Feeding those in need on Souper Bowl Sunday

For the 12th year in a row, our parish is participating in the Souper Bowl of Caring. We are providing food help for those in need through the Souper Bowl of Caring and YouGiveGoods. Thank you for your support of our efforts.

ygg_default_image_foodYour monetary donations in church will support the work of Schenectady Inner City Ministry. You can donate food online through our YouGiveGoods donation page. Food donations will be provided to Concerned For The Hungry.

Scripture asks us to be attentive to the needs of others.

For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, Matthew 25:35

John answered, “The man with two tunics should share with him who has none, and the one who has food should do the same.” Luke 3:11

If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? 1 John 3:17

  • The Souper Bowl collections go to many charities and so helps many organizations. (Matthew 25:35-36).
  • It follows God’s commands to care of the poor by leaving some of what we have and opening our hearts to them (Leviticus 19:9-10, Deuteronomy 15:7-8).
  • Only asking for a dollar means everyone can participate (2 Corinthians 8:1-4).
  • By doing this in our church, we are setting an example of caring for those in need (1 Timothy 4:12).
  • It is a way we can remember the poor on a day when we are thinking about other things (Galatians 2:10).
  • Since the Souper Bowl does not tell people where to send their collection, it does not exclude anyone (James 2:1-4).
  • It also gives us a chance to trust God when we serve and to see how He blesses us as we do (Phillipians 4:19, Deuteronomy 15:10).

More than 20 years ago, the Souper Bowl of Caring began with a simple prayer from a single youth group:

“Lord, even as we enjoy the Super Bowl football game, help us be mindful of those without a bowl of soup to eat.”

Since that day, more than $90 million has been raised for local charities across the country through Souper Bowl of Caring. It has become a powerful movement that is transforming the time around Super Bowl weekend into the nation’s largest celebration of giving and serving.

Be part of this movement that is sharing God’s love with those in need. Please give generously on Super Bowl Sunday.

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Soup on Sunday featured in the local Press

Our first Soup on Sunday event was featured in the Schenectady Gazette and the Albany Times Union. Our thanks to the reporters and photographers that joined us. We look forward to next month’s event on Sunday, January 27th. Hot soup, sandwiches, and good company every last Sunday of the month from 11:30am till 1:30pm.

Soup on Sunday
Victoria Konicki, 11, stirs the pot of soup at the Holy Name of Jesus National Catholic Church during their first Soup on Sunday event on Sunday, Dec. 30, 2012 in Schenectady, NY. Konicki’s father is the Deacon of the church. Deacon Jim Konicki said that “the congregation wanted to offer a place for anyone to come for free nourishment, a safe place where people can gather for fellowship and support for one another”. The church will hold the free Soup on Sunday event the last Sunday of every month from 11:30 am to 1:30 pm. The Golub Corporation and Hannaford both gave donations that aid in the running of the program. Deacon Konicki said that for the congregation charity and outreach are very important. (Photo credit: Paul Buckowski / Times Union)

First Soup on Sunday — Thank You

Our first ever Soup on Sunday event was wonderful. Thank you to Bob and Stephanie for coordinating, for all who came to work, for the support of Golub Corporation and Hannaford Markets, and to our guests. We look forward to our second Soup on Sunday to be held Sunday, January 27th. Tell everyone you know to join us for a warm meal – always FREE!

Advent Charity – food gathering and fresh water wells

Rather than lamenting the trends of society, and complaining about the secularization of Jesus’ birth, let’s resolve to do something positive.

Let our preparation focus first on prayer – a prayer of hope and anticipation for God’s coming among us. Pray for reconciliation and an end to greed.

Let us then also sacrifice for those in need.

This Advent we will put out a donation basket. Our contributions will be used toward the purchase of a well for people in need of fresh water through Operation Christmas Child/Samaritan’s Purse. Women and children in developing countries usually walk miles to reach the nearest water source—which might be a stagnant pond or polluted stream. Samaritan’s Purse is working to solve this problem by building and repairing hundreds of wells, along with providing pumps and other equipment, across Asia, Africa, and Latin America. Costs range from $400 for a hand-dug well serving a few families to $10,000 for a deep-drilled well serving an entire community.

