Generosity Stories

Generosity of Heart Brings Healing and Hope …

Generosity comes in many forms, including the generosity of heart extended by the MPC congregation to the friends and strangers alike who enter our doors. One person who has benefited from that generosity is William Salomon (pictured at left – first person from the left, along with Beth Smith and Doug Sensabaugh).
It is a joy for William to lift his voice in song each Sunday as a member of the MPC choir, which he joined in early 2025. But in his 78 years, life has often left him without a song in his heart.
William was born and raised in Santiago, Chile. His high school and college education came through the Chilean Air Force Academy. After graduation, he spent 15 years as a Chilean Air Force pilot, fighting socialism and communism amidst unrest in his country, and achieving a final rank of captain.
Flying was in his soul; after his military service, he earned his commercial pilot’s license and held civilian jobs as a flight instructor before immigrating to the U.S., following his father, mother and two younger sisters, in the 1970s. He became a naturalized citizen in 1976. After moving to the Valley for his wife’s job, he worked as a flight instructor in New Market and Weyers Cave. For a short time, he also flew agricultural assignments on the West Coast for Dynamic Aviation, an international aviation and aerospace company headquartered in Bridgewater.
William’s dream was to become an airline pilot. Time and time again, however, that dream took a backseat to family demands and priorities, and he finally gave up flying. Unfortunate twists and turns of life, including two failed marriages, left him despondent. He was raised in the Catholic church, and his deep faith in God kept him moving through the fog of his existence.
He had attended MPC with his second wife in the 1980s, having been invited by a friend from work. A move to Florida for his wife’s job took him away for several decades, but they eventually moved back to the Valley. Then, in early 2025, after 42 years of marriage, his wife asked for a divorce. At the same time, he lost his job because he worked with her. He was broken.
“At that moment, I said, ‘I need God.’ And I came here” to MPC, he shared through tears. When he returned, he found the same love and acceptance he’d experienced at the church decades earlier. Some of the faces had changed, but the welcoming spirit was the same.
William had always loved music, both singing and playing piano, and was uplifted by the sounds of the Chancel Choir. One day he asked his new friend and choir member Doug Sensabaugh how he might get involved with the choir. In short order, his robust tenor voice was joining in.
Today William again has a song in his heart. Within the MPC community he has found strength and peace, as well as hope that his spirit will heal, in spite of the challenges he continues to face. With that in mind, he lifts his voice each Sunday in joy and thanksgiving, paying forward the generosity of heart that was extended to him.
“God is great to me!” he proclaims. “I have found a home here.”

Finding a “Village” of One’s Own … Jennifer Coffelt joined MPC after experiencing MPC’s generosity of spirit–“the community within this church that was so welcoming to me and my girls,” she explains.

What really sealed the deal, though, was the involvement of her two young daughters, Emily and Brooke, in the Faith Village Sunday School program. Those daughters, whom she shares with husband Jason, are now 25 and 30, and Jennifer is the lead teacher for Faith Village.

“Faith Village is a wonderful opportunity to invite children to gather to learn and explore the scripture, and make it come to life for them,” she says.

Faith Village, for children in grades K-5, immerses kids in the Bible through scripture, song, play and prayer. And it really is a village in the church basement consisting of multiple rooms, including a marketplace, synagogue, carpenter’s bench, inn, and amphitheater. “We even have a well!” Jennifer notes.

Several decades ago, Jennifer explains, a group of teachers in the church developed the Faith Village concept and curriculum. Now, Children and Youth Program Director Hannah Altman creates the three-week education modules, which rotate throughout the program year and follow a yearly theme. Jennifer or another teacher, with the help of an adult assistant, or shepherd, brings them to life. Her daughter Emily now serves as one of the shepherds.

The Faith Village program runs September through May. Currently, about 10 children attend each week. The 2026 program theme is ‘God Gives Us an Identity.’ “We rotate through scriptures that reflect how God gives us an identity,” Jennifer says. “We remind the kids that they are children of God, loved and made in God’s image. We are part of a family called the church.”

