Minute for Stewardship

Minute for Stewardship – Christine Alvis

When I think about my faith journey at Pleasantville Presbyterian I reflect on the many moments and people who make our church the special place that it is. Here’s a little history about me:

I grew up in a community in Queens that was predominantly Jewish. My Bronx dad’s family was Jewish; my Brooklyn mom’s family was Catholic. My mom gravitated to the Presbyterian Church with her school friends when she was a young teen, which was not that acceptable to her grandpa. My mom’s maternal grandfather was a Brooklyn Fire Chief and he would watch my mom, while sitting outside in front of the firehouse on Sunday mornings to see her on her way to the Catholic Church. At the corner, she would wave and then go in the opposite direction to the Presbyterian Church! So, as a child I went to Temple with my friends and cousins on Saturday and to Mass on Sunday with my grandparents. My parents ultimately chose to raise my brother and me in the Unitarian Church so as not to hurt either family’s feelings. Needless to say I had a rich and varied theological youth! Lighting the menorah for Hanukkah alongside our Christmas tree was just normal, and something I still honor to this day.

When my husband Bob and I moved to Pleasantville we looked for a church home (he is a lifelong Presbyterian). On that first Sunday morning over 30 years ago as we entered the building, we were warmly greeted by Tom McConnell and Lew McKinney. The following week Tom and Lew shook our hands and remembered us by name. John Sheppard was the pastor and he and his wife Linda made us feel at home. It wasn’t long afterward that I was approached to be Christian Ed chair! I was surprised but was ready to agree, then found out I had to be a member of the church first! So on the day our baby daughter Alicia was baptized, I was too, and Bob and I became official members of our church.

This church gives us many opportunities to be in worship and fellowship with one another. I said yes when I was asked to be an Elder, a Sunday school teacher and chair of Christian Ed. Along the way I joined the Women’s Bible Fellowship, the Chancel Choir and the Handbell Choir, and was chair of Stewardship and Personnel. I have walked with the Ecumenical Crop Walk, made and served food at many church events, attended retreats, sang Christmas carols with the children visiting the sick in the hospital, and led the Preserve our Property Committee to raise funds to replace our beautiful stained glass windows and install solar panels on our roof, all done with joy and love in a community of Christian faithful.

In times of serious illness for both Bob and me, church members supported and surrounded us with love and care, brought meals, and helped with transportation and child care. I remember Pastor Debbie, shortly after she came to PPC, being in our then first-grader Sam’s hospital room before I had even finished registering his admission to Northern Westchester Hospital for an asthma attack.

Pleasantville Presbyterian is a welcoming Christian community providing comfort and support, acceptance, spiritual growth and a wonderful place to share your gifts of time, talent and treasure. It is a special place we can all gather no matter who we are or where we come from. We are all God’s children and we are all welcome here.