Welcome to FOCUS Churches! For more than 50 years, FOCUS has created a community called to be a collective voice - and a helping hand - for those in need. FOCUS serves hungry bodies and souls through its feeding programs. The Breakfast Club provides more than 18,000 meals year round and helps connect guests with much-needed services such as housing. The Interfaith Food Pantry located at Emmanuel Baptist Church and the Food Pantry at First Church in Albany offer emergency food supplies to families and individuals. And with each meal FOCUS serves a helping of hospitality. FOCUS also gives voice to critical issues of hunger and homelessness and joins with other organizations to raise awareness of the impacts and needs of those living in poverty.
Our Mission: FOCUS IS SIX COVENANT CHURCHES, FOUR FAITH AFFILIATES, AND TWO FAITH PARTNERS, DOING TOGETHER WHAT WE CANNOT DO ALONE. UNITED IN A COMMON CALLING TO RESPOND TO OUR NEIGHBOR'S NEEDS IN THE CITY OF ALBANY AND BEYOND, AS GOD'S SERVANT PEOPLE IN A BROKEN AND HURTING WORLD.
Our Mission: FOCUS IS SIX COVENANT CHURCHES, FOUR FAITH AFFILIATES, AND TWO FAITH PARTNERS, DOING TOGETHER WHAT WE CANNOT DO ALONE. UNITED IN A COMMON CALLING TO RESPOND TO OUR NEIGHBOR'S NEEDS IN THE CITY OF ALBANY AND BEYOND, AS GOD'S SERVANT PEOPLE IN A BROKEN AND HURTING WORLD.
CELEBRATING TWO FOCUS VOLUNTEERS!
FOCUS volunteers and guests gathered to thank Nancy Ost for more than 35 years of service. Nancy did it all: Food Pantry, Breakfast Program, board member, and the Queen of Compost! (Thanks for keeping us green.) Belinda Quaye receives the last paperwork from Nancy, who will now enjoy more time with family and friends.
For more than three decades, Tom McPheeters has been an integral member of the FOCUS community. After serving as the FOCUS Director (1992-1999), Tom continued serving as a volunteer by offering pastoral care and linking our guests with community organizations. Fred Boehrer (FOCUS Director) and Belinda Quaye (FOCUS Volunteer Coordinator) congratulate Tom on his many years of servant leadership.
For more than three decades, Tom McPheeters has been an integral member of the FOCUS community. After serving as the FOCUS Director (1992-1999), Tom continued serving as a volunteer by offering pastoral care and linking our guests with community organizations. Fred Boehrer (FOCUS Director) and Belinda Quaye (FOCUS Volunteer Coordinator) congratulate Tom on his many years of servant leadership.
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Save the date: Sunday, February 5 at 10:30 amWe look forward to seeing everyone at the annual combined FOCUS Winter Worship. We appreciate First Presbyterian Church for serving as our host with the most. This worship will be both in-person [please bring a mask] and online via Facebook live.
Prior to our worship service, the First Pres Adult Education Hour at 9:15am will be led by a member of their Black History Month Task Force. The bulletin can be downloaded on Friday, February 3, by going to the First Pres website - firstpresalbany.org. There will also be a link for the First Pres Facebook live page. It will be lovely to have a choir composed of our different FOCUS congregations, raising their voices in unison. There will be refreshments in the Assembly Hall after the service. All are welcome! |
FOCUS has tripled our Hot BreakfastsOn January 12th, we served 103 guests at our Breakfast soup kitchen. (One year ago, we averaged just 32 guests per day.) We appreciate volunteers helping us to offer a hot, delicious meal.
Rev. Brigid Beckman, pastor of Unity Church, cooks eggs and hash browns (despite her wearing a mask, you can still see her smile.) Rev. Heather Kirk-Davidoff, pastor of Westminster Presbyterian Church, and Deb Hoffman prepare the best toast this side of the Mississippi. Might you like to volunteer or make a donation to help us keep up with the costs of feeding so many people three mornings a week? To volunteer, contact Belinda Quaye at: belindaq@focuschurches.net To make a secure online donation: please click here . Thanks! |
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FOCUS BREAKFAST CLUB AND INTERFAITH FOOD PANTRY
Hot egg sandwiches, coffee and more! Join us 7 AM - 8:30 AM every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday at Westminster Presbyterian Church, 262 State Street. All are welcome! Local community organizations are here to serve our guests with information about housing, healthcare and job training. The FOCUS Interfaith Food Pantry is open five days a week (Mondays through Fridays) from 10 AM - 12:45 PM. It is located at Emmanuel Baptist Church, 275 State Street. To place an order, please call: 518-443-0460, ext. 1. The First Church in Albany Food Pantry is open Mondays and Wednesdays, 9 AM - 11:30 AM at 110 North Pearl Street. For more information, please call First Church office: 518- 463-4449 |
January 2023 Winter Appeal
It's a busy time at FOCUS! We're offering indoor, sit-down hot breakfast at our soup kitchen. Our Winter Appeal letter (available here) shares how we assist our food-insecure neighbors in downtown Albany. Your donation of money or time will help us to help others. Click here to Donate.
