St. Mary’s, Clinton Heights, keeps on giving

There have been so many random acts of kindness by people of the Diocese of Albany during the coronavirus pandemic. Father Thomas Konopka, pastor, St. Mary’s Church, Clinton Heights, and director and therapist on the staff of the diocesan Consultation Center, recounts a story in which the parish came to the aid of people in need.

“On Sunday morning, March 19, a parishioner sent a copy of a Facebook post. It was from the manager of the Greenbush Village Apartments. There are 24 apartments with elderly people, but also many in wheelchairs and those with mobility issues. Since many of these people were not going to day programs or able to get out, they were running out of groceries. And since many are not elderly, they did not qualify for services. I replied to my parishioner with a couple of ideas, said my prayers and took a shower. I then replied to her again with a brainstorm that she get in touch with the manager, find out what they needed and we would put it on the parish Facebook page. I would also say something at the end of our livestreamed Mass. People could pick up what they needed and drop it off in the back of our parking lot, which is connected to these apartments. (The line of cars was so long, it backed up to Columbia Turnpike) To keep social distancing in place, people dropped off the donation (from 12:45-1:30 p.m.) and we took it from there. We filled the back of a pickup truck, plus two cars that made two trips and then we carried some over. It filled a room.”