On Saturday, July 20th, 2024, 235 people came out to enjoy a bowl of delicious Coaticook ice cream at the second annual ice cream social, held in the church hall of St. James the Apostle in Stanbridge East.
The event was organised by the parish’s Youth Council, a dedicated group of young people who are committed to bringing about positive social change in our region, with a particular focus on supporting initiatives that help young people and families.
The Youth Council meets to learn together and share skills (including fundraising techniques, event planning, marketing and publicity, and financial management), all while giving back to the community — and having fun too. As a priest, it is so rewarding to be able to empower and equip the younger generation for leadership in the Church and in the world!
Since its inception in 2023, the Youth Council has raised over $6,000 to give back to the community. That is tremendous generosity on behalf of the parish!
Maddison Ingalls, a member of the Youth Council who recently completed CEGEP at John Abbott College and who will begin studying psychology at Concordia this fall, said “Events like the ice cream social are so important to me because my grandmother used to be heavily involved in the community, and this way I feel I can follow in her footsteps and help out the community that raised me. I am so proud to be part of the St. James the Apostle Youth Council!”
Similarly, Gennevieve Baker, the organising chair for this year’s ice cream social and a mother of two young children, reflects that, “I grew up in the Church, but it was only after I had my own kids that I realized how important it was for me, and I wanted to get more involved. As a church it is important for us to be involved in the life of the community; the work of the Youth Council is one way of fulfilling that.”
Bedford Pizzeria (a local restaurant whose unfailing support for the community is outstanding), the well-known Laiterie de Coaticook, and Maison de la Pomme (a local apple processing company) all made donations for the event, and sheet cakes were baked by a team of eager volunteers. All of this helped to ensure that the event had zero organising costs, maximising the event’s fundraising potential.
St. James the Apostle hosted the ice cream social, but several other organisations helped with ticket sales and publicity, including; the Order of the Eastern Star, the Stanbridge East firefighters, the Missisquoi Historical Society, the Royal Canadian Legion, the Town Hall of Stanbridge East, and the United Church in Stanbridge East. The ice cream social is a real community event! It is gratifying to see the wider community getting so involved in the life and outreach of the parish.
The doors of the church were open during the event, allowing the public to take in the beauty of the church’s religious architecture. The red brick building is a unique architectural gem amongst Anglican churches in the Eastern Townships — and, indeed, the rest of Quebec. It is built in the carpenter gothic style: identifying features of this style include steeply pitched roofs and gables, gingerbread ornamentation, and strong vertical design elements.
Fundraising from the Youth Council has benefited several local elementary school breakfast programs; Girl Guides of Canada; the Graham Neil Winter Classic, which provides winter sports equipment to children whose families cannot afford it; le Tremplin, a home for at-risk youth; and Reilly House, a not-for-profit organisation that supports families throughout the Eastern Townships.
There is an old expression attributed to Theodore Roosevelt: People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care. The Church cannot simply talk about loving our neighbour, it has to manifest that love to the world. As a priest, I am proud to be connected to a church that has such a big heart for the community around us!
