Christmas Stockings

Each Christmas, Christ's Church volunteers cut and sew approximately 100 Christmas stockings, red for the girls and green for the boys.  Parishioners take the stockings and fill them with appropriate gifts for boys and girls and the stockings are distributed to children in need.  Last year, the stockings were distributed to children at St. Peter's Church.

Veterans' Needs

The veterans at the the FDR Veterans Hospital in Montrose, NY have a variety of needs, not the least of which is a visit from a friendly face.  The most important thing we bring them is that friendly face, a strong handshake, and a loud singing voice.  A small group from Christ's Church visits the hospitalized veterans an average of 4 times a year.  We bring a party with us, cake and cookies usually.  We also try to bring some music, a guitar, keyboard, whatever we can, because they love to sing!  We also collect men’s clothing and suitcases, which are distributed by the thrift shop to those veterans who go to Montrose for clothing.  Donations of books and movies are also appreciated.

Dinners @ Noon

Through Helping Hands for the Homeless and Hungry, an interfaith organization that I imagine you are all familiar with and work with, a hot and nutritious meal is served every Saturday at the Carver Center in Port Chester.  Every six weeks, Christ's Church volunteers either prepare the meal or collect the meal from a local hotel, and serve 35 to 50 people a hot lunch.  We also provide a bag full of take-away food, i.e., bread, peanut butter and/or canned tuna fish, to help hungry families throughout the following week.   Parishioners donate main courses, fruit, bread or salad fixings for the meal, as well as tuna and peanut butter for the take-away meals.

Shelter Saturdays

Grace Church Community Center in White Plains runs a 38-bed shelter for homeless men in addition to its various programs to help the poor people of Westchester County.  The shelter also offers overnight accommodations for about 30 additional men at various houses of worship in the County.  Christ's Church hosts this shelter program once a month on a rotating basis on Saturday nights.  Volunteers set up cots in our Parish Hall and provide food for the men and wood for the fireplace in winter.  Volunteers welcome the guests and arrange to have sheets and pillowcases laundered and returned to the Church.

Community Services

St. Peter's Church in Port Chester runs an after school tutoring program which provides a place for local children to go while their parents are still working.  It started with a few volunteers helping a small number of children with their homeworkand grew into a formal program supporting over 35 children.  There are now several paid teachers in addition to the volunteers. 

Christ's Church volunteers also work with St. Peter s to put together the dinners it serves to its needy community each Sunday. 

Prison Ministries

Donations of time and money from Christ's Church parishioners provides many with hope for a future. 

Kairos, a Christian fellowship ministry, works with prison residents on three levels: Kairos Inside supplies volunteers who are graduates of either the Tres Dias or Cursillo programs to give residents 3-day Christian retreats consisting of lectures, prayer and small-table discussions; Kairos Outside ministers to the faithful family members of incarcerated men, providing support and comfort; and Torch helps juveniles get their lives on track.   

Another prison ministry in which several Christ's Church parishioners are involved is Hudson Link for Higher Education in Prison.  This is a program run with Mercy College to offer a college education to inmates of Ossining Penitentiary, also known as Sing Sing.  The primary need is for funds to run and expand the program.

Haiti Business Technology Institute 

In 2000, several members of Christ's Church traveled to Les Cayes, Haiti with a group sponsored by Episcopal Relief and Development (ERD).  What began in 1999 as an idea for a partnership between the Diocse of Haiti and the ERD for a business school soon blossomed into reality.  Thanks to the generosity and selfless involvement of members of Christ's Church, The Bishop Tharpe Business and Technology Institue (BTI) opened in September of 2005, and quickly captured the interest and changed t he lives of hundreds of students.  Over the years, more than a few parishioners have traveled to Haiti to establish a lasting friendship and a life-changing relationship with their Christian brothers and sisters.   The real work begins when these students graduate and begin their careers building the economy of haiti.  Parishioners have been involved in everything from fundraising, planning the school and its building, staffing the school and participating as Board members.  BTI is an example of how contributions of time and money can help people learn to help themselves. 

Youth Group

Christ's Church Youth Group joined forces with a group of teens from St. Peter's in Port Chester to take part in a mission trip to the Dominican Republic.  Bible study and music were the fare for a week of study and laughs among new friends.  A wonderful article written by one of the teens appeared in our monthly Bulletin.   The outreach programs of the Youth Group had its beginning in 2005, when a group traveled to Mexico, where they helped paint a school. For 2008, the group is planning a return trip to the Dominican Republic.  Stay tuned.