The Morning Star Presbyterian Church in Bayville, NJ is our home and base camp for the week. It’s a little like summer camp staying here as we’re all in a big multipurpose room on cots, with the showers down the hall and the kitchen upstairs next to the sanctuary. The congregation is committed to helping its neighbors, as can be seen by the food pantry and their willingness to host a PDA village. There is a committee of congregation members who coordinate and support the volunteers. The evidence of the church’s dedication to helping folks rebuild from Sandy is visible throughout the building, from the blue plastic/pvc rooming dividers to making the sanctuary the room for all meetings so that volunteers can have their own space. The most interesting sign is the painter hats along the entrance hallway that Morning Star has asked visiting groups to decorate. Each one tells the story of the group and the home city, and shows that folks have come here from near and far to pitch in with the recovery effort. We were lucky to have Tobey in our group and she did a great hat for Old Pine and the City of Brotherly Love.
the hat looks SO good!