First Presbyterian Church members are living God’s love in all kinds of ways. One of them is Beverly Levenson, who is the force behind FPCA’s participation in the food bank. Here’s her story, in her own words.


I joined FPCA soon after relocating to the Lehigh Valley from Pittsburgh back in 2007. Feeling passionate about helping those less fortunate, I became involved on the Local Mission Team and started to volunteer at the Allentown Ecumenical Food Bank about five years ago. It’s Allentown’s only daily food bank, assisting families in need Monday to Friday, and is run by a board of directors. Its work is powered by six part-time employees and approximately 200 volunteers. In 2015, the group asked me to think about


serving on the board, so I agreed to serve as the Food Bank’s vice president. I recently became the president as a result of the tragic loss of our president.


Church members bring food in every Sunday based on needs, which I list in each Sunday’s church bulletin. Middle and high schoolers gather the food from all over the building and bring it to the kitchen. I coordinate volunteers to take it to the Food Bank at Sixth and Chew streets in Allentown each week.


Donations come in from 32 churches around Lehigh County, and each week volunteers from the churches help sort and shelve supplies at the Food Bank, where residents of the county come for food assistance.


SERVE NOW Opportunities to share your gifts of time, talent, and treasure


The LOCAL MISSION TEAM is a busy group. We do a lot, and it is very rewarding for the community and personally. If you feel a strong compassion for people who are struggling in life, please consider getting involved in any of these groups or making a food or monetary donation to the Food Bank. To get involved in local mission, contact Helen or Charlie Underwood at horsedriver@hotmail.com, helenunderwood@hotmail .com, or 610-393-2469.


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QUILTING AND CRAFT GROUP MINISTRY Join this vibrant group of quilters and crafters who produce many beautiful crafts for a variety of ministries. The group meets Wednesday mornings into early afternoon. For more information, contact Emma Rath, 610-434-9247, emmalrath1@gmail.com, or Sandy Meenen, 610-366-1315, smeenen@ptd.net.


For more information on how you can get involved, please contact the church at office@fpcallentown.org.


I am also actively involved in Jerusalem House, an inner-city ministry that works with the poorest of the poor. I help with their food bank and assist in organizing a summer back- to-school supply drive that helped 150 families this year. I have also helped sort through donations for their clothing pantry. I assist Ripple Ministry in Allentown as well. Tey are a Mennonite ministry and operate out of St. Paul’s Lutheran Church at Eighth and Walnut. Tey mainly serve the poor and homeless by providing clothing assistance, worship services, and dinners. Sometimes I volunteer to serve at the Jubilee Breakfasts at Zion’s Reformed United Church of Christ on Hamilton, where individuals come and eat after staying at the Warming Station, a shelter on Martin Luther King Jr. Drive that can house up to 40 people when winter nights turn dangerously cold.


One of my favorite annual projects is coordinating the snack pack drive every February. Snack bags are distributed to various


churches, schools, and organizations that are dealing with people who are less fortunate. We always see a lot of participation from church members during this campaign.


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