By Karen Vance
Enquirer contributor

The Christmas season doesn't start in churches until the first Sunday of Advent, but walk into any store and you'll see the secular world has a different idea.

But amid the advertising messages we'll see this season, Cincinnatians will also see a message of faith.

The Episcopal Diocese of Southern Ohio has 10 billboards that have a message for Christians.

"Need to believe in more than flying reindeer?" one asks. Others state, "No elves. No credit cards. No mall music," and "Give them something they can't outgrow." And each of the five end with the slogan, "Christmas means more here. The Episcopal Church."

"Christmas is stressful. It's exhausting. We wanted to present the church as someplace to go," said Anne Rudig, 51, of Indian Hill. "We wanted to remind people in a friendly way that the church is there and poke some holes in the stereotype that Episcopalians are stuffed shirts."

Rudig, an Episcopalian and a creative director at Northlich, teamed up with John Nagy, a Roman Catholic and a senior art director at HSR Business to Business, to donate their time to the diocese.

The Christmas campaign was in Dayton last year and was so well-liked, the billboard company donated a sign for one of them, said Richelle Thompson, diocese communications director. The billboard read, "You can't fill that empty space with fruitcake."

Relief event

Matthew 25: Ministries will host an open house program at 1 p.m. Sunday at its Pleasant Ridge warehouse, 2940 Highland Ave., to celebrate its 25 millionth pound of humanitarian relief.

Through corporate donors and volunteers, the organization has sent clothing, food, medical supplies and other relief items to Third World countries and other poor areas since 1990.

Guests are encouraged to bring a small, unwrapped toy for the "Christmas in November" toy drive.

National Donor Sabbath

Congregants in more than 300 houses of worship will hear the message of organ donation this weekend for National Donor Sabbath. The day, designated by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services in 1996, is a time when clergy work to raise awareness and emphasize religious support for becoming a donor.

More than 269 patients in the Tristate are awaiting a life-saving organ transplant, according to the LifeCenter Organ Donor Network. For more information, visit www.lifecnt.org.

To submit religion news, e-mail kvance@fuse.net or send a fax to 755-4150.