What's Happening?
Church of the Nazarene Community Pavilion
When Rev. Elizabeth Criscuolo arrived at Schenectady Church of the Nazarene eight years ago, one of her goals was to help her congregation forge stronger connections with the surrounding community.
She and her parishioners got to know other residents and organizations in Schenectady’s Woodlawn neighborhood, building relationships with Paige Elementary School, the non-profit Northern Rivers and others. They bring popcorn to after-school events, welcome youth from Northern Rivers to their annual trunk-or-treat and host a cookout that’s open to all, among other things.
“It’s really powerful to see the community coming together,” Criscuolo said. “Every little relationship counts, because that’s how we build community.”
Inspired by these new friendships, Schenectady Church of the Nazarene is planning to build a pavilion to bring people together. It will be available for events, celebrations and other gatherings, will have bathrooms and a kitchen and be located behind the church, on a grassy lawn. “As we were connecting with folks, having community events, we kept having to put up these huge pop-up tents,” Criscuolo recalled. “We were like, ‘It would be really nice to have a permanent structure that provides that.’”
Criscuolo and parishioner Joe Koyon were members of the inaugural Creative Changemakers Circle, a leadership development program of The Schenectady Foundation. Through this months-long program, residents transform their bold ideas for community change into actionable plans. For Criscuolo and Koyon, the program offered valuable support and inspiration as they worked toward their goal of making the community pavilion a reality. Through the Creative Changemakers Circle, “I met all of these other people who really believe in the city and who really want to see people flourishing,” Criscuolo said. “It was a group of people supporting each other and cheering each other on. It was a really powerful thing to go through.”
The Schenectady Foundation has awarded Schenectady Church of the Nazarene a $50,000 matching grant for the pavilion. One way to contribute is to visit the church’s farmstand, which is open Sundays from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. and accepts donations toward the pavilion project.
