Partners in Outreach

Extra Helpings, April, 2010

EXTRA HELPINGS

A Food Buying Club of Focus Food Pantry and St. Andrew's Episcopal Church, Albany

    For Information Call: 518-489-2487

Each month you can buy good food for you and your family at a low price

• Payment due the first week of the month for pickup the last Thursday
• Anyone can take part, no means testing or order limit
• Food packages and monthly specials vary each month.

 Here's what's on the menu this month:

 

April, 2010

Extra Helpings Basic Menu   $21.00

• 1 (10-12 lb.) Whole Turkey

• 1 lb. Mild Bulk Sausage Roll

• 1 lb. pkg. Chicken Patties

• 1 lb. Tilapia Fillets

• 5 lb. bag Potatoes
• 1 bunch Sleeved Celery

Special #1   $12.50

• 5 lb. block Sliced White American Cheese

Special #2   $19.25

• 10 lb. bag Breaded Chicken Tenders

Special Meat Box #3   $32.00

• 2.5 lbs. Chuck Beef Pot Roast 
• 3 lbs. Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breast 
• 3 lbs. Sweet Italian Rope Sausage 
• 3 lbs. Pepper Steaks (8/6 oz.) 
• 2 lbs. Maple Breakfast Sausage Links

 

Order Deadline: 11 AM, Monday, April 12th

Make Checks Payable To: 

Extra Helpings, c/o St. Andrew's Episcopal Church
10 North Main
Albany, NY 12203

PAYMENT REQUIRED AT TIME OF ORDER

Pickup:

Thursday, April 29th, 3:30 - 5:30 PM
St. Andrew's Episcopal Church
Carmichael Hall

All orders must be picked up by 5:30 pm unless prior arrangements have been made

No Refunds

Items of equal value may be substituted if necessary

Response from St. Peter's Vestry

Judy Burns from St. Peter's, who was at the Outreach Roundtable on Saturday (see preceding post) has sent me an update on their vestry's decision regarding a proposed overflow shelter for men from the Capital City Rescue Mission.  She writes:

I presented the information from our meeting on Saturday to our Outreach Committee. It was then discussed at Vestry and Mother Sue called me after the vestry meeting. She said that we do have the support of the vestry to move forward with planning for the possibility of housing some of the men from the Mission during the winter.

Mother Sue and Father Hartt both expressed that St. Peter's is committed to this project but to do it they will need support and firm commitments from other partner churches.

Father Hartt outlined the following things that he feels we need to do this successfully:

1. A willingness from the Cathedral or other church to provide space for 6 of the 12 weeks. In Troy, four churches take turns providing space.
2.  A firm commitment from Perry Jones to provide someone from either the Mission or the Partners in Outreach to administer the program and schedule volunteers.
3. Volunteers from other churches for the overnights. To date, the only firm commitment of volunteers are the 11 from St. Andrew's. Thank you St. Andrew's. However, we will need many more to cover 3 months.

Please contact either Mother Sue at St. Peter's or myself at 441-7538 after you present this information to your congregations if you have people willing to volunteer, especially for the overnights or are able to offer space for some of the weeks.

Thank You, Judy Burns

Outreach Roundtable, November 21, 2009

The Partners gathered at St. Andrew's Church to continue planning for proposed winter shelter.  The meeting began with the Holy Eucharist and sharing of the collect for the Feast of St. Barnabas.

St. Peter's Vestry will consider housing a three-month overflow shelter for the Capital City Rescue Mission at its meeting on November 23.  The Partners formulated a working plan to be presented to St. Peter's Vestry and circulated among partner parishes if the project is approved.

Goal: To provide up to 12 beds for clients of the Capital CIty Rescue Mission during the coming winter.
Date: Beginning January 2, 2010, seven nights per week from approximately 8:00 pm to 8:00 am for three months.

Resources from Partners:

• Mats and blankets at $52.00/set (to be ordered by the Mission)
• Breakfast for guests (beverage, hot cereal, pastries)
• Volunteers under supervision of Mission staff (1 male per night, or if female, accompanied by a male.  Breakfast  might be provided by a separate crew).

Volunteer Duties:

• Greet guests when they arrive from dinner at the Mission
• Set out mats and blankets for the night
• Assist guests with chatting, games, etc. before they retire
• Prepare and serve a simple breakfast for guests (coffee, hot cereal, etc.) at 7:00 am
• Clean up kitchen
• Clean and sanitize mats

City Mission:

• Provide a supervisor and assistance with problems
• Screen guests to be invited to the Partners' shelter
• Procure the bedding with funds from the Partners

Christine Wickman and Judy Burns agreed to coordinate volunteers; Martha Iannacone will receive and forward financial donations (checks made to Capital CIty Rescue Mission and mailed to Martha at: 31 Crestwood Lane, Delmar 12054).  It is also possible that in-kind donations for the breakfast will be made.

