On Saturday, October 26th, on a beautiful, crisp fall morning, volunteers arrived at 8:30 a.m. for the annual Winter Giveaway at St. John’s United Methodist Church in Bridgeton, New Jersey. Despite the early hour, cars were already lined up, some having secured their place over an hour before. Located in the county with the lowest income per capita in the state, there is significant need in the community, and St. John’s takes the initiative to assist in every way they can.
Volunteers were incredibly helpful and welcoming to everyone, displaying both compassion and excitement in the opportunity to care for others.
The United Methodist Church is a major partner to the Nanticoke Lenni-Lenape Tribe, the largest American Indian Tribe in New Jersey. Cynthia Mosley, Co-chair of the Committee on Native American Ministries (CoNAM), has been leading the charge to help those in need, both in their Native American community, as well as the diverse population in the surrounding area. This is a rural farming community,” Cynthia said. “The families in that community know what each other needs, and they support each other.”
Cynthia works closely with Barbara Revere, Co-chair of CoNAM in Eastern Pennsylvania, as well as a long list of volunteers who give
of themselves for the sake of others. Many volunteers came out last Saturday for this year’s Winter Giveaway initiative, providing winter clothes—coats, hats, gloves, scarves, sweaters, boots, etc.—all free of charge.
In addition, they provide diapers and women’s sanitary products because they are so expensive and very necessary for women to be productive in the world. “One can’t stay home from school or work because of their monthly circumstances,” as Cynthia put it. St. John’s makes sure women have these basic needs covered.
They also have a produce wagon that becomes a produce stand during these giveaways. Local farmers donate vegetables to the cause, and they are gone almost as quickly as they appear. Cynthia is a registered dietician who truly understands the importance of healthy eating and how expensive it is to do so. This is one way in which she uses her expertise to help others live healthier lives.
The next step is to acquire a walk-in refrigerator for outdoors so they can keep more fresh food on hand to distribute. St. John’s has secured the money for the refrigeration unit through a grant from the Community Food Bank of New Jersey, but they are still raising money for the insulation pad it needs to sit on to function properly.
These wonderfully giving people never rest; they continue to accept and distribute donations for those in need this winter and have already begun taking donations for the summer giveaway, which will take place from May through September.
The spirit of St. John’s is epitomized by a tree that grows on their land, which is an offshoot of the tree where William Penn signed the treaty with the Native Americans. It was planted “to honor the promise of peace and friendship” on the land, and this is something these volunteers live every day. Cynthia reiterated the sentiment that she shared at the bishop’s installation ceremony. “We belong to the land, but we are more than just connected. We are all relatives,” she said, “We all have the same Father.”
Retired EPA pastor Robert Coombe added that this is all about “service, community, loving our neighbor—not out of ego but because this is our ministry.”
After the giveaway ended, volunteers gathered to share a meal together in gratitude. Among the spread of deliciously prepared foods was fresh venison provided by the Hunters for Hunger project, which had donated 100 carcasses, already distributed to families in need. Cynthia also prepared a traditional Native American harvest soup called Three Sisters Soup, made with corn, lima beans, and squash.
This dish originated from three plants that exist in a symbiotic ecosystem in which each plant helps the other thrive, as sisters tend to do. The prickly leaves of the squash keep away animals and protect the soil, the corn offers the beans support as they wind their way up the cornstalks, and the beans pull nitrogen from the air and bring it to the soil to benefit all three sisters. This cooperative relationship mirrors how the people of this community work together to help each other.
That sense of cooperation and collaboration extends even beyond the borders created by the natural geography. Volunteers from
EPA’s CoNAM were on hand to help at the giveaway. And when EPA’s CONAM heard that St. John’s needed help funding the installation of their outdoor walk-in refrigerator. They didn’t hesitate. They immediately wrote a check for $1,000 “We are all family.” Says EPA CoNAM co-chair Barbara Revere, “Someone came up with an idea that we really should contribute $1,000. That’s family. That’s what we do.”
“That’s family, that’s what we do.” The members of St. John’s Bridgeton embody that same spirit as they serve the community of Bridgeton and beyond. The families they serve come from Millville, Vineland, and other neighboring towns. Cynthia Mosely, doesn’t draw lines, she views everyone near-by as part of her community, as she says, “It’s all tribal land.”
Local volunteer Lisa Loteck acknowledged that moving to this area was an eye-opening experience for her. Like many people like her, she hadn’t realized that there were so many people lacking basic necessities. “I don’t think people pay attention. They don’t know. I didn’t know,” Lisa said. “I was in a bubble, and now I’m in a different bubble. And I wish people knew.”
When asked what she wants people to know, Cynthia Mosley repeated the words she said to me when I asked her that same question exactly two years ago: “We are still here.” And they are still here—still helping others in every way they can and still hoping to not be forgotten. As she said, “We are all relatives. We have the same Father.” And it’s in this type of ministry that we honor that.
If you would like to donate your time, money, or resources to St. John’s United Methodist Church and their many initiatives, please contact Cynthia Mosley by phone at 856-332-5352 or by email at cmosley19@hotmail.com.