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First Presbyterian Church of Philipstown (FPCP)
The Church of the Open Door
Community News
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Wyatt Rose, Caitlin, and Saoirse with boxes and boxes of Valentine candy for neighbors in need. |
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Neighbors, friends, and valentines |
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Kelley Linhardt wanted our Food Pantry clients to enjoy Valentine's Day.
She came up with a nifty idea and, in the modern way, she posted it on Facebook: "Hi Locals!" she wrote. "I am collecting Valentine's Day candy for local families that utilize the Philipstown Food Pantry." She explained that the local food bank doesn't normally offer holiday treats, and she was hoping to collect enough candy to make Valentine's Day special for 60-75 families in need who visit our Pantry each week.
"Would love to collect a bag or small heart-shaped box of candy per family," Kelley wrote on the Philipstown Locals Facebook page. "Message me if you'd like to help collect. Anything helps. . . Thanks for being part of such a loving community."
Kelley's friend Caitlin Chadwick saw her post and thought: "Great idea! Let me see what I can do." First, she offered to donate 10 boxes of candy, and her mom signed on, too. Next, Caitlin hopped over to the "Philipstown Free Stuff" Facebook page. "This is kind of random," she began, and then she quickly described Kelley's impromptu drive to collect 75 boxes of Valentines Day chocolates for Food Pantry families. Caitlin said she and her mom were going to order 20 boxes, and "I figured I would see if anyone else wanted to jump on the bandwagon and contribute."
Did anyone want to help? Did they ever! Offers came fast and furious as generous people all over town typed: "I'd like to donate!" "We'll do ten!" "I'm in for 10 boxes to help, please!" "I'd like to contribute 10 boxes!" "DM me if we're short on the goal." "Texting you! "How many more do you need?" "I'll do ten!" "Me, too! I'll contribute 10!" "If you need more, let me know!" "Count us in!" "We can, too!"
Whenever you're tempted to lose faith in humanity, re-read that paragraph above. Amazing, isn't it? And the offers just kept coming, popping up so quickly that Caitlin was hustling to keep up. "OMG, 58 messages!" exclaimed one delighted resident, watching. When Kelley realized how her nifty little idea had snowballed into this beautiful demonstration of neighborly generosity, she posted her own lovely little valentine to Philipstown: "I love this community. . .thanks, everyone!"
I reached out to Kelley to ask if I could share this story. She told me she started volunteering at the Pantry in August 2019, and that she used to bring her young daughter in to help. "Once the pandemic hit, I kept coming in by myself," she said. She has organized special drives before, she said, "but nothing took off quite like this Valentine's Day collection." Anytime she asks for Pantry donations, she says, the response is immediate. "But this time was extra special . . . I am overwhelmed by the kindness and generosity of this community." Caitlin agreed, adding: "I knew people would come through, though. It's Philipstown. We do what we gotta do, right?"
The picture up at the top is a happy "mission accomplished" photo, taken by Kelley on her front porch when Caitlin and her daughter Wyatt Rose safely delivered boxes and boxes and boxes of Valentine's Day candy to Kelley and her daughter, Saoirse. Heartfelt thanks to everyone who supported this beautiful gift of loving kindness!
This week, let's find a few simple, nifty, and surprising ways to show loving kindness to a friend, a neighbor, a loved one, and a stranger. Remember we are still together, even when we're apart. And the best news is that all of us are loved, all the time.
-- MZ Smith, Community News editor
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Join us SUNDAY, FEB. 7 for our 10:30 am service!
Our online worship services via Zoom are lovely, lively, friendly, warm, and informal! Look for an email with your secure Zoom link. Or, you can request a link by emailing us at: 1presbyterian@gmail.com.
Communion will be served, so have your elements ready!
Barry Llewellyn will be our worship leader. Rev. David Harkness will oversee the installation of officers. We look forward to beautiful music by Music Director Tom McCoy. And: We welcome Rev. Peter Johnson back to our virtual pulpit! Before retiring in 2018, he served Denton Presbyterian Church in New Hampton, NY; Noroton Presbyterian Church in Darien, CT; and Talmadge Hill Community Church in New Canaan, CT. He and his wife Joanne, a retired Minisink Valley teacher, live in Westtown, NY. They have 2 sons, 1 daughter, 4 grandsons, and a new granddaughter.
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Anyone can join us from anywhere for our live, online, Zoom services!
Use the links below to connect with us:
To download the bulletin for this service: Click the picture above!
For info about online services and a link to download Zoom, click here.
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Thank you for supporting our January Midnight Run mission trip!
Our Midnight Run mission trips take food and critical supplies directly to people experiencing homelessness in NYC. Pictured above are the volunteers who made safe deliveries last Saturday night, from left to right: FPCP Elder and mission coordinator Ron Sopyla; Phil Mirabelli; Molly Bernstein, Mike Bernstein, and Jill Shoffiett; and one of the Midnight Run's truly amazing guides, Alberto Lora.
Molly, Mike, and Jill joined us from the Reform Temple of Putnam Valley, where Molly is preparing for her bat mitzvah. Molly "stood out for the grace and courage she showed, gently going into small groups of homeless people and offering them bags of food and pieces of cake," Ron Sopyla noted. "I feel sure her kindness had an impact on people who are used to being ignored or treated unkindly."
We are so grateful to the congregation and community members who volunteered and who donated critical supplies for us to take to folks on the street to help them survive freezing temperatures, including Matt Bowen and Krystal Ford.
Click the picture to read more of Ron Sopyla's reflections about the January trip!
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Meow! Meow! Did you finish
your CAT Survey yet? Hurry!
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This shamelessly cute cat pic is here to remind you to finish your CAT Survey, if we sent one via email. CAT means Congregational Assessment Tool. It's an online survey and takes 20-30 minutes to complete. Answers are anonymous, but the opinions you share are critical to leadership in planning for our future!
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Meet Maizie and Teddy, favorite furry friends of our friend Renee Cruikshank! They really do want you to take the CAT Survey. What could be more important? Take your survey today, meow meow! |
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Hope
by Theodore Henry Shackelford
O Hope! into my darkened life
Thou hast so oft’ descended;
My helpless head from failure’s blows,
Thou also hast defended;
When circumstances hard, and mean,
Which I could not control,
Did make me bow my head with shame,
Thou comforted my soul.
When stumbling blocks lay all around,
And when my steps did falter,
Then did thy sacred fires burn
Upon my soul’s high altar.
Oft’ was my very blackest night
Scarce darker than my day,
But thou dispelled those clouds of doubt,
And cheered my lonely way.
E’en when I saw my friends forsake,
And leave me for another,
Then thou, O Hope, didst cling to me
Still closer than a brother;
Thus with thee near I groped my way
Through that long, gloomy night
Till now; yes, as I speak, behold,
I see the light! the light!
“Hope” appeared in My Country and Other Poems (1918). Born in Windsor, Ontario in 1888, Theodore Henry Shackelford moved to the U.S. and died in Jamaica, NY, in 1923. He is also the author of Mammy’s Cacklin’ Bread and Other Poems. This poem was shared by Poets.org and featured here in celebration of Black History Month.
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Please help if you can. During this health and economic crisis, we are grateful that we can serve more neighbors in need through critical mission programs like the Philipstown Food Pantry and the Midnight Run.
If you feel called to support this outreach, we warmly welcome any and all contributions. If you are a member of our church family and can maintain your annual giving at during this challenging time, we humbly thank you.
To donate to the Pantry online: Click the "Share" image.
To support Midnight Run and other programs: Click here.
Thank you and bless you!
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Call or email us today.
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