MLK Day of Service and Learning held in Owego

On Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, some 50 children and adults participated in a “Day of Service and Learning” at the First Presbyterian Union Church (FPUC), located at 111 Temple St. in Owego, N.Y.  

This year marks the 91st birthday of the late Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. The beloved minister and civil rights activist left the world with an inspirational and enduring legacy.   

To commemorate the day, Girl Scouts from Troop 60959 and Boy Scouts from Troops 38 and 638, along with FPUC members and others from the community gathered together at the church to take on a special service project of making hygiene kits to be used in disaster relief efforts.  

FPUC Pastor, Bruce Gillette, remarked, “This was our second annual MLK Day event and it was a wonderful success,” adding, “184 disaster emergency packets were assembled.”

Each kit assembled contained a hand towel, washcloth, nail clippers and a comb, along with a bath-sized bar soap, toothbrush and adhesive bandages. Church World Service (CWS), a relief agency supported by a number of Christian Churches throughout the U.S., takes on the final distribution of the hygiene kits.

Pastor Gillette explained that FPUC and the community were recipients of similar hygiene kits when Tropical Storm Lee devastated this area in 2011. FPUC is pleased to pay it forward, having spearheaded the project previously via the Presbyterian Women’s Group. Last year it was decided to reach out and invite the community to participate, and Pastor Gillette said he was elated to see a large turnout of various age groups this year.

According to the CWS website, cwskits.org, “[The kits] make all the difference between sickness and health for struggling families,” and are, “Assembled by volunteers and shipped to communities in need all around the world.”

Pastor Gillette also remarked that church volunteers will travel this summer on a mini-mission trip to New Windsor, Md., and where the CWS hub is located. While there, the volunteers will take part in project work and also learn about the vast scope of services that CWS provides, such as disaster response and hunger and displacement outreach.

Following a lunch break at the FPUC event, young people were invited to watch the educational animated film, “Our Friend, Martin,” which featured the Civil Rights Movement, while adults and older youth stayed to watch “Amazing Grace,” a biographical film focused on the campaign against the slave trade in the late-1700’s British Empire.

Linda Jones, a community member who attended the event, noted that the young people were enthusiastic about the film and, regarding the hygiene kits, she observed that the children were able to “put their hands in action and be a part of the effort.”

For more information, you can find the FPUC on Facebook or visit their website, www.owegofpuc.org/.