BROOKLYN, New York — More than two decades ago, after standing in lines at a food pantry — and longing to be treated with dignity and respect — Annette Bernard determined that when her situation changed, she would look on God’s children differently.
“I will treat Your people the way that You want them to be treated, as long as I have breath in my lungs,” she prayed.
A few years later when an opportunity opened to work at the Christian Cultural Center food pantry, she did not hesitate. Serving as the co-director of community affairs for the center, she coordinates efforts that feed hundreds of people each week. She spoke of this work Friday, March 4, as food donated by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints arrived at the Christian Cultural Center. The truckload contained nearly 40,000 pounds of donated goods from the Bishops’ Central Storehouse in Salt Lake City.
Video: In response to pandemic-related crisis, Church links arms with Christian Community Center to help New York families
Once on the shelves of the food pantry, the food will be packaged and distributed to help some 700 families a week in New York who continue to be impacted by pandemic-related crises. “We are still helping those in the community who find it difficult to get back to a regular routine of life — some still are not employed, or they’ve left their job, or still homeschooling their children,” Bernard said. “And so they find it difficult to make ends meet with food. And so we’re trying to fill that void for them.”
The Christian Cultural Center is a nondenominational Christian church, with more than 30,000 members, located on 11.5 acres in the Brooklyn borough of New York City.
Elder Quentin L. Cook of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and his wife, Sister Mary G. Cook, visited the Christian Cultural Center — and associated food pantry — as the Church’s food donation arrived on Friday. They were accompanied by Elder Paul V. Johnson of the Presidency of the Seventy; Elder Randall K. Bennett, a General Authority Seventy and president of the North America Northeast Area; and Elder David L. Buckner, an Area Seventy from New York.
Elder Cook also met with the Rev. A.R. Bernard, pastor and founder of Christian Cultural Center — and the father-in-law of Annette Bernard — discussing the importance of those who feel accountable to God linking arms to lift and strengthen society.
The Church and the Christian Cultural Center first connected in 2020, when Latter-day Saints delivered food to more than 200 food pantries in New York to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the First Vision. Friday’s donation is the second delivery.
The Rev. Bernard said the partnership between the two faiths has allowed the center to expand its capacity and feed more people. In 2019, the food pantry served about 25,000 people. In 2020 and 2021, as the needs increased, partnerships with the Church and others allowed the pantry to expand its reach. The pantry now serves 100,000 annually. “We’re going to continue those partnerships and increase that capacity as we come up with new, creative ideas to serve people,” he said.
The Rev. Bernard said the partnership with the Church of Jesus Christ is an example of building bridges.
“It’s about understanding other people’s perspectives,” he said. “If we don’t listen, we don’t get to hear the other perspective.”
Understanding comes as people of faith “discover what we have in common” and link arms to “work toward the common good.”
The religious pluralism of New York does not allow faith communities to live in silos, isolated from each other, he added. “But it calls us to find the commonality necessary to address the needs.”
Years ago, the Rev. Bernard left a 10-year banking career to found the Christian Cultural Center. “The desire for God is written on the heart of every human being,” he said.
The Church of Jesus Christ, said Elder Cook, is engaged with the Christian Community Center in trying to help others.
After surveying the work done at the food pantry, Elder Cook said there is something special about people of faith. “People of faith feel accountable to God. When they do things, it is not for political purposes, it is not necessarily to be seen in a certain light by the community.”
They want to do good things because they are accountable for the way they live their lives, he said. “They want to help their neighbors, they want to be righteous, they want to protect others, they want to watch out for those who are in need of care.”
Even during a time of political divisiveness, Elder Cook said, discouragement is not the answer. “We need to find people who are doing great things and emphasize that and do the best we can. When we do that, much will be accomplished,” he said.
Elder Buckner serves on the city’s Commission of Religious Leaders with the Rev. Bernard. He lauded the Rev. Bernard’s support of New York’s urban population, noting that he is able to get the food into the hands of people who are in great need.
The Christian Community Center partnership with the Church of Jesus Christ has increased both organizations’ ability to respond to their natural desires to help those in need, Elder Buckner said.