The Marketplace is a gathering area where the children begin and end each session. “This is where we do our ‘heart verse’ and pray,” she explains. The heart verse supports the theme of the current three-week module. For example, the most recent prayer is based on Matthew 22:39, “…You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”

The kids also create individual “prayer rocks” that help them remember their prayer. “I made them with Emily and then with (granddaughter) Audriana,” Jennifer says.

And, the village is growing! In September 2025, a middle school group for 5th and 6th graders, led by David Allen, was launched to meet age-related learning differences and extend the program’s reach. It’s going very well, Jennifer notes.

Faith Village is, to Jennifer, a very special place where God’s love is felt and shared—just like the generous love that led her to join MPC.

“I love creating relationships with these kids, and teaching them about the love found in this church,” she says. “Teaching them that God is ‘the living water’ and His promise gives us hope and joy. These Bible stories never change! My hope is when these kids are asked someday to help in their churches, they will remember our time together in the Marketplace.

Keeping School Children Nourished and Ready to Learn … As school nurse at South River Elementary School in Grottoes, Jan Alexander saw many students who faced challenges getting enough nutritious food to eat. Though Rockingham County Schools offer free weekday breakfast and lunch to all students, weekends were a different story.

Jan, who retired in 2025 after 25 years at South River, coordinated the school’s food assistance program for students. She notes a particular need among students living with their grandparents or great-grandparents, whose only monthly income may be a single Social Security check. Often that income is severely stretched when they add the costs of raising children to their budget. “We had an 84-year-old great-grandmother who was raising three kids,” she says. “You’d be surprised how many folks in the 60s, 70s and 80s are raising young children.”

Blessings in a Bag provides a weekend’s worth of nutritious snacks and easy-to-prepare meals, such as soups and pastas, for every child whose parent or guardian completes a paperwork request at the beginning of the school year. In 2025, Jan says, between 30 and 60 students received a food bag each week. Numbers fluctuate throughout the school year as students come and go, but the opportunity exists for every student.

“The food bags are such a great mission to our school,” she says. “If there is a food shortage at home, the kids at least have the food bags to help with the weekend hunger. You can learn better with a full tummy.”

Joanne (not her real name), 58, was a practicing registered nurse before experiencing a mental breakdown at age 36.

The breakdown, she explains, was brought about by flashbacks of physical abuse she suffered from her stepfather and, later, her husband. She was diagnosed with PTSD, which left her unable to work. In addition to ongoing mental health concerns, she is plagued by physical health problems, including prediabetes and heart issues.

Joanne learned about the MPC Food Pantry through Rockingham County Social Services and has been using it for several years. With her only income being from disability payments, she relies on local food pantries like MPC’s to feed herself and the six others in her household, including four children.

“It’s great you do this for people because, for some, this is all they have,” she says. “If we didn’t have the food pantry, we’d have to go without. This is the only way we can keep going.”

In spite of the challenges she faces every day, Joanne is grateful for what she has, and for the kindness and generosity of those who can help provide the food she needs to nourish her family. “The Lord has blessed me well,” she says. “I thank God every day!”

Bonnie, 67, and her husband Wayne, 54 (not their real names), have been coming to the MPC Food Pantry for several years. They have limited incomes and sought out the food bank to help fill a crucial gap.

Bonnie sustained a back injury in 2011 while working as a private duty nurse and became unable to work. She was on disability until she turned 65 and was able to receive Social Security. Wayne has a bad back and liver disease and is on disability because, he, too, is unable to work. Both have medications and medical bills to pay for, in addition to housing, utilities and food.

“It is hard paying the bills and getting groceries that we need and stuff, especially with the cost of everything,” says Wayne. “It can be hard to make ends meet.”

