Towson churches join one another in supplying needy families with Thanksgiving Baskets. Last year 1,886 families in Baltimore and Baltimore County benefited from the generosity of our community. This was a record for the 20 years the Assistance Center of Towson Churches has been helping the needy families among us. You can help by preparing a basket. Please include only the items listed below. Any additional items should be bagged separately and will be made available to recipient families on a separate table. The basket should include one can of sweet potatoes/yams (23-29 ounce) , two cans meat/main dish (example beef stew, chili; 15-24 ounce cans), one large can of fruit (20-30 ounce ), four cans of vegetables (15 ounce ), one cranberry sauce, two packages of macaroni and cheese, one box of instant mashed potatoes, one cake or brownie mix, one bag of stuffing mix and one pound or box of rice.

It is requested that items be packed in a double paper grocery bag inserted in double blue plastic bags with handles, or in an appropriate size box. Packing items in a reusable small plastic bucket or trash container would be a welcomed bonus. Be careful when packing. Put large cans on the bottom and lighter or bagged items on top to ensure the stability of the bag. Clearly identify on each box whether its contents are complete or incomplete. Incomplete baskets should be marked with what is missing. This identification will help the committee be sure that each family receives a complete Thanksgiving basket.

Do not put any money in the baskets. Boxes may be brought to the front of the Trinity Episcopal Church, near the pulpit, through Friday, Nov. 14.

If shopping isn't possible for you, a check for $25 (or more) made out to ACTC to be used to purchase items for the baskets would be most appreciated. Bring the check to the parish office of the church during the period of basket collecting.

Once a year, about this time, we update you on Taylor's Chapel, the tiny church on Hillen Road south of Northern Parkway in Baltimore that has existed thanks to the benevolent individuals who have protected it from being demolished.

In recent years, the church has had a new roof installed, the outside painted and the shutters repaired, painted and re-hung. Now, over the course of the last few months, a new project has been completed.Thanks to the generosity of one family, who wished to memorialize a relative interred in the chapel cemetery, the old fence has been replaced with a new, white picket fence. This same family also paid for a landscape company to plant the side garden with a ground cover pachysandra, which should fill in over the next year.

The oldest photograph of the chapel dates to 1898 and shows a white picket fence surrounding it. Now the chapel again looks closer to how it would have appeared 155 years ago, when it was built.

You have an invitation to tiny Taylor's Chapel for an old-fashioned Christmas on Dec. 14 at 2 p.m. There will be a worship service with music of the season. Step back in history.

The annual Christmas Bazaar will be held at St. Thomas Episcopal Church, 1108 Providence Road, on Dec. 6, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. It's a great place to start holiday shopping. This year its cookies, homemade candy, crafts, Christmas plants, pictures with Santa, children's activities, books, original art and craft vendors will give you a head start. Have lunch and get in the Christmas spirit.

Stoneleigh Elementary School will host its Holiday Bazaar, also Dec. 6, 9 a.m.-2 p.m. at the school at 900 Pemberton Road. Bring the family for an affordable holiday shopping trip. The bazaar features a variety of craft vendors, a "Kids Only Shopping Room" and a "New 2 You Shop."

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