Grace Episcopal Church Raises Money to Help Feed Syrian Refugees

On Saturday, February 27, Grace Episcopal Church hosted a benefit concert to raise funds for the World Food Program’s relief effort for refugees and internally displaced people in Syria. Over two hundred people packed the parish hall to enjoy music by local artists Monty Hill, Sisters in Song, Param Sevak Khalsa Shimmel, and the Boston Children’s Theatre Song Choir. Dee Morris, a local Medford historian, and Public Radio International’s The World reporter Matthew Bell shared their insights on the Syrian refugee crisis. Esther Brownsmith headed up a team of dozens of volunteer suez chefs to create a delicious feast of traditional Syrian food such as tabbouleh, hummus, and ma’amoul. The event raised over $6,000 for the World Food Program, including $3,000 raised through the silent auction, headed up by Jeff Pietrantoni.

The Rev. Wendy Miller-Olapade of UCC Sanctuary in West Medford, the Rev. Noah Evans of Grace Episcopal Church, the Venerable Geshela Tenley of the Kurukulla Center for Tibetan Buddhist Studies, and Mr. Muhammad Chowdhury of the Bangladeshi Islamic Society of New England stood together to represent the Medford interfaith communities. They opened the event with prayers from each of their faith traditions.

– Submitted by Grace Episcopal Church