Each parish will use its own mechanisms for recruiting volunteers and funds once notified that the project is approved.  Systems should be in place by December 15.

In other business, several parishes have responded to the appeal for blankets for refugees.  More work needs to be done in refining our communication process.

Upcoming events of interest to all the Partners are:

December 3 at 7:00 pm   Ceremony of remembrance at St. Peter's Church
December 21 at 7:00 pm   Memorial Service at First Lutheran Church for homeless lost n the past year.

The next gathering of the Partners will be on December 7 at 7:00 pm at St. Stephen's Church, Delmar.  It is hoped to have a representative from St. John's, Troy, which has embarked on a similar sheltering project.  The Rector and Vestry of St. Peter's will also be encouraged to attend.

Eloisa LeConte Walker, recording

Warm Blankets Needed for Albany Refugees

The Rev. James Kenyon from St. David's Church, Schodack, is the Diocesan Refugee Coordinator for the diocese.  Yes, there is an Albany Refugee Resettlement Ministry which operates out of the diocesan headquarters, 60 South Swan Street. 

The Rev. Kenyon has made a request for warm blankets for the refugees to help them through the winter.  St. Andrew's, Albany, has just started collecting blankets and already has had a good response.  Other congregations may consider donating to this worthy cause. 

Fr. Jim Kenyon gives his home telephone number as 426-8296 for inquiries.  He writes:

To the Clergy of the Metropolitan Deanery:

Once again we are asking for blankets to be donated for the refugees who are coming into this area, mostly from hot countries.  The culture shock and weather is hard on them.  There are a number who have already come into St. David's Congregation, and elsewhere in Albany, the the Burmese Mission Committee of St. David's is aware of and about whom we are concerned. It's going to be a cold winter even for those of us who live here all year long.

Burmese refugee mother and child

If you have blankets to send, please let Deacon James Brisbin or me know, and if you cannot deliver them to my house, we will come to pick them up.  Deacon Brisbin's number is 607-287-1092

Faithfully yours,
James H.B. Kenyon+
Diocesan Refugee Coordinator

Outreach Roundtable, October 24, 2009

The Partners gathered at St. Peter's Church for Morning Prayer and consideration of a sheltering project in conjunction with the Capital CIty Rescue Mission.

St. Peter's Church, State Street

During the months of January, February and March, ten to twelve Mission guests would be screened and transported to St. Peter's Church for an overnight stay and a simple breakfast.  The purpose would be to provide comfortable, safe overnight shelter for individuals who might otherwise be sleeping in chairs at the Mission when all its other accommodation is filled.  The shelter would provide a resident manager. 

Space for guests
at St. Peter's

St. Peter's would provide space.  Partner congregations and others interested would provide volunteer manpower (1-2 persons per night for a period of 12 hours), prepare breakfast (for example, oatmeal and hot beverages), and funds for mats and blankets ($40 per mat, $12 for a blanket) and whatever other resources might be needed to support the program.

 

Kitchen facilities for serving
guests at St. Peter's

The Cathedral of All Saints has made a general commitment to the project.  St. Peter's Vestry will consider the matter at its November 9 meeting.  All partnership congregations are asked to explore their possible commitments so that these may be a part of the November 9 presentation, or as soon as possible thereafter.

It was also announced that The Rev. James Kenyon, Diocesan Refugee Resettlement Officer, is seeking blankets for Burmese refugees.  A letter of request was circulated, and the appeal will appear on the Partner's website.

The next gathering will take place on November 21 at 9:00 am at St. Andrew's Church.

The meeting closed with prayer.

Eloisa LeConte Walker,
recording

Community Health Fair at Grace and Holy Innocents

Grace and Holy Innocents Parish, on Clinton Ave. in Albany, is hosting a Health Fair for the community on Saturday, Oct. 31st, from 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.

There will be free health screenings, including mammography, prostate testing, diabetic screening, cholesterol evaluation, and blood pressure testing.  Additional services and community resources will be available.

For more information, call Georgia Wells at (518) 441-0182, or Louise Fisher at (518) 235-6229.

Please  include this information in your parish bulletins and announcements.

 Fr. Reddie

 Again, the free health fair will be at Grace and Holy Innocents, 498 Clinton Avenue, on Oct 31st from 11 to 3.

