Midnight Run

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So ten of us from the First Presbyterian Church of Yorktown went on the Midnight Run on Friday, September 19th. Three men, three teenage girls, four women. Eight in the the Midnight Run van, two in my little Impreza.  My car had the food, the van had the coffee, clothing, blankets and toiletries. We got into New York City to our first stop around 10 PM and hit our last stop around 1 AM. By then we had distributed around 100 lunch bags of food, 30 toiletry kits and a van full of underwear, socks, jackets, pants, shirts and blankets. My car was nearly empty by the fourth stop; we ran out of toiletries at the third stop.
Back to church to clean out the coffee urn, empty the van of hangers and containers, and get everyone back to their cars.
I got home around 2:30 AM, exhausted and slightly "wired" from the drive and the experience. Truly, there but for the grace of God, my friends...there are many heartbreaking stories on the streets, and we heard some of them last night.
I am truly blessed to be part of a faith community that takes Jesus's words to heart: "Then they also will answer, "Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not take care of you?' Then he will answer them, "Truly I tell you, just as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.' " (Matthew 25:44-45).

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