The Midnight Run
FPCP is a member of The Midnight Run,
a consortium of churches, synagogues, schools,
and other civic groups in greater metropolitan New York
dedicated to finding common ground between the housed and the homeless.
The Midnight Run provides the homeless with some of the bare necessities they need
for survival. Life on the street is cold and dirty, hungry, and lonely. We try to offer some relief. Since 1984, Midnight Run has coordinated hundreds of annual relief missions that attempt to break through the barriers of prejudice and fear.
Donations are the lifeblood of our Midnight Run mission to help the homeless.
Food, toiletries, and gently worn clothing are appreciated, as well as cash contributions.
To support FPCP's next Midnight Run by donating or volunteering,
email 1presbyterian@gmail.com or call the FPCP church office at (845) 265-3220.
To learn more about The Midnight Run consortium, please visit midnightrun.org.
23rd Street: A Reflection on the Midnight Run by Lynn Brown
Leading the group and the caravan on this midnight run, there was a lot of methaphor about “the journey” for me. I was leading the group somewhere we’ve never been before. I was feeling confident in my knowledge of the city, in the research I did about our specific stops. And I was humbled.
There was smooth travel in, down the west side, across town easily on 23rd street, to our first stop under the FDR. At our stop, we were well-received as always, we needed to get ourselves in a rhythm and knowing where things were, a little adjustment to our setup. We had a good size and very grateful group, on what was an absolutely lovely night to be outdoors and visit with them.
Leaving for our second stop – not too far away at Union Square Park, should have been easy from stop 1 to 2, but who knew that the road that had carried us so smoothly across town was one which, getting on that road again, we couldn’t turn off of? 23rd street is a crosstown street and there are no turns off of it! We were back at 8th avenue on the west side before we could get off of that road! Finally, we made it to our stop but our people weren’t there… well, there were many people everywhere, but not those who were expecting us. We introduced some new people to the run, stragglers who were surprised by our presence and our gifts…and very grateful. Teams circled the park and some came but not the numbers expected.
The third and final stop, at Madison Square Park, was, again, not far away – but we couldn’t get there from here! We drove around and around – 23rd street kept coming back in front of us, but I was smarter now – I was NOT getting on 23rd street, a road I couldn’t turn off of, again! Finally, Katie said, “Lynn, you HAVE to be able to turn off of 23rd street there, because Madison Avenue ENDS there! (or BEGINS there?). I got on 23rd street, turned left onto Madison Avenue, and we were there at our stop, our people were there, on the benches, on the sidewalk – everywhere. Our largest group of the night. We almost gave up. We were so close, but couldn’t get right there. We apologized for being late and were told “But you’re here. You didn’t forget us”. And this very large, very needy group was very grateful and received every bit of what we had brought to offer them.
23rd street…the same road that was initially smooth, then holding us so we couldn’t go any other way. Finally, trusting the road once again, it brought us to our final destination. I expect that we all encounter “23rd streets” in different forms. We need to stay with them and be open to how they change, how they take us where we need to go, and we need to TRUST.
