Brrrrrrrr! What a cold Monday to serve our Community Free Lunch this week!  We distributed 210 lunches to families and individuals who braved the chilly winds.  Despite the cold temps, smiles were warm, hearts were grateful, and bellies were filled with hot soup, fresh fruit, homemade cake, and a few other items.  We hope Dr. Martin Luther King would be proud of our service to others on his memorial day.

The kitchen crew certainly got into the spirit of giving as you can see in a video posted on our church Facebook page.  Scott played some background music for us as we were working, and our joy just could not be contained!  The volunteer team was happy to welcome back a few familiar faces, and we could certainly feel God’s love among us as we worked together to help our local community.

Thank you to all who helped make our Free Lunch mission possible this month. We are grateful to Don and June Hinkle, the Carlson Family, our regular monthly donors, and the volunteer team. Food insecurity is a real challenge to many families, right here in our community. Thank you to all for helping us fight hunger. . Enjoy some pics of our Free Community Lunch January mission on our church Facebook page if you have the opportunity.

Mission committee December updates:

Happy holidays everyone! Your Mission Committee and church volunteers have had a busy month so far, and we are grateful and filled with love to serve God through serving others.

On December 3rd, we filled 52 gift bags for the Northampton Food Bank. Generous givers donated small and useful gifts to brighten the holidays for Food Bank patrons in Northampton. Don and I delivered these beautiful bags on a snowy, December 6 morning. Thank you to all who helped us share God’s love with our expanded community.

On Friday, December 8, we held our monthly Food Drive for the Catasauqua Food Bank and collected a truck full of donations and $60 in cash donations. Overall, 12 donors contributed to our monthly haul. We were pleased to welcome new and old friends at this drive-through event.

On Monday, December 18, our Free Community Lunch volunteers prepared and distributed 225 lunches to individuals and families in our local area. We experienced our first rainy opening of lunch distribution, though the skies cleared shortly after - way ahead of when the forecasters predicted..hmmmmm. We shared food, warm scarves, smiles, encouragement and God’s love - a beautiful day indeed. Food insecurity is real across the country, as well as here in our Lehigh Valley, and we are incredibly grateful to all who help sustain this mission. When we resurrected our monthly Free Lunch project in May of 2021, we had no idea how this mission would grow. Every month after the lunch, we share a sense of awe and gratitude to our Lord for enabling us to keep moving forward with our service to others. Thank you God.

If you have an opportunity, check out the accompanying pics of all three December Missions on our church Facebook page, and always remember, God loves you, and so do we, here at the little Presbyterian Church of Catasauqua.

From your Mission Committee:

We’ve had a busy September with our missions! Our September 8th Food Drive closed up another successful monthly campaign! We welcomed 8 more donors, loaded the back of Kenny’s truck with non-perishables, and collected $120 in cash donations! All items were delivered promptly to the Catasauqua Food Bank. 

On Monday, September 18, the Free Community Lunch volunteers prepared, packed, and distributed 216 lunches to local individuals and families who greatly appreciated the helping hand. With every lunch bag, we not only shared food, but we also shared smiles, warm conversations, friendship, support, and God’s love.

“And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love, lives in God, and God in them.” 1 John 4:16

Love and comfort to you and yours. Thank you to all who help to make our Free Lunch mission possible.

Happy National Pretzel Day!

Our Presbyterian Church volunteers and friends traveled to Fellowship Manor today in Whitehall to celebrate the holiday with the residents! We brought along soft pretzels , John Stephens the accordion player, and Bingo prizes! What a fun afternoon!

John has played at Musikfest for 22 years and looking forward to 2023’s show on August 6. He was SO entertaining; the residents had a super fun time clapping, singing, and responding to his familiar songs. Seriously, who doesn’t enjoy a great polka? We had so much fun! Thank you for a great show John!

After we listened to our live music and served everyone soft pretzels and root beer, we commenced on to our rousing Bingo games. Our Bingo games were called by our own Dr. Lori Proctor, and Gloria rolled the prize cart around for winners to select their treats. Everyone left with at least one prize!

A huge thank you to our volunteers, our pretzel benefactor, and the many folks who donated Bingo prizes.  We love taking our missions on the road.  If you can check out the pics and videos of our event on our church Facebook page.

God is good. 

From your Mission Committee:

Woo HOO! What a beautiful day for volunteering and helping to battle food insecurity in our community! Today, on Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, 21 volunteers provided 203 hot takeout lunches to local families and individuals. Smiles, thank-you’s, loving conversations, sunshine, and warm exchanges highlighted our Free Community Lunch mission. We are all so blessed to serve and support our community.

Along with remembering the life and work of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. today, we also paid homage to the memory of longtime church members Bill and Eleanor Deibert. They were dedicated volunteers for many church and local projects, and their legacy helped make today’s Free Lunch possible. Their loving and compassionate work continues, even from Heaven. 

Our congregants and friends continue to donate faithfully to this mission, and we are profoundly grateful for the generous outpourings of time, talents, and resources. Thank you to all, and remember to always pay your kindness forward. Make someone’s day… every day. 

Love and comfort to you and yours,
Your Mission Committee and Free Lunch volunteers

Join us in the sanctuary on December 24 7:30PM for our beautiful candlelight service . . .all are welcome

From your Mission Committee:

Happy Fall!

The 20 Free Lunch volunteers were busy this past Monday, lovingly serving 159 meals to folks in our community who could use a helping hand. Undeniably, many families in our area have difficulties with the current high prices of food, gas, and shelter, and this one free meal for members of a household can help ease a monthly budget. Food insecurity is, unfortunately, a reality for many. We were blessed with two businesses who stepped up to help us in September; BJ’s Wholesale Club and Alvin H. Butz, Inc. both contributed to subsidize our food and take-out supply purchases. We certainly thank them both for their compassionate donations to this project.

Jesus said to Peter, three separate times, “Feed my lambs.” “Tend my sheep.” “Feed my sheep.” God desires us to be people who live in service of others, and our congregants and friends try to honor God’s love of humanity every day. The Mission Committee is overwhelmed with gratitude at the outpouring of time, talents, and resources we have received for the September Free Lunch. The monetary donations from church and community members alike have been generously breathtaking. THANK YOU. Our monthly Free Lunch mission is a beautiful example of people helping one another, and we, our Church Family, are blessed to coordinate and offer this project.

If you can, check out the attached pics on our church Facebook page, and you will see the joy in the faces and hearts of the Lunch Crew as well as the folks who come for a meal. We have formed new friendships over the past year with this mission, and every month we greet new people too. We offer a meal, smiles, support, and love. Next Free Lunch - October 17.

Thursday morning Prayer and Bible study group having lunch at the Coplay Eatery. It's been three years since we’ve done this!

From your Mission Committee:

Our September 9 Food Drive was visited by 9 donors, who filled Kenny’s truck with non-perishable food contributions. We also gave our Catasauqua Food Bank a collected cash donation, offered by generous givers. The weather was gorgeous and our volunteers enjoyed the conversations with folks who stopped by. We shared donuts, smiles, and God’s Grace, all while combatting food insecurity in our local neighborhoods. Thank you to all who support this ongoing mission - we are blessed to serve.