An evening beside the Hudson
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Volunteers in our parish outreach ministries gathered last week at the Poughkeepsie Yacht Club for a picnic and a little conviviality outside the church. A beautiful afternoon and evening enhanced the already happy atmosphere.
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An inside look
A Few Hours in the Food Pantry
On a recent Tuesday, I filled in for Daphne Barrett in the Food Pantry because she was called away to be with her son during surgery. My regular volunteer job at the Food Pantry is to keep food on the shelves. I place orders twice a month with the Regional Food Bank of Northeastern New York, the co-op where we buy most of our food, and I arrange for the cases of food to be picked up and put on the shelves. (We get at least 4,000 pounds of food each month from the Regional Food Bank and the U.S. Department of Agriculture, plus the food that is contributed by members of our congregation, parishioners from Christ Church and First Evangelical Lutheran Church, and community members.) I also write grant requests so that we have the money to pay for the food we need, and, with help from Tessa Kale and Colleen Misner, I compile monthly statistics that we need to submit to keep the money coming.
Our Pantry is open on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays, from 10 to 2. Tuesdays are almost always the busiest days. To keep things running smoothly, it takes at least three volunteers to help the clients fill out the forms, check our records to see when they last received food (they can come only once a month), select the food from the shelves, and pack the bags.
I don't usually deal directly with our clients, but it is a very rewarding experience, and I was glad that I was available to sub for Daphne. We see all kinds of folks, of all ages and ethnicities. Some people come regularly, once a month, and know exactly what they need. Others come once, and we never see them again. Some come once in a while, when they run out of food stamps or have some kind of emergency.
One client in particular really moved my heart. She was an older lady - about my age - and she had a young girl with her. She was tall and neatly dressed, and she carried herself with dignity, but she looked distressed and sad. I asked her if she had visited our Pantry before, and she said yes, she had, some years ago, but things had gotten much better for her until a few days ago, when three of her grandchildren had come to live with her, and she could no longer manage without help.
I was very glad that we had everything she needed to feed herself and her grandchildren breakfast, lunch, and dinner for three days (which is how much food we give to each client for her/himself and each member of that household), and I gave her the listing we have of all the Food Pantries and Soup Kitchens in Dutchess County. I have been praying for her every day since I met her, and my prayer includes gratitude to God and to our church that we can offer one of life's basic necessities to those in need, as Jesus asked us to do. --Molly Jones
God's care for us
Exodus 16:2-4, 9-15; Psalm 78:23-29; Ephesians 4:1-16;John 6:24-35
Our readings continue with the same theme as we've been exploring the last two weeks: God's reliable and caring response to our hunger. We have looked at physical hunger, spiritual hunger and hunger for healing in the past three weeks.
Sunday, Aug. 2, we encounter the proverbial manna from heaven in a reading from Exodus. It opens with the people's petulance about how happy they were with the "fleshpots" of Egypt: that is, in slavery. God guided Moses to show the people that God cared for and fed them. Our psalm appointed for Sunday conveys the same message.
In the Gospel reading the people ask Jesus what they must do to perform the works of God and Jesus tells them they must believe in the one God sent, namely Jesus. The people ask Jesus for a sign that he is the one sent by God and Jesus responds "I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty."
The series of lessons we have enjoyed these past weeks remind us both of the vast generosity of God in creation and every day and also of our capacity to ignore God's goodness or take it for granted.
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Father Tyler leading the Prayers of the People from the center aisle
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Surely you must have something to say
You have noticed that we have said the Prayers of the People in an unusual way for the past few weeks. We have been asked to share our thoughts, feelings,
thanksgivings and express our faith in an alternative form to our traditional Prayers. Some call this witnessing, others call it testifying. It has been an effort to have us become more active in the discernment of our faith and in sharing it.
very important. Let's face it, it is very easy to fall into a pattern with the liturgy and operate on "autopilot". When that happens, there is no thought, no growth and ultimately no connection to our faith and our parish family.
By speaking out and sharing we do have to prepare and make connections to God, the world and our own beliefs. I know this is perhaps outside the comfort zone of many parishioners. But let's be honest: Traditions start as "new ideas." This is one idea that can become a tradition, and yes it will take work as well as adjustment. But hey, St. Paul's does a number of things other parishes admire. Maybe it's time to add something new to our portfolio! I hope you will help make this happen. --Warden Pete Bedrossian
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