Houses of worship continue hurricane Relief Outreach

November 7, 2012 By Francesca Norsen Tate Brooklyn Daily Eagle

Houses of worship throughout the buroughs help with Sandy relief

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The Episcopal Diocese of Long Island, of which Brooklyn is a part, has set up a system to accept online donations for hurricane relief.

That site is https://licommin.wufoo.com/forms/support-episcopal-hurricane-relief.

The link can also be accessed through the diocesan website at www.dioceselongisland.org. Helpful information about hurricane relief is being posted and updated regularly.

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Moreover, each Archdeaconry (Brooklyn, Queens, Nassau and Suffolk) within the aforementioned Diocese of Long Island has a distribution center for donated dry and non-perishable goods. The Church of St. Luke & St. Matthew (520 Clinton Ave. in Clinton Hill) is the distribution hub for the Archdeaconry of Brooklyn.

For a while the hubs were accepting clothing. As of press time, the most urgent needs are for cleaning supplies, such as heavy-duty and rubber gloves, cleaning agents and hand-sanitizers. Also needed are batteries, baby diapers, wipes and formula; and bottled water.

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Grace Church-Brooklyn Heights and St. Paul’s Episcopal Church have each teamed up with the Red Hook Initiative to deliver hot meals to supply the mid-day meal for the National Guard and other rescue workers. As of Sunday, more than a dozen meals were donated, collected and delivered to the Red Hook Initiative. Dry goods, such as cereals, and paper products, flashlights, batteries and other cleanup supplies were also collected. These drives will continue throughout the week.

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The Church of St. Ann & the Holy Trinity reports teaming up with The Brooklyn Heights Association to coordinate a response to the needs of neighbors in Red Hook. As of press time, the parish, at Montague and Clinton streets, was collecting: black garbage bags, shovels, rubber gloves, warm socks, hand warmers and bottled water

St. Ann’s is also in the process of formalizing a program of storm response in collaboration with Bishop Lawrence Provenzano’s office and other diocesan partners.

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St. Jacobi Lutheran Church, 5406 Fourth Avenue in Sunset Park is also a main distribution hub in Brooklyn. Volunteers are disbursing supplies to impacted areas around NYC and vicinity. As of press time on Monday, Occupy Sandy Relief NYC, a grassroots effort, called an urgent need for medical and first aid supplies such as: bandages, gauze, tape, ibuprofen, aspirin, alcohol swabs. St. Jacobi also sent out requests for electrical supplies like lamps, power strips, extension cords, flashlights and batteries. Ready-to-eat food like granola bars, crackers and canned soups and canned protein meals were also needed.

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Our Lady of Refuge Catholic Church in Midwood is conducting a food drive to help victims of Hurricane Sandy. Non-perishable food items, such as canned meats and fish, rice and dry beans, soups and canned milk are needed. Donations can be brought to the rectory between now and Friday from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., on Saturday, from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m., and on Sunday, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Our Lady of Refuge parish normally runs a Food Pantry to help all members of the Brooklyn community. The church asks for prayers on behalf of those injured or forced to evacuate because of this disaster.

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St. Charles Borromeo Church is working with Catholic Charities of Brooklyn and Queens to collect needed items for Hurricane Sandy victims.

Hurricane Sandy Relief Effort – Collectible Items

The following are currently being accepted at the parishes and at Catholic Charities’ facility at 191 Joralemon St. (opposite Packer Collegiate Institute in Brooklyn Heights):

D batteries, flashlights, cell phones, candles, matches, diapers and baby wipes; baby powder, non-perishable food and bottled water, Gatorade, ice; cots, inflatable mattresses, sleeping bags, blankets and pillows; extension cords, portable lanterns, and new or gently-used outerwear like wool caps, gloves, sweatpants, thermal underwear, socks and shirts. Also needed are oral hygiene products like toothpaste and toothbrushes; radios, trash bags, paper products, mildew cleaning products/powdered cleaning products; and First Aid kits.

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Progressive Temple Beth Ahavath Sholom presents “In a Sephardic Garden.”

The afternoon of Sephardic music takes place on Sunday, November 18 at 4 p.m. The requested donation is $8/person. The Temple is at 1515 46th Street in Sunset Park.

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Milestones in Faith: St. Charles Borromeo Church Marks Patronal Feast Day

St. Charles Borromeo Church marked the feast day of its patronal feast (for which the Brooklyn Heights parish was named), on November 4.

The 16th-century saint (1538-84) was the Archbishop of Milan, Italy, a Cardinal, and Papal Secretary of State under Pope Pius IV. Charles Borromeo was one of the drafters of the first Catechism of the Catholic Church, was a leader of the Catholic Reformation, and was an innovator of religious education, especially for children – establishing what is commonly now known as “Sunday School,” according to the parish’s website, http://www.stcharlesbklyn.org.

He was also a patron of the arts.

St. Charles Borromeo, who was known to minister to the ill during an outbreak of bubonic plague, was also an effective administrator of charity and outreach. The parish considers the milestone of this saint particularly timely at present, as New York City works to recover from Hurricane Sandy. A second collection was taken last Sunday for Catholic Charities’ Hurricane Sandy relief efforts.

Today, St. Charles Church is thriving, and recently surpassed its record for the most Baptisms ever recorded on one day at the parish. Father Edward Doran, the pastor, checked the records and discovered that the 12 Baptisms that he performed on October 28 exceeded the old record of 11. The records date back to 1869.