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Christian churches don’t do nearly enough for the growing number of women struggling to raise children on their own. Advocates are trying to change that.

It’s holiday season and the 10-year-old single mothers’ ministry at Vineyard Church in Ann Arbor, Mich., is offering Christmas blessings.

The ministry’s interim director, Penny Johnson, says this year 26 families led by single moms will be linked to an individual, family or small group who will provide seasonal help with such things as Christmas shopping.
“The shopping may be done together, or the single mom may be invited to a family or small group shared meal,” Johnson said in an email interview. “Notes, phone calls and cards may be exchanged at other times of the year as well. Many of our moms are adopted by the same family or group from year to year, forging an even stronger bond and support system for the moms.”
Throughout the year the ministry says it serves a monthly gourmet dinner to about 45 women who get adult conversation and support, while children are fed and cared for. After dinner women can choose from activities such as budgeting workshops, prayer ministry or a presentation from Habitat for Humanity.
At the end of the evening mothers and children re-unite and “shop” in the church’s Pink Bag Boutique, which provides free access to toilet paper, facial tissue, toothpaste, laundry detergent and other items that help stretch their tight budgets.
Houston’s Presbyterian Children’s Homes and Services is also thinking about single mothers. It is partnering with a nearby church, St. John’s Presbyterian Church, to build transitional housing for seven single mothers and their children. An architect is designing the buildings and construction is supposed to start in 2013. The organization has signed a lease with the church and will pay $1 a year for the land.
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article courtesy of BCNN1.com

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