Network Parishioners Reach Out to Community
Retired Veteran Couple Helps Welcome Home and Send Off American Soldiers: George and Susan Davidson of Anglican Church of the Resurrection in Somersworth, NH have made 65 trips to Pease International Trade Port in 2006. They are part of a group of veterans and their spouses who are committed to welcoming home and sending off returning and outgoing active-duty soldiers.
Several local veterans groups including Veterans of Foreign Wars and the Marine Corps League joined forces in January 2006 with the goal of having a group of people present to welcome, honor and serve every single American soldier coming or going out of this airport facility at all hours. Volunteers like the Davidsons set up coffee, juice, and doughnuts for early morning flights; and soda, water, and pizza for flights later in the day in the airport’s reception areas. Donations of personal care items from local stores enable soldiers to freshen up in airport restrooms. The veterans’ group gives out calling cards that can be used overseas. In addition to the banks of phones set up in a special room, volunteers loan their cell phones so that soldiers can call loved ones for free to let them know they are safely back on American soil.
To honor each group of soldiers, the volunteer veterans line up; and 77–year-old retired Marine Corps Captain Edmund Johnson, Commandant of Marine Corps League 384, gives a short speech, calls veterans to attention, and then orders a formal salute. The commander of the active-duty troop presents the Commandant with the unit’s medallion or patch. A chaplain leads a prayer. Then the group of soldiers gathers for a photo that will be displayed on the walls of the ramp going down to the aircraft that is now called “The Heroes’ Walk.”
The Davidsons’ newly-formed Network parish currently meets for Sunday services in a conference room at the Pease airport. “The soldiers can’t see the group of folks gathered to welcome them home until they come through the doors from the security area,” said George Davidson, who served for three years in the Marine Corps during and after the Korean War. “They are visibly surprised, overwhelmed and definitely blessed to be thanked and received in this way. There are always lots of hugs! We feel strongly about letting them know of our gratitude for their sacrifice.”
Spaghetti Dinner Raises $1,000 for Family Burned Out of Home: “Sis” Bowser of St. Mary’s Church in Charleroi, PA, a Forward in Faith Network parish, recently heard about a local family of five who had lost everything they had in a house fire. The family includes two sons, ages seven and five, and a daughter who will celebrate her first birthday on December 23.
Sis shared the news of the tragedy with her rector, Father Bill Ilgenfritz. She told him about her idea to raise money for the family by hosting a dinner at the family restaurant she recently opened in Charleroi called Sis’s Place. Tickets for a spaghetti dinner were sold to St. Mary’s parishioners, Sis covered all of the expenses, and 100% of the proceeds from the ticket sales was given to the family. Father Bill waited tables, but afterwards was advised not to quit his day job!
“The dinner raised a little over $1,000,” said Father Bill. “It won’t rebuild the house, but it will mean that Christmas Day will dawn a bit brighter for a young couple who are working very hard to raise a family in the midst of this tragedy.”
Cards and goodies thank those who have to work on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day: Christ the Redeemer Church, a Network parish in Centreville, VA, wanted to reach out to those in the community who often get overlooked at the holidays – those working while most others are off. They created a unique outreach that everyone could participate in.
The parish hands out cellophane holiday gift bags to its parishioners two weeks before Christmas Eve and asks everyone to fill the bags with homemade goodies. Families bring their filled bags to the Christmas Eve service, and beautiful tags are tied on that thank those who have to work on Christmas, offering them blessings for the holiday season. During the service, the congregation prays that God will bless those who will receive the gifts. On their way home that evening, parishioners deliver the gift bags to those who are at work. Deliveries go to police and fire stations, hospitals, grocery and video stores, and gas stations.
Some folks at Christ the Redeemer won’t have far to go to deliver their bags. This year, the church’s Christmas Eve service will be held in the community rooms at the local police headquarters. Christ the Redeemer is a 12–year-old parish that has been unable to build a permanent facility due to the current crisis over the property rights of orthodox Episcopal churches in the Diocese of Virginia.
“Our cookie delivery is such a simple outreach, but those on both the giving and receiving ends really love it,” said the Rev. Kathleen Christopher, interim rector. “Those we give the cookies to seem surprised and delighted, perhaps especially because there is no catch. We don’t even put our church name or logo on the tags—we just want to bless people, let them know that they are appreciated for their work on our behalf, and touch them with a little of the love of Jesus at Christmas.”
Editor’s Note: Does your parish have a fruitful ministry or outreach? Tell the Network about it. Contact: Jenny Noyes at jnoyes@acn-us.org.
Posted: 12–19–06