Taking a Break

On a warm day late this spring, volunteers who work at the weekly Coffee and Donuts meetings in Syracuse, New York and a number of guests who drop by the meetings every so often traveled to nearby Willow Bay Park for a day of good food and companionship. The Coffee and Donuts meetings are part of the Franciscan Collaborative Ministries – which see Franciscan sisters, Conventual Franciscan friars and lay people work together to improve the Northside neighborhood of Syracuse.

Members of the Franciscan Collaborative Ministries work to help their brothers and sisters

in the Northside of Syracuse, New York

Several vans full of Coffee and Donuts guests and volunteers left Syracuse in the morning on the day of the picnic. When they arrived at Willow Bay Park, which is on Onondaga Lake, the riders climbed out into a place where under swaying trees and near the tranquility of the water they could distance themselves from their various everyday troubles. As FrancisCorps volunteers made salads and Sister JP Ridgeo barbecued wieners, the Coffee and Donuts guests either talked quietly with one another or walked along the lake shore. Some indulged in fun activities, which included Velcro-ball. After the meal of hot dogs, salads and watermelon, everyone had a chance once again to relax and breathe in good clean fresh air.

The Coffee and Donuts group at Willow Bay Park

Coffee and Donuts meetings take place every Tuesday at 804 North Salina Street in Syracuse, New York and last from 9 am until 11 am. Everyone is welcome to drop by and share in the fraternity. Donuts and coffee are free of charge.

(Source of all related images on webpage and homepage: www.franciscancm.org.)