to thank sarah weber from the berkeley food can only four coming on. We watched the announcements in the brakes and give something to the food banks of this christmas, wont you . We welcome back the reverend bruce oneill, the director of the Episcopal Church in berkeley. Good to have you back. It is great to be here. I assume you are here to talk about the upcoming christmas and advent season . Yes. Thank you. Today is the fourth and final sunday of advent. We have a couple more days until christmas. Advent is a season of preparation and getting ready for the coming of the baby jesus and the Second Coming of christ. Mixed messages in some ways but all the same in the end. Lets focus on the former. You have a season of advent. That is for sundays leading up and it started in the second or fourth century, depending on how you count the numbers. What have you been observing. What is the purpose . We have the advent wreath with the four candles. Then the middle candle for christmas which we light on Christmas Eve. We have been preparing for our pageant and services. It is a challenge at this time of year to keep a spiritual side when we are bogged down with shopping and holiday parties and candy canes all over the place and santa claus to take time for our religious and spiritual devotion. How do you do that . What you suggest for people to observe that and what are the dangers for shopping . I was actually hoping from advice from you. There is reverend billy in the stop shopping choir. He is been in the news recently. They are preaching that people need to stop shopping and observer real christmas. For me, i am not a real follower reverend billy. For me it is taking time, be intentional in prayer and church has been helping me in worshiping and being devotional during advent. So you are lighting candles and this sunday coming up is the fourth sunday . Yes. The fourth sunday of advent. What happens during worship . We will be singing hymns anticipatory hymns and getting ready for this weeks festivities. I havent checked on our music yet for later on today. There will be familiar ones and then what happens Christmas Eve in your parish . We have, at 4 00 we have a pageant which is standing room only. It is a reenactment of the birth of christ and the worshiping of him. We have the youngest members in the congregation and up through high school. It is a great crowd. We sing music and enjoy the eucharist it is one of the finest times of the year. I would say. This is the one that you would see in peanuts or something where there are angels and shepherds and all of that good stuff . Yes. And we never know exactly what will happen with the angels and shepherds. It always works out. A lot of churches on Christmas Eve will have some observance. Do you do that . Later on, at 9 00, we have the great choir which we will hear some of our members in just a little bit. On this very show . Yes. Right here with us. They will lead us beginning at 9 00 and then we ease into our holy eucharist service. Then we have fine servants. I would expect that. This is sort of standard for most churches then, this sunday you can go and help worship and sing familiar carols. Most churches have something on Christmas Eve and look for Christmas Pageants. You can go out or go to any church and they would be glad to see you. We are going to take a break. When we come back we will do a little bit more exploration of the season of christmas. We will be right back. That and more coming up after the break. Stay with us, well be right back. Bruce oneill is our guest, he is the director of the Episcopal Church in brooklyn. Good to have you here. What else do you want to share with us . What do we need to know about this week coming up . It will be a great week no matter where you observe. It is a blessed time of year. I would also like to note that we had people from berkeley food pantry with us this morning. Saint clements has had fun collecting food for those organizations. We had a macaroni role. We collected boxes of macaroni and kids got involved and set up a big line of macaroni boxes. We knock them over like dominoes. Great fun for all ages. We also collected oatmeal boxes and built the wall of jericho and because knocked down with beanbags. Some fun and getting people mindful of the need to reach out to others. A lot of ways to get involved. You have a spiritual message that you wanted to share from the bishop . Yes. This is a brief passage from the most reverend catherine sure. It was her christmas letter message for 2014. I will read a little bit. Advent leads us into darkness and increasing light burqa body slow with shorter days a longer nights and the emeritus and frantic activity is a sign of hunger for light and healing and wholeness. The incarnation, coming of god among us in human flesh happened in such a quiet and outoftheway place that if you noticed at first. The impact on human existence have been like a bolt of lightning that continues to grow and generate new life and fire it all who share that hunger. I think that brief passage right there speaks to the beauty of this week. The obvious themes of light and dark standout there. This whole season is there are other celebrations going on. We are into eight days of hanukkah. The buddhists celebrate the enlightenment of the buddha and the sikhs have a celebration in their last saint who came on. It is the endoftheyear time that came on. Christmas was something of a dispute early on. Some people claimed it was january 6 and early on early march. It got placed in the year 336 at december 25 of the orthodox continued to say it was january 60 as a result, we have the 12 days of christmas. So there is a lot of things going on and frosty the snowman, the star, the light, darkness, the whole Christmas Pageant which is a theological and historical work. What is important to you . How do you help us enjoy the season . It is common see. That is what i say. It is a Community Time and time for personal reflection. Growing up, what was important to you at christmas, as you look back and you say yes, that was really part of the whole season that made my heart sing. I go you want to know all about my Family History . Exactly. I enjoyed the Christmas Tree and exchanging presence. The anticipation, it seemed like christmas would never come. It took forever to start from the beginning of advent into christmas. I have fond memories of being in the Christmas Pageant and playing different parts. I remember the burlap sack i was wearing and one angel who had a little bit of the stomach flu. Why should people get involved and go to church on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day . What value can you garner out of that even if you only go once a year . I find value out of church yearround. I get paid to say that. Christmas time there are people that we dont often see and hope is they will come and have a good experience, get to know one another a little bit, say their prayers, pray with others and maybe feel like their lives of change just a little bit. Maybe theres a little bit more warmth in the cold of winter. Your bringing people in that will sing us out. Carolers. Do you want to introduce them now . Shortly. That would be great. We have our long time director of music linda and other stars, edith lavin, Helen Hampton and kelly watered. They make up 1 10 of our choir give or take a few and they are very talented people. I go when we come back, we will be singing christmas carols. Have a blessed christmas. Thank you for being here. This is away in a manger. [ music ] at christmas time in 1818 the organ broke down at Saint Nicholas church so the assistant breeze brought the text silent night to the organist to set it as a duet for guitar and girls chorus. [ music ] o little town of lem was written by the reverend brooks while traveling in the holy land in 1865. The tune forest green is a folk tune arranged by von williams in 1903. [ music ] does your vitamin c last twentyfour hours . Only natures bounty does. New immune twentyfour hour plus has longer lasting vitamin c. Plus, herbal and other immune superstars. Only from natures bounty. A momentous day. The vaccines are on their way to Distribution Centers across the country. How soon can we get the shot clock a preseason warriors game. 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