Local church filling community needs in need

Aug. 24—PLATTSBURGH — Trinity Episcopal Church's Community Meal on Thursday was ham, gravy, mashed potatoes, macaroni salad with veggies added, and a surprise dessert.

Every Thursday, the downtown Plattsburgh faith community welcomes everyone from 3 to 5 p.m. for a take-out meal.

To fund this community outreach as well as purchase a new commercial refrigerator, Trinity is hosting a series of fundraisers: a Jumble Sale on Aug. 26, a Pampered Chef Party on Aug. 30, and a British Tea on Sept. 9.

A BRIEF HISTORY

"The Community Meal, when it was started over 20 years ago, it was a group of churches," Martha Bachman, community meal coordinator, said.

"Then when Covid struck, the other churches, just like us, our memberships are getting older and they didn't have the money to do a meal once a month. Basically, Trinity has taken the responsibility. We get some donations through the Interfaith Council and some from churches who used to be part of the group."

The upshot is Trinity receives less money coming from all the different churches.

"So, we need to raise money," she said.

"Our big refrigerator died beyond repair. It's 20-some years old. I think we got it during the Ice Storm, after the Ice Storm (1998) because we had so many people staying in the church."

MORE NEED

The weekly Community Meal attracts far more people than in previous years.

"When we did in-house meals, we used to serve from 75 to 80 maximum," Bachman said.

"Today, we are serving 150, sometimes over 150 each week. I think that's because the extra food stamps have been cut back. Everything is expensive, so more people are coming to get a meal. We have less money, more people, and a big need. So we're doing all these things to try to raise some money. The Cloudsplitter Foundation will match the money that we raise in August. It's a one-to-one match."

JUMBLE SALE

During Saturday's Lake City Arts Festival, the church will hold a Jumble Sale to benefit the Community Meal's future purchase of a commercial freezer.

The Jumble will be held in the Parish Hall at Trinity Church, 18 Trinity Place, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., in Plattsburgh.

Visitors are invited to stop by and sift through a jumble of items including baby and adult clothing, baskets, curtains, coats, diapers, baked treats, and much more.

PAMPERED CHEF PARTY

A Pampered Chef Party will be held in the Trinity Church Parish Hall on Wednesday, Aug. 30 at 2 p.m.

This event is open to members of the community and members of Trinity Church, Friends of Trinity Church, and friends of friends.

Jody Desso, the local Pampered Chef rep, promises a good time with recipes, product demos, snacks, and great conversation.

Bring a friend and enjoy a good social time.

The Cloudsplitter Foundation will match all funds raised at this party as well as all other monies raised during the month of August from all events to support the Community Meal.

This event is open to anyone who has an interest in feeding the community, particularly those in-need.

Items can also be purchased online by going to Trinity Episcopal Church's Facebook page.

The Community Meal is financed only by donations and limited grants. It serves more than 100 people per week with hot take-out meals prepared in the church's Health Department approved kitchen and put together by volunteers.

BRITISH TEA

The Battle of Plattsburgh Commemoration reached out to the church to participate in the event, which will be held Thursday, Sept. 7 through Monday, Sept. 11.

"Would you like to be a part of the Battle of Plattsurgh? Would you like to do something at the church? If you want to do something to raise money for something the church needs, then you can do it," Dorothy Rogers, British Tea co-chair said.

"They just gave an example of a British tea. It piqued the interest of a couple of people in the Vestry, but we weren't sure we would be able to get enough people because that's a pretty big task. I went back to the congregation and both Ann Lynch and Martha had talked in the past about having a tea or something like that at the church. They thought it would be kind of a neat thing. They were onboard right away."

The event organizers have collected 78 tea settings and all the accouterments that go with them: teapots, tiered plates, all the service.

"We have gotten volunteers from the church," Rogers said.

"We've gotten volunteers from outside the church in the community. We have kids through people who are in their 80s that are all willing to help for the preparations for it. So, we are really getting close now. It will be a full-on tea. The tea sandwiches will be authentic recipes for afternoon tea. If you go to a tea house, these are the kind of thing they will serve."

The menu includes: three sandwiches —cucumber, Coronation chicken salad with apricot and mango jam, and ham, cheddar and apple with mustard; two kinds of scone, blueberry and plain, four desserts — a macaroon, a Russian tea cookie, a lemon tart, and a fourth.

"It will all be freshly made for the tea," Rogers said.

"We are trying to be very authentic. If you to a tea house and you order the afternoon tea, that's pretty much what you get. They go out in the kitchen and they make it for you, and they bring it out to the table."

On Saturday, Sept. 9, there will be two seatings, one at 11:30 a.m. and the second at 3:30 p.m.

"We are being very ambitious," she said.

"We are hoping to do two seatings of 78 people. We try to time it so we are in between some of the bigger events. We are after the parade. We're right after a history talk that is in the upstairs in the church sanctuary. We're selling tickets at trinityplattsburgh.org for $21. They can call the church (518-561-2244) or email trinityplattsburgh@icloud.com

Email: rcaudell@pressrepublican.com

Twitter@RobinCaudell