UMCHP Makes a Difference in a Neighbor's Life

(Photo Courtesy of Community Foundations of the Hudson Valley)

The United Methodist Church of Hyde Park (UMCHP) is a community of worship, friendship, Christian learning, and mission, making a difference through their mission work both globally and locally. For the last twelve years, members of the church have provided funding and a team of volunteers to complete a project on National Rebuilding Day. In 2019, they brought together a team of 24 to help make various improvements to P’ninah’s home in the Town of Poughkeepsie.

Volunteer Coordinator Terry Temple believes in the Rebuilding Together mission of repairing homes, revitalizing communities and rebuilding lives. She enjoys helping out in her home towns, and that’s how everyone at the church feels. Rachel Pearson, a volunteer who helped fix P’ninah’s front steps said “we believe that to be part of the community you have to reach out and help people because that’s what neighbors are for.”

The members of UMCHP have participated in Rebuilding Days long enough (for nearly 20 years) to have witnessed and heard personal stories from many homeowners. “Some people just feel so oppressed by some of the work that needs to be done,” explained Judy Pearson, fellow volunteer and Rachel’s mother, “so to come in one day and transform their house is a wonderful experience to be a part of.” Temple agrees. She says you may be tired at the end of the day, but you feel “a sense of accomplishment that is visible in not only the home, but the eyes of the homeowners.”