Altar Candles

Well the Easter season is certainly in full swing at Autom. Our customer service and warehouse staff have been working overtime answering your calls, packing orders, assembling First Communion Sets, and preparing to ship Palms this week to ensure they arrive fresh just in time for Palm Sunday.  It is wonderful to see everyone working together to get the job done making sure you have the affordable church supplies you have come to rely on Autom to provide.

With three weeks left until Easter now is the time make sure you have all the Catholic church supplies you need for your Easter services. Do you still need Palms, Easter clergy apparel, processional or altar candles?  Rest assured, our Autom team is all set and ready to fill your last minute orders!

I should introduce myself.  My name is Paul Greene and I am the Sales Manager for the reseller division of Autom.  For years it has been my unique privilege to help make sure that your local Catholic Book Stores and Christian Suppliers have a quality selection of glass rosaries, saint bracelets, and First Holy Communion gifts available for your special occasion.  Over the years this has put me in contact with wonderful people from all around the globe who daily pour their love for Christ into everything they do.  It doesn't take long in this industry before you realize that what we do is about more than just the bottom line.  Whether that be helping a mother select a St. Benedict Crucifix for her daughter's first home, providing a Baptism gift for a new Christian, or even providing the altar candles that will light the altar as we mourn the passing of someone loved, each day we are blessed with the opportunity to play some small role in bringing God’s love to people’s lives.  This opportunity presented itself in a unique way when the earthquake struck Haiti on January 12, 2010. 

Like many people around the world I was profoundly moved by the plight of the Haitian people.  In moments millions had lost all that they had.  While aid poured in to the Haitian people from around the world, we were looking for a way that we as a company could contribute.  The answer came in an appeal sent out from the National Church Goods Association.  The NCGA passed on a request from a small parish in Florida that was collecting donations for the churches of Haiti.  In the earthquake the churches also lost everything.  Church vestments, altar linens, chalices and ciboria, in short all the things needed to celebrate the sacraments for the people of Haiti.  For these churches such a loss was devastating.  International aid would help the Haitian people rebuild their lives, but even with the very humble nature of what they had before the earthquake, it could take decades for the churches to replace what they lost.   As one of top manufacturers of affordable church supplies in the world, we were in a unique position to make an impact in this area. 

We presented this opportunity to all of the employees of Autom asking if they would help us raise money for this cause.  Additionally the owners of the company agreed to match dollar for dollar all funds raised.  These funds could then be used to purchase the most needed items for the Haitian parishes.  We could buy many of the items at cost and stretch every dollar to its utmost. The response from the employees was overwhelming.  People dug deep and donated all that they could.  Many who had previously donated to other relief efforts made additional sacrifices to be able to contribute.  Employees who could not financially contribute offered up prayers for Haiti and even went to give blood on their own as a way to help the Haitian people, (as evidenced by Monday morning band-aids and some bruised arms).  We even had friends and family of employees who gave money to the effort.  It was wonderful to see the outpouring of support. It made me proud to be a part of this organization.   This is not an easy time financially for many, but they still reached out to help those in need. 

Using the funds raised, we focused on getting complete Catholic Chalice and Ciborium sets for the churches.  This had been identified as an area of special need due to the high cost and very limited number of manufacturers of these items.   We also sent sets of liturgical vestments for the priests, including chasubles and clergy stoles.  When all was gathered together we were able to donate over $18,000 worth of Catholic church supplies to the cause.  It is my prayer that through these items God may touch the lives of the Haitian people.  And for my part I find that through this experience I have found a renewed appreciation for my own blessings and for the group of people God has surrounded me with.