As the COVID-19 rages on, pastors in the Diocese of Brooklyn are coming up with ways to keep their churches financially afloat during the pandemic when social distancing rules are sharply curtailing attendance at Masses and most revenue streams have been brought to a halt.
Once a month, parishioners from Queen of Angels Church load up two minivans with hundreds of breakfast sandwiches, bagels, soups, coffee, and tea and drives out to several Queens neighborhoods to deliver food to immigrant day laborers.
As the first trimester of the school year comes to a close on Dec. 7, the 69 Catholic schools and academies across Brooklyn and Queens continue to go above and beyond for their communities. Children are still learning the fundamentals, while adhering to health and safety guidelines, through in-person learning or a hybrid learning model.
When a 16-year-old boy asked for Subway Series tickets last year, the Make a Difference Christmas Effort had no idea what they would mean to a family of four.
Lillian Rizzolo, a trustee of St. Michael’s church, said her parish has managed to survive for 150 years because it has always provided a warm, welcoming place for immigrants.
Seven local Catholic high school students are realizing their academic and athletic dreams, thanks to scholarships from the Rising Stars Youth Foundation.
When a family of eight walked through the doors of St. John’s Bread and Life last winter, staff members quickly embraced the “all hands on deck” spirit to help them. The family entered the New York shelter system from a different state with nothing except the vehicle they traveled in.
On Nov. 18, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced New York City public school buildings would temporarily close and move to remote learning the following day. The percentage of citywide positive tests exactly hit three percent that morning, using a seven-day rolling average.
With many people out of work due to the COVID-19 pandemic, families are struggling to put together Thanksgiving meals. But religious organizations are working to supply families with turkeys to make the holiday a happy one despite the economic uncertainty.
For the last 12 years, the Diocese of Brooklyn has been collecting and housing hundreds of religious artifacts from renovated churches and chapels in its own warehouse. One can find century-old stained glass pieces, wooden crucifixes, life-sized statues of saints, and more in the former auto dealership and repair shop space, which was purchased by the Diocese after the Our Lady of Lourdes Parish tragically burnt to the ground in 1975.