Cathdral Works Gets Down To Work

Cathedral Works is an initiative that the Cathedral of All Saints started in order to expand their ministries to the community.  One of the pilot projects is refurbishing a building owned by the City Rescue Mission for use as transitional housing.  Charles Dumas, one of the founders of Cathedral Works, wrote a letter to supporters after the first work day on Saturday, September 12.  His letter is edited for inclusion here.

Deacon Christine Wickman reminds us that there will be another work day this Saturday, October 10.  If you haven't participated in the renovation but would like to, this is another chance.  Volunteers can contact Deacon Christine.  Her email address is candtwickman@yahoo.com

Charles' letter:

 

Ten thousand "thank yous" for helping to make the launch of the Cathedral Works ministry an unqualified success!  The good news is that we accomplished about 25% of the task, but that means that there remains more to be done.  Remember, God never lays more before us than we can handle.

Task: 

The Mission seeks to expand its Supportive Housing Program.  To this end it has purchased a 45,000 square foot, former shirt factory located at 95 Trinity Place behind the Mission's current facilities.  The Mission intends to convert it into 44 studio and one-bedroom apartments, a community banquet room, commercial kitchen, learning center, and a small gym for community use.  The goal is to support formerly homeless individuals as they enter the job market and move toward independent living.  This program will help individuals who complete the Mission's New Life Recovery Program, yet struggle to make ends meet and maintain sobriety in the community, where drugs and alcohol abound.

Initially, the building will require substantial contributions of manual labor to ready it to receive the necessary structures and materials that will comprise its renovation and conversion.  The task of the Cathedral Works Pilot Project is to remove wood flooring from the 5th floor of the building.

Reflections:

I had a great sense of anticipation.  Finally, the actual work will begin.  Would those who had committed actually show?  But show they did, loyal, faithful Cathedralites who I have come to know and love over the years:

Christine Wickman, our intrepid leader, and her daughter Caroline; Shane Gilchrest and his son Kent; Bill Smart; Colin Campbell; Suzanne McDermott; Keith St. John; Roger Murman.

Keith St. John observed that the area in which the Mission is located was the district he served for so many years as a member of the Albany Common Council.  Roger Murman, a board member of the Mission, observed that Keith was instrumental in helping the Mission relocate from Hudson Avenue to its current place on South Pear.  I guess there were all kinds of zoning and other wrinkles that Keith helped to iron out.  A neat convergence of people!

We were joined by a sharp young man, Dave Sheehan, who is a coordinator of Christians ministries at local colleges, including SUNY and St. Rose who came to check us out to see if we were real, with the idea of bringing people back in the future.

We were eleven in all.

Outreach Roundtable, September 19, 2009

The Partners gathered at Grace and Holy Innocents Church for Morning Prayer and continued discussion

The Rev. G. Tyrone Reddie, Vicar, introduced himself and the parish, which faces many challenges in the inner city.  Outreach efforts to the neighborhood have included a Fathers' Day Rally on June 20th which attracted about 100 people and a planned Health Fair on October 31 in partnership with community health agencies.  The weekly Saturday Soup Kitchen attracts about 100 neighbors.  Other parishes, notably St. Paul's, assist with this effort.  Free clothing is offered as available.

In response to a need for a safe and wholesome place for neighborhood children, Fr. Reddie is exploring the development of an after school drop-in and homework program.  This would require many volunteers and resources, which could be provided in part by our partners.

The Rev. Susan Waldron, Curate at St. Peter's Church, is working to develop overflow shelter capacity in partnership with the Capital City Rescue Mission.  Overnight volunteers would work under the supervision of Rescue Mission staff and guests would be screened, as is done in a similar partnership in Troy with Joseph's House.  If approved by St. Peter's Vestry, this project would seek the commitment of volunteers in other parishes in Albany and environs.  The goal is to offer shelter and a light breakfast during the months of January, February and March.

Those present agreed there is much to be accomplished in Outreach to those in our central city.  A small steering committee will guide planning for the next Partnership gathering, which will take place on October 24 at St. Peter's Church, State Street, Albany.

The meeting closed with the Collect for St. Barnabas Day:

Grant, O God, that we may follow the example of your faithful servant Barnabas, who, seeking not his own renown but the well being of your Church, gave generously of his life and substance for the relief of the poor and the spread of the Gospel, through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, on God, forever and ever.  Amen

Elisa LeConte Walker, recording

Our Visit to the Rescue Mission

     Capital City Rescue Mission

The fourth gathering of Partners in Outreach was convened at the Cathedral of All Saints on Saturday, August 1st.  Members of five greater Albany parishes and the Cathedral shared the Holy Eucharist and a continental breakfast.  Dean Vang announced that the Albany sub-deanery is being revived, under his leadership, beginning in September; and Charles Dumas described a new Cathedral Outreach Ministry called "Cathedral Works" which will match volunteers with community organizations requesting assistance  Initial partnerships have been forged with the Capital City Rescue Mission and Teresian House Center for the Elderly.

