Above: Last year, Pilgrim Church’s young congregants enjoyed games and activities at the annual Rally Sunday. This year, its opened to the public with even more fun in store for kids. (photos left by Beth Melo, right cropped from Facebook)
A week from Sunday, Pilgrim Church will kick off its Sunday School season with an event open to the public. The free activities will include a petting zoo and face painting.
The event is part of the Congregational church’s annual Rally Sunday. Anyone interested can join them on Sunday, September 15th at 10:00 am at 15 Common Street. Other fun will include games, prizes, and refreshments.
The event will start in the church’s Sanctuary. (Though I doubt that’s where the animals will be!)
The petting zoo fits in with a special fundraising goal. (There won’t be a fee for admission, but they will be seeking donations.) The church is raising funds for an Ark of Animals for Heifer International.
On Hiefer’s website, they describe one $5,000 “Ark” as covering “two water buffaloes, two cows, two sheep and two goats, along with bees, chicks, rabbits and more.” The animals are provided to one of the communities they support around the world:
from Africa to Asia to the Americas. Wherever we find hunger, poverty and hopelessness, we answer with the animals, training and encouragement provided by your generous animal gifts.
It is intended to help:
- Care for entire communities with milk, eggs, honey and wool
- Provide income by supplying an abundance of goods to sell
- Sustain farming by providing livestock to work the land
- Improve the lives of families for generations by multiplying and Passing on the Gift
Pilgrim asked me to let readers know about the event announcement. That announcement includes more than event details. It is part of an open letter to families in the Boroughs from their pastor, Reverend Charley Eastman.
It includes information on the Sunday School program, relaxed expectations for regularly attending church, the kind of volunteer work they do, and the message:
At Pilgrim Church, we don’t have all the answers, but we’re figuring things out together. . .
We know not everyone has the same idea of what church is anymore, but we’re looking for less judgment and more celebration.
You can read the full letter here.
