Angel in City Park by Headline Books / Zoom Into Books

Jan Thornton Jones

Award-winning author Jan Thornton Jones graduated from West Virginia University with a degree in Elementary Education, a Master’s in Communication Studies, and another Master’s in Early Intervention Special Education. Jan owned and operated a preschool for many years and then taught pre-K through first grade for Wetzel County Schools until retirement. She is the author of Last Letter to Gettysburg, which won a Gold Mom’s Choice Award and Honorable Mentions at the New York and New England Book Festivals. Jan is also a Zoom Into Books author and visits schools. She was a featured author at the 2022 American Library Association (ALA) National Conference in Washington, D.C. Jan has been married to the love of her life, Don, for forty years. They have two adult children, one wonderful daughter-in-law, and two precious grandchildren. Jan is a frequent pianist and vocalist at her local church and enjoys quilting and reading.

ANGEL IN CITY PARK

Angel in City Park is the story of a young child’s ability to make a difference in her community by award-winning author Jan Thornton Jones. While sitting in church with her family, Sadie hears this scripture. “For I was hungry and you fed me; I was thirsty and you gave me water…when you did it to these, my brothers, you were doing it to me…” On the way home from church on a bitterly cold and snowy night, Sadie sees a fire in the park and discovers for the first time there are people without homes who may be cold and hungry. With her mother’s help, Sadie takes some food and a warm blanket to the park and leaves them at the stone statue of an angel. The word is spread at school and soon other children and adults in the community begin to do the same. Has Sadie served an angel in disguise by spreading the word about the needs of the homeless people in the park?

For more information and to contact the author visit www.JanJonesBooks.com

Jan Thornton Jones

Angel in City Park by Jan Thornton Jones ©2024 Jan Thornton Jones All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any other form or for any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording or any information storage system, without written permission from Headline Books, Inc. To order additional copies of this book or for book publishing information, or to contact the author: Headline Books, Inc. P. O. Box 52 Terra Alta, WV 26764 www.headlinebooks.com mybook@headlinebooks.com ISBN: 9781958914267 Library of Congress Control Number: 2023944977

P R I N T E D I N T H E U N I T E D S TAT E S O F A M E R I C A

This book is dedicated to all the Angels on Earth, who care for the forgotten, and the downtrodden. Thank you for being God’s Angel!

adie sat in the pew of the old church and listened closely to the words the minister said. “And so, my friends, as we leave this church tonight, remember the words of Christ...” For I was hungry and you fed me; I was thirsty and you gave me water; I was a stranger and you invited me into your homes…Then the righteous ones will reply, “Sir, when did we ever see you hungry and feed you? Or thirsty and give you anything to drink? Or a stranger, and help you?”…And I, the King, will tell them, when you did it to these my brothers you were doing it to me!”’ Matthew 25:35-40

The minister finished by saying, “Go now in peace, full of love for one another. Don’t forget to be kind to strangers, for some who have done this have entertained angels without realizing it!” (Hebrews 13:2) As Sadie’s mother and father turned to greet friends who were sitting beside them, Sadie slipped into her warm woolen coat. She pulled her hat down over her ears and thought about the words that the minister had spoken. “I was hungry and you fed me...I was thirsty and you gave me water...When you did it to these my brothers you were doing it to me...”

“Wow,” Sadie exclaimed aloud, “a stranger may be an angel in disguise!” “Sadie, did you say something?” Her mother turned and looked at her. “Oh, just thinking out loud,” Sadie answered as they gathered the rest of their belongings and began the cold walk back to their car. Sadie’s dad turned the heater on as high as it would go and carefully turned the car onto the icy roadway. A light snow was starting to fall, and the wind blew it around the car in great gusts. As the car slipped to a stop at a red light, Dad said, “Sure is a bad night to be out. I’ll be glad to get home.”

“Mom, Dad, there’s a fire over in City Park! Are those people roasting marshmallows?” “No,” Mom answered. “Those are homeless people who live in the park.” “But Mom, everyone has a home!” “It’s sad, Sadie, but not everyone has a home. They’ve built a fire to stay warm.” “It’s so cold out! Where do they sleep?” Sadie asked. “I’ve been told that some sleep under the bridge at the edge of the park. Some sleep under cardboard boxes to try to stay dry. But don’t worry about this, Sadie. They will be alright. There’s really nothing we can do to help.”

That night, Sadie could not get to sleep. As she tossed and turned in her warm bed, she kept picturing the faces of the homeless people who were huddled around that small fire, cold and probably hungry. As Sadie lay there in the darkness, the words that she had heard earlier in the evening came rushing back to her. “When did we ever see you hungry and feed you? Or thirsty and give you anything to drink? Or a stranger and help you? When you did it to these my brothers you were doing it to me!”

