January Date: Church & Volunteering

January's (date #3) weekend date was simple. Attend church & volunteer together. So we did just that. 

With the little tike in tow, we enjoyed a Sunday service at our usual church St. Augustine's. The priest is all about a good homily. He is quite funny as well. I don't think he actually means to be but I always chuckle through church. Adelaide loves the singing and talking. She often babbles back at the quietest time. I find that to be adorable. Ryan not so much. He usually blushes and tries to stick the paci in her mouth. I advise him not to quite her. She's speaking to God.

1 Forasmuch as many have taken in hand to set forth in order a declaration of those things which are most surely believed among us,² Even as they delivered them unto us, which from the beginning were eyewitnesses, and ministers of the word;³ It seemed good to me also, having had perfect understanding of all things from the very first, to write unto thee in order, most excellent Theophilus,⁴ That thou mightest know the certainty of those things, wherein thou hast been instructed.

¹⁴ And Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit into Galilee: and there went out a fame of him through all the region round about.¹⁵ And he taught in their synagogues, being glorified of all.¹⁶ And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up: and, as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and stood up for to read.
¹⁷ And there was delivered unto him the book of the prophet Esaias. And when he had opened the book, he found the place where it was written,¹⁸ The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised,¹⁹ To preach the acceptable year of the Lord.²⁰ And he closed the book, and he gave it again to the minister, and sat down. And the eyes of all them that were in the synagogue were fastened on him.²¹ And he began to say unto them, This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears.

Luke 1:1-4; 4:14-21


As for the volunteering, we headed up north to St. Mary's Episcopal church in Mohegan Lake. We, along with 40 other people, made lunch boxes for the homeless. Midnight Run, started by a former homeless man, serves the Manhattan area three times a week bringing them food, clothing, toiletries, and blankets. Having an uncle who has been in and out of the streets for many years has put a soft spot in my heart for the homeless ever since I was a child. So it was fitting to help bring the streets of New York a little happy. 

I love the organization's mission. I am eager to volunteer again. I am even more eager to midnight run down to the city and be face to face with the homeless. I urge you to find a local organization to volunteer with during the year. We are all beyond fortunate to have the basic needs of life. The least we can do is help the less fortunate any way we can.

Midnight Run is a volunteer organization dedicated to finding common ground between the housed and the homeless.

In over 1,000 relief missions per year, Midnight Run volunteers from churches, synagogues, schools and other civic groups distribute food, clothing, blankets and personal care items to the homeless poor on the streets of New York City. The late-night relief efforts create a forum for trust, sharing, understanding and affection. That human exchange, rather than the exchange of goods, is the essence of the Midnight Run mission.

Midnight Run is not a solution to homelessness. Our goal is to forge a bond between housed and homeless people by establishing a foundation of sharing and caring from which solutions may evolve. Through Midnight Run, volunteers come to see the homeless as real people, not a commodity. And homeless men and women learn that many mainstream adults and teenagers have commitments and concerns that go beyond their own lives and families.