Friday, March 17, 2017

Anniversary Is a Tribute to Poor, Hungry

“Unbelievable!”

That’s how Doris Goff described the sculpture dedicated to the people of Mother Marianne’s West Side Kitchen at St. Joseph and St Patrick Church in Utica.

It was unveiled at the soup kitchen’s 9th anniversary celebration March 12, perched atop an outdoor stone pedestal.

“I mean, it’s Jesus afterall,” Doris said, referring to the sculpture portraying Christ as a homeless beggar.

Sunday, February 12, 2017

Dancing in My Seat

I was dancing in my seat. Swaying to a Latin rhythm. Swooning to a graceful waltz.

The experience had me wanting to jump onto the dance floor. We were watching, or rather, helplessly joining the flow and rhythm of “celebrity” dancers. It was the Good News Center’s 11th annual “Dance the Night Away,” held Feb. 11 at Hart’s Hill Inn in Whitesboro.

The event, which also celebrated the organization’s 25th anniversary, raised money for the non-profit’s ministries, which includes, among other things, healing fractured marriages, giving solace to the grieving divorced and widowed, and providing grants to organizations assisting those in need.

Mother Marianne’s West Side Kitchen is a recipient of one of those grants. After the celebrity dancers performed, and while the four judges were conferring, Good News Executive Director Mike Buckley presented a $1,000 check to the soup kitchen, noting its “good work” in feeding the unemployed, struggling families, and the homeless. As West Side Kitchen’s advisory board chair, I accepted the check on behalf of our volunteers and guests.