PITTSTON – The 100-acres of the United Methodist Homes Wesley Village Campus glowed throughout the night Thursday as roughly 700 luminaries lined the roadways of the estate.
The nonprofit retirement community celebrated its first-ever Lighting the Way holiday event, offering dinner, drinks and holiday cheer to its residents and their family members.
Ann Lomonaco, Director of Development for the United Methodist Homes Foundation, said grounds workers, along with sixth-grade students from Wyoming Area, began lighting the luminaries around 2 p.m. for the event.
She said she got the idea for the lighting after hearing about it from another center.
“We tried it, and it worked,” she said of the inaugural event.
As residents made their way to tables at the Village Cafe, the Shavertown United Methodist Church Praise Ringers prepared sheet music. The group, which plays hand chimes, serenaded with holiday tunes under director Deborah Kelleher as the residents enjoyed dinner.
Across the hall in the Estelle Andrews Friendship Room, Brooks Estate resident Beth Williams showed off her perfectly garnished Sangria as she posed for a picture. Complete with cranberries, an apple slice and iced rosemary, the drink was just part of the night’s festivities for Williams.
“It was wonderful,” she said. “They have lovely, lovely events for our residents here. I loved the bell choir.”
Although this was the first year for Lighting the Way, Executive Director Danielle Janeski said United Methodist Homes holds various events throughout the year, and plans to increase the number of resident activities.
“Our focus is on lifestyle and living well,” she said of the organization, which also has three other locations in New York and Tunkhannock.
President and CEO Brian Picchinni said proceeds from the event go back to the foundation to disperse as needed, noting that funds can be used to purchase special equipment caregivers need that aren’t generally included in the budget.
The luminaria were purchased by donors through the foundation to honor someone — or their memory — who was special to them. Lomonaco said so far the foundation has raised over $16,000.
She said the campus holds about 450 residents in its four facilities and more than 150 residents had planned to attend the evening’s festivities.
While handchimes could be heard inside Myers Manor, residents of Partridge-Tippett Nursing Facility sung along to Christmas carols.
Members of the Wyoming Valley Barbershop Harmony Chorus Sounds Abound Chapter performed as the residents of the skilled nursing center ate dinner. Singing classics like “Jingle Bells,” “O Holy Night” and more, the choral members brought smiles to many residents who also sang along.
As resident Ellen Karpavich ate her meal and listened, she said she enjoyed the event and the many groups the organization brought in to entertain residents. Aside from the quartet, Karpavich particularly loved seeing children from the Pittston Area Intermediate Center’s fourth-grade chorus.
“I never had children of my own,” she said, “but the little girls and boys that sang today were so wonderful.”
