Church

Published by The National Herald, February 25, 2005

St. Paraskevi Church Participates In Interfaith Homeless Initiative

HUNTINGTON – The long table is festive with 30 colorful place settings as though for a party in the church hall. The guests arrive and are warmly welcomed by the Rev. Demetrios Moraitis. More grateful and polite than most, they murmur thanks, gracias. They are 18 men – and one woman – of all ages and origins. They are homeless.

The recent event at Saint Paraskevi Greek Orthodox Church in Greenlawn was part of the Huntington Interfaith Homeless Initiative, a coalition of 26 churches which provides hot meals and warm beds for the homeless.

The effort began with the Family Service League's discovery that people were living in a wooded area in Huntington Station during last winter's bitter cold. In response to an appeal from League Director of Homeless Services Peggy Boyd, the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Huntington offered to help.

Though last winter ended before the effort could get organized, the league was ready this year with five churches that could provide shelter and others offering volunteers to cook, serve and chaperone.

The Huntington churches now average 18 to 20 homeless per night. "We don't know how many are living in abandoned cars or tents in the woods," said Rick Van Dyke, Family Service League executive director.

At St. Paraskevi, in a large gym, men let off steam kicking a soccer ball. "I play goalie – they love to kick the ball at me," said Moraitis, a tall athletic man who grew up in Queens and was a city wrestling champion. The guests are treated with respect, Moraitis said. "They don't enjoy living like this."

After dinner, a volunteer plays the video, "Gone in 60 Seconds," with a Spanish-language track. Later, mats, pillows and Eddie Bauer sleeping bags are rolled out.

After a scrambled egg breakfast at 6 AM, the guests will be dropped off. Some will return Friday night to Bethany Presbyterian in Huntington Station and to Our Lady Queen of Martyrs in Centerport on Saturday.

One of the guests, Leonardo Solano from Costa Rica, is looking for work as a house painter. The others, mostly day laborers, hope to be picked up for a construction job, "but it's quiet now," Solano said.

Newsday published the above on February 15. The original headline is, "Churches Open Doors to Homeless."



Volume 7 Number 9 - Tuesday, March 1st, 2005	A Publication of the ORTHODOX CHRISTIAN LAITY