Pa. singles clean bowling alley, church in day of service

More than 50 young singles participated in the city-wide "Greater Philadelphia Cares" October event by cleaning a bowling alley located in the basement of a an old church in Philadelphia.

The service activity was part of the Susquehanna Branch's annual single adult conference. The members removed piles of wood and debris from the area and cleaned out mud that accumulated when the St. Boniface's Rectory fell into disrepair.

"What impressed me most this morning was the uniform enthusiasm our volunteers had to do service," said Patrick Salemme, co-chair of the Oct. 19 conference. "We started with what could be arguably the worst imaginable conditions and yet there was a quiet and steadfast feeling of resolve. Once we got our arms around the project, it was extremely edifying to see everybody just pull on their gloves and get right to work."

Mark Forsyth, the Susquehanna Branch president, who passed away recently, said at the time that he was very pleased with the young peoples' efforts.

"It was satisfying to see so many young adults get involved in service and remove two Dumpsters' worth of debris from one of the buildings now undergoing renewal."

After the service project, the group continued the conference by hearing an address by Clayton Christensen, who served as an Area Seventy for the North America Northeast Area from 2002 to April 2009.