The Rev. Perry Jones

The group reconvened at the Capital CIty Rescue Mission for an extensive orientation and tour by the Rev. Perry Jones, Director.  The Mission operates on the principles of Rescue, Recovery and Re-entry, and offers shelter, worship, health services, vocational/educational, and other programming to individuals and their dependents in need of a life-changing community as they overcome addictions and adversities.  The Mission is faith-based, receives no public funds, and relies on free will offerings to provide its expanding array of services.  Current opportunities for ministry include provision of household cleaning supplies for families beginning independent living; assistance with fund-raising mailings; help renovating a recently acquired former warehouse; donation of good used clothing and household items (which are distributed free to the community), and possible provision of space for overflow clientele, among other needs which may arise. 

   Mission Chapel

Over luncheon, generously supplied by the Mission, Partners shared experiences and insight about their individual  and parish ministries, and reflected on the experiences of the morning. 

The next gathering of the Partnership will be at Grace and Holy Innocents Church on Saturday, September 12, at 9:00 am, including an opportunity to visit the parish's Saturday morning outreach program.

Eloisa LeConte Walker, recording

Outreach Roundtable, June, 2009

Minutes from Saturday, June 20, 2009.

A third roundtable gathering was convened at St. Paul's Church, Albany, and opened with Morning Prayer.  As agreed, parishes shared "hands on" outreach projects which might be shared or replicated.

ST. PAUL'S is exploring a pilot gardening project using permaculture techniques to care for the earth and share the harvest.

ST. ANDREW'S "Love Thy Neighborhood" dinners have completed a second year totaling 17 monthly events.  Response of guests indicates that people are most interested in the fellowship of a shared meal and festivities rather than formal educational or service programs.  neighbors in this uptown area are forming relationships through their monthly encounters.  Worship is offered at each dinner in a non-coercive way.  In the year ahead, teams will be enlisted for each month to broaden parish participation and share the planning and execution of the dinners.

THE CATHEDRAL OF ALL SAINTS is exploring a partnership with the Capital City Rescue Mission to provide support and to assist with the rehabilitation of Mission-owned buildings which will be used for transitional housing.  It was agreed that the Partners in Outreach would tour the Mission at its next gathering which will be convened at the Cathedral.  Arrangements will be made by Dcn. Christine Wickman.

ST. PETER'S continues to prepare and deliver meals to the Capital Area Council of Churches Overflow Shelter once weekly during its season.  Members have found it convenient to cook and freeze entrees for storage at the church until needed.  The Rector and the Director of the Capital Area Rescue Mission are beginning conversations about using St. Peter's gym for overnight shelter during the winter.  This would require careful screening and staffing, as has been demonstrated by St. John's, and other churches which serve as satellites for Joseph's House in Troy.  A relationship has also begun with the Healing a Woman's Soul ministry of Mtr. Anne Curtin; and a series of Lay-off Lunches to provide support and networking for the unemployed is about to begin.

GRACE AND HOLY INNOCENTS is assisted with its Saturday Soup Kitchen by teams from St. Paul's.  Clothing and household goods are also made available.  Financial help is needed to continue the program.  A new Vicar is working in the neighborhood and plans to provide community programs such as Father's Day March and Rally being held on this date.  The parish is struggling with issues of declining attendance and disunity.  It was suggested that the Metropolitan Deanery be convened to consider ways to support this inner-city parish.

Congregations shared issues they are promoting for parish consideration.

ST. PAUL'S is serving and selling fair trade coffee.  Fifteen percent of proceeds go to Episcopal Relief and Development.  The parish is also emphasizing recycling, and is promoting a "green pledge" among members.

ST. ANDREW'S also serves fair trade coffee and has negotiated with its waste hauler to provide free recycling.  All ministries are being challenged to move beyond the walls of the church and engage more parishioners.

COMMUNICATION: The Partners in Outreach Website needs content including photos of church activities and calendar events.  Contact John White (jwhite17@nycap.rr.com).  Martha Iannacone will also submit items to The Episcopalian, perhaps highlighting the proposed Rescue Mission tour.

The meeting concluded with a prayer.

Next Meeting: (subject to confirmation) Saturday, August 1, at the Cathedral of All Saints, convening at 9 am for worship and continuing with a tour of the Capital City Rescue Mission.