The MPC Food Pantry enables Bonnie and Wayne to stretch their limited income while giving them nutritious foods to maintain their health, and one less thing to worry about.
“We are extremely grateful for you all and what you all do for us,” says Bonnie.

Elena and Carlos (not their real names), both in their 50s, moved to the U.S. in 2005 from El Salvador. Carlos does farm work and Elena milks cows for a local dairy. They live with their daughter and three grandchildren under the age of 11.

Farm work is all the couple has ever known, and the work isn’t always steady; nor does it pay well. “We don’t have a lot of money to buy food…but we need to feed the baby,” Elena says.
They learned about the MPC Food Pantry through a friend and are now regular clients. It’s a relief to the couple to know they can feed their children even though their financial resources are slim.

Elena’s English is broken, but her face lights up when asked what she would say to MPC members about what the food pantry means to her family: “Bueno! I say thank you!”

Carla, 33, and her husband Michael, 34, (not their real names) moved to the U.S. from El Salvador nine years ago. Carla works three days a week at a merchandise distribution center and Michael has a part-time job as well.

When they first started coming to the MPC Food Pantry, Carla was pregnant with their third child, who is now two years old. After she had the baby, she was unable to work for a period of time. Paying the bills and buying food, as well as diapers and formula for their new baby, on one small income was nearly impossible; the food pantry helped keep the family fed.

Carla is back at work, but still, with two part-time incomes, the couple relies on the food pantry to help them make ends meet. “Groceries and everything are so expensive,” Carla says. “This is a big help to us. We are very grateful.”

You may not be very familiar with the Massanutten Presbyterian Women (MPW) group, but you’re sure to know about some of the work they do. Their initiatives over the past year included:

• partnering with Church World Service to raise funds to purchase blankets for disaster victims;
• supporting the youth Baja mission trip by sewing/collecting curtains for the homes the youth help build;
• conducting a church drive for personal hygiene items for the Salvation Army’s Santa Bags it presents to needy senior citizens; and
• promoting and donating to the Sunnyside Retirement Community “Links of Love” fund, which helps Sunnyside residents who have “outlived” their personal finances.

And there’s lots more, like sending Christmas/gift cards to the church family’s college students, and delivering Christmas plants to our older members who are unable to leave home. MPW typically supports 10-12 projects each year, often appealing to the congregation for support.

In supporting humanitarian efforts locally and worldwide, these women serve as the hands and feet of Christ in the world, as described on the website of Presbyterian Women Inc. (presbyterianwomen.org).
“We do what women do best, which is loving and serving the people around us,” says Gayle Allen, current Moderator of MPW.

In August, the beginning of each program year, MPW’s governing group identifies projects to support for the coming year. Major local and foreign projects are chosen. For 2026, the local project is Isaiah 117 House, and the foreign project is Heifer International.

About 40 Massanutten Presbyterian women gather in three “Circles” each month, on different days of the week, for Bible study, prayer and fellowship. Forming relationships is an important part of MPW, says Melody Branner, local missions coordinator. “The circles provide a good way to meet and get to know other women in the church that I might not normally get to talk to.”

Melody adds that the generosity of the church family makes MPW’s outreach successful. For example, donations for the Santa Bags project each year fill up the backseat and trunk of her Honda sedan when she delivers them to the Salvation Army. She estimates the monetary value of these donations to be upward of $1,000. “Some seniors on fixed incomes may neglect hygiene because of the expense,” she notes. “This project lets them know they are not forgotten and they are still important.”

Foreign missions coordinator Marilyn Alley adds that the recent blanket drive for Church World Service received more than $1,700 in donations—funds that will go a long way in helping those in dire need—who sometimes have lost everything. “There is always so much that needs to be done,” she says. “And there is so much we can do, together.”

In May, MPW will hold its annual Birthday Party in the Fellowship Hall, providing an opportunity to learn more about the group and a chance to hear about Isaiah 117 House from a representative of that organization. Watch for more information.