Dianne Thole: Making Christmas Last
Dianne Thole wants to let you in on her secret. She figured out how to make Christmas last the whole year.
Dianne, who trains Angel Tree volunteers from all over San Antonio, decided her ministry would not end at Christmas. "If you're going to do God's work and if you really want to minister to these people, you have to let them know that you're going to be there for them all the time," she says. "When I call to ask for Christmas wishes, I give them my telephone number and tell them to call me if they need anything. We're representing Jesus. We mustn't ever forget that."
A member of Shepherd King Lutheran, Dianne was the first Angel Tree representative to begin a year-round ministry. After she trained members of other churches for other projects besides Christmas gifts, the national Prison Fellowship headquarters called her for suggestions in developing their own year-long program, which includes summer camps and mentors for the children.
Today many of the 42 Angel Tree ministries in San Antonio continue throughout the year. Dianne trains volunteers to develop a relationship with the families. They provide school supplies, backpacks and school uniforms. In case of emergency, a needy family is taken to the grocery store. Many, like Dianne, write to the prisoners every six weeks and send them daily devotionals and magazines like Guidepost. They send cards to family members on special occasions. Monetary donations are used to buy gift certificates at Wal-Mart and HEB, which are given to each family on Mother's Day, Easter, Thanksgiving and Christmas — and kept on hand for emergencies through the year.
Of course, the year does begin at Christmas. “At Shepherd King Lutheran,” Dianne says, “we invite the (prisoner’s) family to a Christmas party at our church -- a smorgasbord with lots of food. There's usually so much they get to take leftovers home."
Along with the gifts, Angel Tree volunteers deliver the message of God's unconditional love.
"The children are told, ‘This is a present from your father or mother in prison — in the name of Jesus. They wanted to buy you a Christmas present but couldn't, so they asked us to get you something from them,’" Dianne says. "Then we remind them that God thinks they're special."
Many of the gifts come with a personal note from the incarcerated parent. Sometimes these gifts are the only ones the children get all year.
