Our weekly look at just some of the good work being done in the Episcopal Church.
The Boston Globe has a story about a priest with a saucy second vocation:
When Charles Waite Maclin planted six apple trees on his property in Cushing, Maine, hoping for a bountiful harvest, someone must have heard his prayers. Not only were the trees fruitful, they also helped the Episcopal priest and psychotherapist launch Pastor Chuck Orchards. The business, recently named Food Producer of the Year by the Maine Grocers Association, sells organic applesauce ($6 for a 23-ounce jar) and other products made with organic Maine apples.
From The Wisconsin State-Journal
This month marks 11 years since Russ Boushele lost his son in a house fire. It also marks the beginning of Boushele’s slide into despair, drinking, divorce, unemployment and homelessness.
But on Wednesday, he’ll be honored for what he did to pull himself out of homelessness with the help of Porchlight. The Madison nonprofit, which provides housing, food and other assistance to the homeless, will honor Boushele and five others during its annual recognition dinner in Exhibition Hall at the Alliant Energy Center.
Boushele’s son, Michael, 19, saved six people after fire broke out in the house where he was living in Oshkosh, his father said. Firefighters found him 5 feet from the door, a victim of smoke inhalation.
“I remember waking up at night screaming, ‘Why did they take him? He didn’t deserve it,’ ” Boushele, 48, said, seated in the large dining area at Grace Episcopal Church, which he keeps meticulously clean in his job as the building’s sexton, or caretaker.
From The Jersey Journal:
The TD Charitable Foundation has given a Jersey City affordable housing group $75,000.
The Jersey City Episcopal Community Development Corporation was one of 56 groups out of 500 to get a grant. The funding ranged from $10,000 to $100,000.
Carol Mori, executive director of the Jersey City Episcopal Community Development Corporation, said the TD grant will help the organization implement its Neighborhood Stabilization plan which will target some of the Jersey City’s impoverished neighborhoods over the next two to three years.
The Episcopal Church of St. Simon and St. Jude in Irmo, SC — AKA thepumpkinchurch — earned $7,000 from the sale of pumpkins to go towards outreach in the community. Check out the pictures here. This is a great way to elevate your church’s profile in your neighborhood and do some fund raising.
And finally, there are even homeless people in the Hamptons.