Parishioners at Saint John the Baptist are 'Cultivating Gratitude'

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DRAPER – Saint John the Baptist Parish will be providing boxed meals for families in need during the Thanksgiving and Christmas seasons through the Cultivating Gratitude Program.

“Our parishioners have always wanted to find a way to help others. For several years, we have had different holiday drives for families and people in need during the holiday season,” said Liz Canto, director of the parish’s youth ministry and assistant in the Faith Formation program, who is organizing this effort.

The Cultivating Gratitude Program was created as a “holiday food drive for people who are in need of assistance, especially during the holiday season, and to serve everyone in our community,” said Canto, adding that the idea was “to create a holiday food drive with a brand that would work for both the Thanksgiving and Christmas season that would direct us towards a more stewardship theme: of gratitude for our blessings and to serve and share with others.”

Through God’s love, people receive many gifts, “and we are called to share these gifts with others,” said Canto reflecting on the parable of the talents.

“Jesus encourages us to share our talents with others and not keep it to ourselves by burying it in a hole. Just as Jesus tells us to share our talents with others, we are also called to share our gifts with others,” she said.

Canto thinks that people need to open their hearts to the needs of others. In the Gospel of Matthew, speaking of the Last Judgement, Jesus stated “Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me,” (Mt 25:40). “By telling us so, he instructs all of us to care for the needs of the poor and the vulnerable,” Canto said.

Now, more than ever “is the time to help and to support one another,” she said. “With the effects of COVID-19 on our parishioners, campus families, as well as the larger Utahn population and the world beyond that, now is the time for us to support and to help each other.”

Anyone can contribute to the Cultivating Gratitude Program. Recently, besides the parishioners, students at Saint John the Baptist Elementary School donated cartfuls of food items for the drive.

“Non-perishable food donations are welcome as well making donations online on our website,” Canto said.

Offering prepared boxed meals will minimize interpersonal contact during this time of pandemic, she added.

The St. John the Baptist Parish office also is accepting requests from families in need of assistance during the Thanksgiving and Christmas seasons. Contact them at 801-984-7101.