The next morning, Sadie stood at the kitchen counter making her lunch for school. She knew she had to do something to help those people in City Park. “Mom,” she started, “would it be okay if I just made a few extra sandwiches? I thought that we could drop them off at the park on the way to school today.” “Sadie, I really do share your concern for those people, but there are so many of them! I don’t know how a few sandwiches would begin to help.” Then, seeing the sad look on Sadie’s face, Mother quickly added, “But I guess we should try.”

Together, Sadie and her mother packed the sandwiches and a few pieces of fruit in a paper sack. On the way out the door, Mother grabbed a blanket out of the closet and said, “We don’t ever use this old blanket anyway!” When they arrived at City Park, Sadie’s mother stood and looked around, not sure of what to do with their gifts now that they were here. But Sadie cried out in excitement as she saw the perfect spot. For there, beneath the protection of an old oak tree, stood the stone statue of an angel, its arms stretched out in a gesture of love.

“My heavens,” Mother whispered. “I had forgotten this statue was here.” “Oh, Mom, an angel! This is where we should leave the food and blanket.” Sadie placed the food sack at the foot of the angel and draped the blanket across the angel’s outstretched arms. She then pinned a note to the blanket that said, “From someone who cares.”

As Sadie and her mother were driving off to school, an old woman wearing a torn, shabby coat crept out of a hidden place behind the bushes. She read the note and then shoved it into the pocket of her coat. With trembling hands, she took the blanket and wrapped it around herself, picked up the sack of food, and silently walked back through the bushes.

At school, Sadie told her two best friends about the homeless people in City Park. She told them about the small gifts that she and her mother had left at the angel statue under the oak tree. Anna and Julie thought it was a wonderful idea, and so the next morning two more bags of food, another warm blanket, and several pairs of gloves and thick socks were placed by the angel statue in the park. To the other children in Sadie’s school, the idea of leaving gifts at the foot of the angel statue sounded like a great adventure. On some mornings, there were a dozen or more secret trips made by excited schoolchildren on their way to school. All over town, families searched through closets for unused coats, warm clothing, and blankets to take to the park and leave by the angel statue. Loving notes of encouragement were left along with gifts by people who used to think that the homeless were someone else’s problem.

The love and concern shown by the children for the homeless people began to spread beyond the boundaries of the park. One nearby church began serving a hot lunch each day for these people. A local doctor began opening his clinic on weekends to provide free medical care for them. One businessman in the town had an empty building and he allowed the homeless people to stay there. God’s love was at work in the community!

One warm Spring day, Sadie rode her bicycle to City Park. She wandered through the winding paths, past the bridge where the homeless once slept. She stopped at the old oak tree and stared at the beautiful statue of the angel. Gifts were no longer left at the angel statue now that the homeless people had someplace to go. Sadie thought back to the words of her minister and wondered if she and her friends had indeed helped an angel in disguise. As she turned to go, Sadie noticed a piece of paper caught at the foot of the angel. She picked it up and glanced at the message.

“From someone who cares.” This was the very note that she and her mother had left on their first trip to the angel statue. Sadie stared at the clean, white paper. How could the note have been left out in the weather for such a long time and still be in such good condition? As Sadie pondered the idea, she slowly turned the note over and gazed in astonishment at the other side. For there, some unknown messenger had written, “I was hungry, you fed me. Thirsty, you gave me drink. A stranger, and you invited me in. When you did these things to my brothers, you were doing it to me.” The End

“I was hungry, you fed me. Thirsty, you gave me drink. A stranger, and you invited me in. When you did these things to my brothers, you were doing it to me.”

“From someone who cares.”

Notes from the author There are over 582,000 people experiencing homelessness across America. On a community level, there are many agencies and churches that are addressing this need through shelters and soup kitchens. On a national level, the following are just a few of the organizations that provide services related to homelessness and hunger: •

The 100,000 Home Campaign, an initiative of Community Solutions, is designed to provide permanent housing for vulnerable individuals. www.community.solutions

•

The Salvation Army provides feeding centers, homeless shelters as well as community centers and disaster relief. www.salvationarmy.org

•

The Veterans Administration has many programs to help veterans and their families with homelessness. www.va.gov/homeless

•

Feeding America is the largest hunger relief group in the United States. www.feedingamerica.org

Jan Thornton Jones

ANGEL IN CITY PARK

For more information and to contact the author visit www.JanJonesBooks.com

Jan Thornton Jones