Thanks for your support!
A MESSAGE FROM FOCUS CHURCHES OF ALBANY
BLACK LIVES MATTER
The FOCUS Churches of Albany affirms without equivocation the statement that ”Black Lives Matter.” We proclaim that all people are made in the image of God and are of inherent value. In our desire to dismantle systemic racism, we support the Black Lives Matter movement.
There is a giant BLACK LIVES MATTER sign painted on Lark Street. Perhaps you’ve seen it. It's quite impressive. It was commissioned by "In Our Own Voices" whose offices are on that block of Lark. We had seen reports about this kind of street painting in other cities, but hadn't anticipated such a thing right here in Albany. In any case, it's an important message even though it's shocking that it should need to be said. Our lives have all been turned upside-down in recent months by a new physical disease: COVID 19. It’s been disruptive and reorienting in ways we never anticipated. But we’ve also been reminded that it’s not the only issue we need to face as a national and world society. In recent weeks we’ve been reminded of that much older spiritual and emotional disease: racism. The violent deaths of Amaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, and George Floyd were the final straw for many and the occasion for protests and demonstrations here and abroad. “Black Lives Matter” has been the rallying cry.
These words have become the slogan of the movement for racial equality in recent years and a reminder of the unequal treatment people have received and still receive. They remind us that some lives seem to be valued less than others. That is hard to hear and know and harder still for some to be on the receiving end of. Some people have tried to distract from that difficult reality by arguing that "all lives matter". Of course, they do. It should go without saying and usually does. The fact that anyone feels they have to make that statement as a reminder should resound in all our ears and chasten us. Black lives matter! It's not an argument. It's a statement, a challenge and a calling for everyone to hear and live up to. It's a call to be a respectful and caring community. It's a call to be a good neighbor. Lark Street in Albany is now host to a reminder of the values we espouse. Let's all live up to and into those values together.
Kathy Donley, President
FOCUS Board of Directors.
BLACK LIVES MATTER
The FOCUS Churches of Albany affirms without equivocation the statement that ”Black Lives Matter.” We proclaim that all people are made in the image of God and are of inherent value. In our desire to dismantle systemic racism, we support the Black Lives Matter movement.
There is a giant BLACK LIVES MATTER sign painted on Lark Street. Perhaps you’ve seen it. It's quite impressive. It was commissioned by "In Our Own Voices" whose offices are on that block of Lark. We had seen reports about this kind of street painting in other cities, but hadn't anticipated such a thing right here in Albany. In any case, it's an important message even though it's shocking that it should need to be said. Our lives have all been turned upside-down in recent months by a new physical disease: COVID 19. It’s been disruptive and reorienting in ways we never anticipated. But we’ve also been reminded that it’s not the only issue we need to face as a national and world society. In recent weeks we’ve been reminded of that much older spiritual and emotional disease: racism. The violent deaths of Amaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, and George Floyd were the final straw for many and the occasion for protests and demonstrations here and abroad. “Black Lives Matter” has been the rallying cry.
These words have become the slogan of the movement for racial equality in recent years and a reminder of the unequal treatment people have received and still receive. They remind us that some lives seem to be valued less than others. That is hard to hear and know and harder still for some to be on the receiving end of. Some people have tried to distract from that difficult reality by arguing that "all lives matter". Of course, they do. It should go without saying and usually does. The fact that anyone feels they have to make that statement as a reminder should resound in all our ears and chasten us. Black lives matter! It's not an argument. It's a statement, a challenge and a calling for everyone to hear and live up to. It's a call to be a respectful and caring community. It's a call to be a good neighbor. Lark Street in Albany is now host to a reminder of the values we espouse. Let's all live up to and into those values together.
Kathy Donley, President
FOCUS Board of Directors.