OFF THE WIRE
With help from an eclectic group of local supporters that includes painters, students, a bike gxxg and Gothic tattoo artists, the Lutheran Church of the Epiphany in Norwood is bringing the holiday spirit to families in need despite its own financial burdens.
Together, this motley crew is spending the next couple of weeks gathering toys for local kids whose families may not be able to afford gifts this holiday season.
The Ching-a-Ling Nomads, a Bronx-based motorcycle club with a storied rep (that includes spitting on their fallen members’ tombstones out of respect), came on board following a conversation between one of its members and Pastor Bob Rainis, the vicar at Epiphany Lutheran.
“He was telling me about how the motorcycle club was trying to get into doing good things in the community,” said Rainis. “It’s a remarkable thing these men and woman are doing in the club to rally a large number of people.”
At a private party this coming weekend, The Ching-a-Lings, a grizzled group of veteran Bronx bikers who were recently featured in the New York Times and have a headquarters in Tremont, will solicit gifts from guests and then transport them up to the church on East 206th Street in Norwood.
Rallying the community is something the Ching-A-Lings have in common with the McNally brothers, a well- respected pair that owns a painting contracting business. They approached Rainis also looking to help contribute gifts.
Due to their good reputation in the neighborhood and community connections, Rainis said the McNallys’ involvement generated “a real ground swelling” of support.
The Coven tattoo shop, on Bainbridge Avenue, just around the corner from Epiphany, is another backer of the church’s mission. They are proudly displaying a drop box for gifts in the front window of their shop.
Other supporters include Fordham University, which runs a tutoring program at the church, and a local DJ who will be mixing at the holiday party where the presents will be distributed.
Rainis asked that the time and date be left undisclosed due to the popularity of the event and out of fears that there will not be enough gifts to go around. That’s what happened last year when more than 75 children and their parents showed up to the annual party.
“We just barely had enough food,” Rainis said.
Epiphany can empathize with needy families’ financial woes. For the first time in 25 years, the church wasn’t able to provide a free Thanksgiving dinner for locals and its three-day-a-week hot meal program has been suspended due to a lack of funding. The traditional hot meal the church provides the day after Christmas, to everyone and anyone “in all stages of sobriety,” Rainis says, has also been cancelled.
A Ching-A-Lings member named Willie said his reasons for supporting the drive were two-fold. “One being that it’s about the kids,” he said. “And two is that it’s a shame to see such a beautiful building fall to such hardships.”
Rainis speaks with confidence when he says the church’s fiscal shortcomings will be ameliorated because, he says, when there is a community behind you, either lending its support or relying on your services, burdens become lifted.
“We had people that came to the church last year on Christmas Eve that said if it hadn’t been for the one or two gifts donated, they wouldn’t have had anything under the tree,” he said. “We will continue to be here.”
http://www.norwoodnews.org/id=5153&story=diverse-crew-steps-in-to-support-bronx-toy-drive-and-church/
