St. James Parish in Arlington Heights continues holiday tradition of helping the poor

If certain families in need on Chicago's West Side are able to enjoy a Christmas meal, they can thank the persistence of members of St. James Parish in Arlington Heights.

Just when it appeared the parish's cherished Christmas “Mercy Box” tradition had been canceled, the church found a new lifeline.

Over the weekend, the church parking lot was filled with volunteers, taking boxes filled with food and packing them into a truck for delivery to their recipients in need.

It was more than the church had been led to expect.

For more than 30 years, the Arlington Heights parish has been taking part in the Christmas Box program run by Mercy Hospital in Chicago.

The program provided food boxes for the elderly poor living near the hospital.

In November, however, St. James was notified that Mercy Hospital's patient relations department, which coordinated the effort, was closed, and it looked like the Christmas tradition had reached the end of its string.

“We just found out in the fall, right before this was supposed to begin,” said Rev. Matt Foley, head pastor at St. James.

But Foley and the parish were determined not to let the tradition go by the wayside.

Foley was able to identify several parishes within Chicago with families living at or below the poverty line.

As a result, “Mercy Boxes” will be sent to those families in the parishes of St. Malachy, St. Agatha and St. Agnes.

“What happened was that I worked on the West Side at St. Agatha and St. Agnes, and I have a friend at St. Malachi on the West Side,” Foley said. “So I said, ‘Let's readjust ... and (provide) an opportunity to help somebody else.' So we're helping out the West Side, Little Village, North Lawndale and the near West Side down by the (United Center).”

The boxes were distributed to parishioners within St. James after all Masses on Dec. 5 and 6.

One of the volunteers who was helping on Sunday, Liz Czajkowski, said, “It is absolutely fantastic. It's been a 30-year tradition. We had a hiccup this year, and the tradition had a very big challenge.”

But Czajkowski said the parish “would not let that hiccup stop us from being generous to others.”

Parishioners took the boxes and filled them with a list of items, including jars of peanut butter, boxes of macaroni and cheese and cans of soup.

Filled boxes were returned to St. James on Saturday and Sunday.

Volunteers worked in shifts after each Mass, taking boxes from the backs of cars and carting them into the back of a truck that will travel to Chicago on Monday.

Czajkowski said on Sunday morning that about 500 boxes had been collected.

Among those joining in the effort Sunday was the family of Zuly Hahn of Arlington Heights.

She said it is an activity that benefits the participating children.

“It shows them to volunteer and to do things for others, especially during the Christmas season,” Hahn said.

Her son, Andy Hahn, said he was excited to take part. “It's Christmas,” he said, “and there are a lot of people who need help.”

Kyle Stenzel of Arlington Heights said, “It's good that they're not giving up on this. It's good that it's back here in St. James and that they're not getting rid of it.”