12/11/98

Modern Day Fishes and Loaves

December holidays bring us exceptional sights, sounds, excitement and generosity of spirit, none more inspirational than the following "loaves and fishes" story, not a story from the Bible or from ancient times, but a modern story about generosity in a small Connecticut town, the town of Old Lyme.

Dear Beth:

"I am a member of a church in Old Lyme, where we have been working on addressing the needs of the homeless. We began about seven years ago by having our teens sleep outside in cardboard boxes on the first Saturday in December, a project we called "No Room in the Inn." We wanted young people to know how it feels to be homeless, so they could feel empathy for those who are. After their night in the cold, they become volunteers in various programs for the needy.

"Our Saturday Soup Kitchen feeds 80 to 100 people of all ages every week. We also have a Food Pantry on Saturdays that gives out two days worth of groceries to each family in need. They tell us how large their family is, and we give them frozen chicken or beef, pasta, sauces, packaged dinners, juice, cereal, vegetables and whatever other donated foods the pantry has received from other community agencies. We have served up to 700 people per week in this way.

"The postmen in our town (this practice eventually spread to other towns in the state) collect groceries on a specific day each week and bring the donations to the pantry. Scout troops do the same. Local grocers let us place collection boxes in their stores. We call this the "Plus One" program because we are asking shoppers to buy just one more item and donate it to help someone. Our food program expands during the holidays to distribute food boxes filled with turkeys, hams and presents. Every Sunday is dedicated to a specific food item, and we bring offerings of these items to church.

"Recently we added one more program to our list of actions for those in need. We built a HABITAT FOR HUMANITY House, that was started in April of 1998 and was dedicated in early December, 1998. The land was a gift from Rachael Robinson, Jackie Robinson's widow. Our church raised $65,000 to build this home, with over 185 people participating. Corporations helped with gifts of crushed stone, electrical supplies, plumbing supplies and labor, well drilling, landscaping and more. The family will move in before Christmas.

We also gave Habitat for Humanity $5,000 as seed money for a new house to be built in South Africa. We have $15,000 left over to start another home and hope another church will join us in this worthy cause.

"A church White Elephant Sale alone raised $37,000 last year to support charities here and in other parts of the world. It's amazing that when you give a lot, you receive a lot more. With dreams, visionary leadership and hard work, anything is possible."

For further information about this church's charitable programs, contact The First Congregational Church of Old Lyme
Email address: first.congreg.chrch@snet.net
Telephone: 860-434-8686
HABITAT FOR HUMANITY has an Internet web site at: http://www.habitat.org

Please send questions or comments to bbruno@snet.net.