On November 8th, the Shalom Catholic Community in Brooklyn held a Friendsgiving event in communion with the Catholic Church’s worldwide initiative, the World Day of the Poor. This Friendsgiving celebration was organized as a Festival of Free Things: free clothes, free meals, free gifts, live music, friendship-building activities, nail services, free rosaries, and more. Everything was offered outdoors on 85 North 15th Street, between Greenpoint and Williamsburg. The event gathered around 120 volunteers, who prepared food deliveries throughout Brooklyn, served meals, distributed clothing, and set up all the spaces.
This was the fourth year the Shalom Catholic Community hosted the event in Brooklyn. Over 350 meals were given out, along with 150 pizzas generously made by San Antonio’s Wood Fired Pizza. Coffee, tea, and hot chocolate were also served to everyone who came. Three volunteer groups went to various areas of the borough—including Home Depots and shelters—to bring food to those in need. Birthdays for October and November were celebrated with a large, beautiful cake. More than 1,000 pieces of clothing were donated, and hundreds of brand-new hats, pairs of gloves, and socks were given away. Hundreds of personal hygiene kits were also distributed, along with many other items.
The event was made possible through the help of numerous donors who generously supported it. Local businesses such as Martha’s Bakery, Café Riviera, Nassau Meat Market, Costco, Peter Pan Donuts, and Greenpoint Original Pizza contributed food, while Steeldeck NY Stage Company provided the stage.
Throughout the day, artists from diverse nationalities performed: Peter and Natalia played together as a couple; Kris, a musician from Poland; Chris Amodio; the Shalom Band; Marlena and Damian, who performed a Polish dance; and Daphne, who led everyone in dancing. The atmosphere was filled with joy, music, and celebration as people sat, ate, and shared community.
Inside the church, Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament was held all day long. Hundreds of people came to pray in silent adoration and light a candle.
One of the highlights of the day was the presence of Moyses Azevedo, founder of the Shalom Catholic Community, who visited the Brooklyn mission for this special occasion. The day concluded with him addressing the volunteers and prayer group members, offering a beautiful reflection on “Charity: the Greatest Gift of All.” His words encouraged everyone to continue serving with humility, generosity, and the joy of the Gospel.
Every month, a group of about 15 volunteers comes together to bring 100 bagels, clothing, and personal hygiene items to shelters and various locations around the borough. This ongoing initiative, coordinated by James Keefe, continues to be fruitful and life-changing. If you are reading this article and would like to take part, please reach out to us at: shalomnewyork@comshalom.org.
Ryan Sander, one of the volunteers, shares about his experience
During this year’s Friendsgiving celebration, I was filled with joy. Service has become one of the greatest joys of my life since encountering the risen Jesus. When I serve, I can truly believe myself when I say others are as important to me as I am to myself. By putting their needs before my own, I bring joy to God, and that makes me a “happy third” — someone who puts God first, others second, and himself third.
Last year at this same event, I met a friend I still talk with today. We bonded over a shared love of the guitar and later found one for him after years without. Moments like that bring lasting peace to both giver and receiver. They show that real charity happens at eye level, not out of pity or superiority.
Make no mistake about it though, I am not perfect! Even on this day of service, there were jobs I preferred doing over others, and I took those.. sometimes even perhaps over other, more in-need jobs… Hey, I am only human! Luckily, by God’s grace there were more than enough generous brothers and sisters to cover all of the work that needed to be done, so the day went beautifully. Thanks be to God for their work and patience, the humble reception of help from our friends in need, and of course for the many great graces that came from the Lord that day.
If I may, there is one job in particular that I did do, which I would like to recount. I feel it encapsulates what makes this day such an important one:
For most of the day, I was out driving donations of food, clothes and hygiene kits to brothers and sisters in other areas of the city. I love doing this job! It provides the opportunity to meet new people, hear about their lives, and even make some new friends along the way. It’s the best.
But on one of the trips to other parts of the city this year, I was driving with donations to a location across town where people usually congregate on the street looking for work. On the way, I entered into a deep conversation with a friend who was in the passenger seat. As I was driving and musing on what we were talking about, I saw we were approaching our destination and began pulling over to the side of the road… and pulling a bit too close to the car already parked there.
Yes, I scraped my car up against the side of a parked car! It left this terrible black streak on the bumper of this poor person’s SUV–which was snow white in contrast to my black car. My friend in the passenger seat tried to warn me too as we pulled up, “be careful of this car here!” Even with that, I managed to make a mess of things. So, we got out of the car, and as we assessed the damage, a group of volunteers asked us to come with them to another area–this area was already taken care of, they said. Time was of the essence (no excuse of course!) and we wanted to get to as many places as possible before the end of the day, so we loaded the car back up maybe 1 or 2 minutes after arriving there (and making the scratch!) and headed off to our next spot.
A weight sat on my heart–I didn’t leave a note. And I decided not to leave a note…
I knew this wasn’t right, but I left anyway and went to the next mission location. To our surprise, no one was there! We drove around, looking for some more people to offer our goods, and we couldn’t find them. We went to another location–again, no one there to receive donations! A little confused, we gathered up the remaining donations, packed the car one last time, and headed back to San Damiano.
But as my brothers unloaded the car, I felt the need to go back to that car I scratched. I felt it on my heart–it left a mark on my car, sure, but more importantly on my heart, which isn’t meant to be all scratched up and injured. It’s meant to be healed by the Lord! Knowing this, as I left to park the car post-unloading, I drove instead back to the scratched car. I prayed the car would still be there so I could leave a note and make things right. I pulled up, and there it was… scratch and all!
I took out my notebook, tore out a page, and wrote a note for this person, leaving myself at their mercy: “Hey brother/sister, I hope you are well. Unfortunately, it seems my car slid against the side of your car (the front left) leaving some marks on your bumper. I’m very sorry about that!” I paused for a moment. I prayed to God “Lord, should I tell them about the whole situation? Will they even care about that? This is NYC, no one ‘cares’ here right?” I knew that last question was full of lies. I want to build trust in my community, and so in all honesty, and appealing to God’s grace and this stranger’s mercy, I continued my note: “I volunteer as a missionary here in Brooklyn, and was dropping things off for some brothers on the street here when it happened, actually. To be honest, money is a little tight (when is it not in NYC right??) But know I am happy to pay for your repair regardless. I have insurance of course, and I’ll leave all my info here for you. God bless you and please pray for me and the mission if you do such things!” I gave my insurance info, name, number and email, put it under his windshield wiper, and drove back feeling like the biggest fool in the world! I was now totally at the mercy of a stranger in the “concrete jungle.”
A few hours later during mass, I got a message from a number I didn’t recognize: “Thank you for the note. Don’t worry about the car.”
This, brothers and sisters, is charity. This person gave, expecting nothing in return.
This is the loop of grace seen in action: On a day where I sought to act as the good samaritan, by the grace of God I also received the care of the good samaritan.
This is the beauty of the World Day of the Poor, of San Damiano’s Friendsgiving celebration and all efforts that embrace the virtue of charity: we who give also receive; we who receive are moved to give. Trinitarian love becomes real in our movements toward one another against the cautions of the flesh. We encounter God, and (to make the understatement of the year!) we all have a really, really wonderful day. Here’s to many more! Shalom!
