Helping to eradicate systemic poverty one Christmas purchase at a time

Third Presbyterian Church in Rochester, New York encourages members to spend generously at area brown- and Black-owned businesses

by Emily Enders Odom | Presbyterian News Service

The Rev. Tedd Pullano shares the initiative with a Third Presbyterian church member, Toni Hopcraft. (Photo by Emily Enders Odom)

ROCHESTER, New York — As far as Third Presbyterian Church’s Anti-Racism Task Force was concerned, the already overcrowded, post-Thanksgiving calendar was missing a critically important date for holiday shoppers.

That oversight was corrected in 2024 when — thanks to the efforts of Beth Laidlaw, Bill Jones, Bob Melech and the Rev. Tedd Pullano — the congregation’s Brown/Black Owned Business Initiative joined the likes of Small Business Saturday and Cyber Monday by getting its own designated calendar square.

“As the Christmas season was approaching this year, we had a Kairos moment,” said Pullano, the church’s associate pastor for Outreach. “Someone on the task force wondered aloud, ‘We are entering the holiday season when people are already going to be spending money on going out to eat, gifts, all kinds of things. What if we created an easy program for our members and friends to make some of those normal holiday purchases at brown/Black-owned businesses?’ And so, after lots of joyful discussion, the initiative was born.”

In introducing the project to the congregation on the first Sunday of Advent, Dec. 1, Melech, a task force member, encouraged church members and friends to each consider directing $100 toward brown/Black-owned businesses in the Greater Rochester area this year.

“Although the team set an ambitious goal of congregational spending totaling $10,000, we felt confident we could achieve the challenge given the church’s resources,” explained Pullano.

And this anti-racism initiative was by no means the congregation’s first.

As part of its Outreach Program, the Matthew 25 congregation created the task force whose purpose is anti-racism education and awareness. After first taking the course developed for NEXT Church by Crossroads Antiracism Organizing & Training, the team undertook their own training program.

“Third Presbyterian has always been concerned about the economic situation of those on the margins and the brown/Black community,” Pullano said. “Over the years we have created initiatives like the nonprofit ‘Third Rochester Enterprise Corporation,’ designed to work on economic issues in our neighborhood. Through both our Outreach Team and our Anti-Racism Task Force, we firmly believe that a major component to [the Matthew 25 focus on] Eradicating Systemic Poverty is directing our money and finances — corporately and individually — into brown/Black-owned businesses. As a result, we have been examining our expenses and looking for ways to choose brown/Black-owned businesses for our corporate expenditures such as printing, hospitality, receptions and more.”

To cleverly “package” the initiative for the congregation, the team researched a list of area businesses and created paper ornaments featuring the names of the businesses with a QR code to scan for further information. The Christmas balls were then placed on a small wooden tree, hand made by a church member, Randy Northrup, for members to pick up as they were leaving worship.

For the time being, Bill Jones’ hair remains white. (Photo by Tina Jones)

“We asked people to report back after their purchases so that the team can keep a running tally,” Pullano said. “We are also asking people to send us pictures of themselves at the establishments, so we can find creative ways to promote the businesses. Also, as an added incentive, team member Bill Jones, after consulting with his spouse, made the offer that if we reach the $10,000, he will dye his thick beautiful white hair an interesting shade of purple to mark the Advent season.”

By the time the sanctuary was empty, because Pullano saw that the tree was beautifully barren, the team immediately set out to create more ornaments for next week.

“This is a great idea,” said Toni Hopcraft as she plucked a paper Christmas ball off the tree. “Maybe I’ll even buy some gift cards, which would make it like a double gift. I donate so that others can also make a difference.”

Because the church is dedicated to helping to eradicate systemic poverty, Pullano and the team know that this initiative won’t be just another square on the calendar but will instead be a year — and a lifelong — commitment.

“The energy of this Matthew 25 congregation to address this critical focus was actualized in a beautiful way,” said Pullano, “bringing new meaning to the Advent candle that signifies love.”