Faith in the Public Square

Catholic Charities, in conjunction with the Regional Food Bank of Northeastern New York, is continuing to provide free food to anyone in need at food drops throughout the Capital District. A list of dates and locations is below. Volunteers are also needed to help distribute the food. A typical day begins at  8:15 a.m. and ends around 11:45 a.m. Volunteers can stay for the entire time or contribute less time if that is necessary.   The events are outside so volunteers are advised to dress appropriately.  Food will be packed and placed in the trunks of people’s cars when they drive through.  Volunteers are asked to wear a mask; gloves will be provided.  For further details or to volunteer, contact  volunteer@ccrcd.org     June 1 Montgomery Centro Civico 143 E. Main Street, Amsterdam June 11 Albany Macedonia Baptist Church 26 Wilson Avenue, Albany June 14 Albany Metropolitan New Missionary  105 Second Street, Albany June 17 Montgomery Our Lady o...

On Saturday, May 29, the National Muslim Soup Kitchen Project expects to serve about 2,000 meals, if not more, in the Capital District. One site is at Emmanuel Baptist Church, 275 State Street in Albany. Free to-go meals of chicken, rice, and vegetables will be available from 10 a.m. until 1 p.m. For more information, call 518-443-0460. Food will also be distributed at the South End Children’s Cafe, 25 Warren Street in Albany. The Project seeks to encourage as many groups as possible, including other faith communities in the Capital District to come together once a year to plan and host a soup kitchen in their towns or cities to help those in need. In addition to the Al-Hidaya Center of Latham, this year’s event is being supported by the FOCUS Churches of Albany and the Capital Area Council of Churches. The Muslim Soup Kitchen Project, the community service arm of the Al-Hidaya Muslim Center in Latham, serve meals at several shelters monthly. The national Project has since spread t...

Albany’s  CROP Hunger Walk, organized by the Capital Area Council of Churches, celebrated 40 years of walking to end hunger on Sunday with a virtual Opening Ceremony via Zoom.  The  walk is now named for the late Rev. John U. Miller, who was active in the Council for many years.  You can watch the ceremony  here . Among those participating were Honorary Chairperson Christina Arangio, News10ABC anchor; Adam Smedberg, Community Events Specialist for Church World Services; Ruth Pelham of Music Mobile fame; Bruce France, Executive Director of the Council; and long-time Committee Chairperson Kitt Jackson.     There is still time to register on-line, join a team, or donate. Just visit the Council website here . Or, you can call the Council office with any questions at 518-462-5450.

Today is the fourth and final day of the 2001 virtual Ecumenical Advocacy Days, the time when participants contact their legislators to advocate for issues on which the event is focused. The theme of this year’s gathering is “Imagine! God’s Earth and People Restored.” The website offers this perspective on the issues of concern: As people of faith we call on Congress to act urgently and decisively on climate justice by addressing the intersection of climate change, economic justice, gender justice and racial equity: * Enact infrastructure and energy legislation that will promote climate, economic, gender and racial justice to accelerate the transition to a clean energy economy and commit to net-zero climate pollution in electricity by 2035 and economy-wide by 2050. * Provide funding for multilateral and bilateral environmental accounts for FY2022, including $2 billion for the Green Climate Fund, focusing on funding for the most impacted countries and communities, in many cases burdene...

Tomorrow, April 7, is the deadline for early-bird registration for this year’s Ecumenical Advocacy Days. This year’s event, usually held in the nation’s Capital, will be a virtual gathering to be held April 18-21. The early-bird fee is just $25.  The 2021 theme is “Imagine! God’s Earth and People Restored.”   Here is some information from the website:  Ecumenical Advocacy Days is a movement of the ecumenical Christian community, and its recognized partners and allies, grounded in biblical witness and our shared traditions of justice, peace and the integrity of creation. Our goal, through worship, theological reflection and opportunities for learning and witness, is to strengthen our Christian voice and to mobilize for advocacy on a wide variety of U.S. domestic and international policy issues.   EAD 2021 is an opportunity to support this global movement centered on and led by the people and communities most vulnerable to climate impacts due to historic racial and c...

United Tenants of Albany (UTA), will be host a virtual film screening the new documentary film A Second Wave: Housing During the COVID Pandemic by local filmmaker Kristen Kopper on Thursday, April 8 at 7p.m. According to the news release, the film reveals the devastating housing insecurities suffered by tenants during COVD-19. “Impacted tenants share their personal stories of housing and economic insecurity experienced in the midst of the pandemic in this documentary. The film also follows the statewide housing justice advocacy effort to win an eviction moratorium in New York State.”   There will be a live Q&A with the filmmaker after the showing.  You can watch the film trailer here .   Admission is free but donations will be accepted. Contributions help UTA in its work of providing: -        -  Housing Hotline; -         - Tenant counseling, including counseling for tenants facing building foreclosure;   -   ...

Catholic Charities has released its food distribution schedule for the month of April which can be  downloaded here  or found below. Please note the varying start times for all April dates.    Volunteers are needed  to assist in the packaging and distribution of food. Volunteers are asked to arrive at 8:15 am for morning distributions. These food distributions, or “drive-thru pantries,” are a part of Catholic Charities’ mobile outreach initiative, CC MOVE, an effort to provide supplemental food in areas with limited access to services at time when many are struggling. Food items provided by the Regional Food Bank will be pre-packaged by volunteers from partnering organizations. Distributions are open to the public and no pre-registration is required. There will be two distribution lines: a drive-through line and a walk-in line. Due to traffic concerns, guests are asked to not to arrive prior to the start time. April 1  Italian Community Center ,   1450...