Christ Church uses remarkably simple equipment to take prayer to the people in southeast Schenectady, New York.
I arrived at the church at 9 a.m. with Torre Bissell and we set up a 4-by-4 folding table with five chairs.
“Put it here,” Torre said, pointing to the crack in the sidewalk that must have been the property line. “That way no one can say we’re on the sidewalk. And point chairs this way, facing out. That way people don’t feel trapped.”
And that was it. A laminated sign reading “Prayer Table” flapped from the front. Torre pulled out a pen and paper and jotted down my name and his and the day’s date. Then he pulled out a bag of wooden crosses and laid out a few along with a thin paperback English Standard Version New Testament.
One can read the “Prayer Table Reports” on Lent and Beyond”
I always enjoy them, a truly inspiring outreach.
Grandmother in SC
Hamilton Hill used to be a decent working class neighborhood until the General Electric Company moved almost all of its manufacturing operations out of Schectady primarily in response to miltant unionism and union intransigence.