Parishes pitch in to assist needier Schenectady church

BY KATE BLAIN
ASSISTANT EDITOR

In recent months, many parishes in the Albany Diocese have gotten used to working with others in their clusters, deaneries or "Called to be Church" local planning groups.

For some Schenectady Catholics, however, teaming up with others dates back far before pastoral planning began and reaches beyond their neighborhood.

Struggling families and senior citizens at Sacred Heart/St. Columba parish have received Christmas gifts, food and grocery-store gift certificates for many years from members of Sacred Heart in Castleton, Our Lady of Fatima in Schenectady and Our Lady of Grace in Ballston Lake.

Friends

Sisters Norina Mastro, MPV, and Rosemary Endres, CSJ, pastoral associates at Sacred Heart/St. Columba, told The Evangelist that some of the connections came about through friendships: Rev. Michael Hogan, pastor, previously served in Castleton; Sister Norina knows a volunteer at Our Lady of Fatima who helps with the parish's charitable efforts, and Rev. Alan Jupin, the former pastor.

"We've had our food pantry since 1985. We're geared toward the elderly and homebound, doing deliveries to them," Sister Rosemary explained. "Our Lady of Grace [parishioners] in the 'Helping Hands' group pick up food from the Regional Food Bank; they come all the way down from Ballston Lake, bring it in and put it in the food pantry. They will not accept money for gas or anything."

The haul is no small matter, either: Sister Rosemary estimated one week's order from the Regional Food Bank at about 1,500 pounds of food, which takes the volunteers about half an hour just to pack for the trip to Schenectady.

Helpers

Our Lady of Grace parish also sponsors food drives to benefit Sacred Heart/St. Columba's food pantry.

In addition, parishioners at Our Lady of Fatima take care of ten Sacred Heart/St. Columba families with Christmas presents and gift certificates.

More than 100 children from Sacred Heart/St. Columba and the surrounding neighborhood get Christmas presents through a "giving tree" at Sacred Heart in Castleton.

Sister Norina noted that the generous donors aren't necessarily well-off themselves.

"I always tell the children, 'These gifts were bought by someone who doesn't even know you. Every evening, say a prayer for the person who bought you this gift,'" she said.

Called to help

The two pastoral associates compared their teamwork with other parishes to the teamwork also underway in "Called to be Church" planning groups.

Sacred Heart/St. Columba is working with a half-dozen other Schenectady parishes: Immaculate Conception, Our Lady of Mount Carmel, St. Adalbert's, St. Joseph's, St. Luke's and St. Paul's.

"I love that title, 'Called to be Church.' I think it means a lot," Sister Norina remarked, noting that all Catholics are called to "be" Church for one another.

More assistance

Sister Rosemary extended the metaphor beyond Catholics: Some volunteers who pitch in at Sacred Heart/St. Columba's food pantry, she noted, aren't even Catholic.

They are members of a local Neighborhood Watch group, or from area churches of other denominations.

Wherever the help comes from, Sister Norina concluded, people "have extended themselves, and we're very appreciative."

(Sacred Heart/St. Columba parish is located in Schenectady's inner-city Hamilton Hill area; it's often referred to as "the beacon on the hill," or "un faro en el cerro" to its Hispanic parishioners. Contact the parish food pantry at 395-3298.)

(02/21/08)