We will also be collecting food, gloves, and hats for those in need in our immediate community. Canned, dried, and non-perishable foods, as well mittens, gloves, and hats are all needed. The latest U.S. census figures show an alarming statistic — 50.8 percent of Schenectady’s children live below the poverty line. For a family of four, that means a yearly income of less than $22,350. That number, provided as part of the 2011 American Community Survey, puts Schenectady 13th in the nation for highest childhood poverty rate among cities over 65,000 in population.

God bless you for your generosity and sacrifice in preparation for Jesus’ coming.

Tragedy and rebuilding in faith

On Wednesday, June 13, 2012 a tragedy struck the members of Sacred Heart of Jesus Parish in Madison, Illinois. A fire broke out at the church causing extensive damage to the building and the appointments of the parish. The fire department has done their very best to save whatever they could for the people of Sacred Heart. The Office of the Bishop of the Western Diocese is imploring all parishes and Diocese to help in any way they can, providing this little parish with deep faith and trust in God, those things necessary so that they can continue to spread the Good News of Jesus Christ in Madison, Illinois.

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The church was going through a remodel and the only thing left on the list, was the roof and now there’s nothing left.

“This was just our home so I just don’t know what we are going to do,” says says longtime church member Ginny Boxdorfer.

“I don’t know if they can build it back before we are all dead I don’t know,” she says.

Father Andrzej Bako has faith that his parish is strong and will rise from the ashes.

“From the loss and from the people comes strength and will to rebuild,” says Father Bako.

The Western Diocese is accepting monetary donations via Paypal or by check to assist the parish in rebuilding. Please make checks payable to the Western Diocese and mail them to the Western Diocese of the Polish National Catholic Church at 920 N. Northwest Hwy. Park Ridge, IL. 60068. Indicate on the memo line–Sacred Heart Fire Fund.

God bless you all and please pray for Father Andrzej Bako and the Faithful of Sacred Heart of Jesus Parish in Madison, Illinois.

Help our local state parks

On May 2nd Governor Andrew Cuomo of New York announced an exciting statewide volunteer initiative – “I Love My Park Day” – that will take place at State Parks across New York State this Saturday, May 5th.

“Our parks are one of the hidden treasures of our state,” Governor Cuomo said, inviting New Yorkers to participate in the first ever “I Love My Park Day.”

“I Love My Park Day” is a statewide event to enhance the state’s parks and historic sites and bring visibility to the entire park system and its needs.

Join thousands of your fellow New Yorkers this Saturday, May 5, and volunteer to help improve our state parks. Click here to sign up.

Volunteers will celebrate New York’s state park system by cleaning up park lands and beaches, planting trees and gardens, restoring trails and wildlife habitats, removing invasive species, and working on various site improvement projects. There are more than 35 participating state parks and historic sites.

Bring your friends and family to your favorite park this Saturday and help preserve the beauty of this great state.

Reflection for Quinquagesima Sunday

Swim away!
Maybe it would be better if…

“Child, your sins are forgiven.”

Fishing is a two-way relationship. It involves work, struggle, and tension. It also involves pain and trauma for the fish.

When a fisherman hooks a fish, which of them is really in charge? Most think the fisherman. He has the brains, the tools, and the power to overcome and land his catch.

Every fisherman knows that for every fish caught, many more get away. Some snap lines that trail behind them as they swim away. Others tear the hook out in the struggle, and swim away wounded.

Yet some fish figure out a simpler, braver path. Rather than pull, dash, or thrash, they swim toward shore, and approach the fisherman. When fish do so, you’re bound to see a frantic person reeling like crazy shouting “No, no, no—not towards me!” But if the fish persists, the line goes slack, and the hook comes out with a flick of its head.

In cases where fish swim toward their enemy, they often gain freedom from pain, and leave dragging nothing behind them.

Today, God asks us to consider His forgiveness and the way we forgive each other.

Like the fish and fisherman, we are in relationships with each other. At times those relationships can be marked by struggle, tension, and pain.

When we choose, as a result of hurt (those hooks that stab at us) to fight and flee, we end up either dragging the memories of those hurts behind us, or we end up deeply wounded.

God asks us to be the smart fish, to swim towards those who have hurt us. As we do, we free ourselves from the barbs that hurt us and we are free.

The pain doesn’t go away easily, and true reconciliation and the rebuilding of relationships is a much longer process, but it has to start with our going toward those who hurt us. There we offer our forgiveness.

When we hurt God through sin, we will always find Him swimming toward us, with complete forgiveness. As we enter Lent, let us resolve to do the same with each other.