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To the Editor:
Altamont Reformed Church is participating with Church World Service in supporting this year’s “Blankets +” program, with a special campaign period that kicks off this Sunday, Feb. 10, and runs through Sunday, March 10.
The church, located at 129 Lincoln Ave. in Altamont, has announced that its annual “Blanket Sunday Breakfast” will be held in its Fellowship Hall from 9 to 10 a.m. on Feb. 10. The breakfast is sponsored by the church’s Benevolence Committee, and is open to the public. It will include an explanation of how past and present donations have made a tremendous difference to people in need, both in the United States and worldwide.
Altamont Reformed Church has supported the Blankets + campaign every year since the mid-1980s, and in that period has raised $25,318 in support of Church World Service. That total translates into over 5,135 blankets; the money raised not only provides blankets, tents, water, and food for natural disaster relief, but also supports loan funds, tools, and seeds, so that impoverished communities might have hope to build more sustainable lives.
This year, Church World Service is focusing its efforts on relief aid for victims of Hurricane Sandy, both in the United States and Cuba. In recent years, the campaign has assisted in rebuilding efforts in earthquake-stricken Haiti and Japan, as well as with the ongoing need to build sustainable communities in rural Africa, southeast Asia, and eastern Europe.
This year, the church’s Benevolence Committee has set an ambitious goal of raising $1,500 in donations. Each Sunday, from Feb. 10 through March 10, those in worship will “purchase” hearts in honor of someone, or in remembrance of a loved one. Each paper heart represents a $5 donation, and eventually the “purchased” hearts fill a larger, heart-shaped poster hanging on the sanctuary’s wall.
Everyone in the wider-Altamont community is invited to attend this Sunday’s “Blanket Sunday Breakfast”; there is no cost to attend. Come and enjoy the fellowship and good food. (Kindly call the church at 861-8711 to note your plans to attend, so that adequate seating can be arranged.)
Everyone is also warmly welcomed to remain for the regular 10:30-to-11:30 a.m. worship hour that will follow the breakfast gathering. During that worship service, more information about the work of Church World Service will be shared.
Greg Goutos
Member of
the Benevolence Committee
Altamont Reformed Church