Lucknow residents brave snow and cold for Coldest Night of the Year walk

BY SCOTT STEPHENSON

A whole lot of snow didn’t stop Lucknow’s annual Coldest Night of the Year (CNOY) Sunday morning fundraising walk from going off without a hitch. Even though many churches in the area had elected to cancel services due to the weekend-long onslaught of winter weather, the Lucknow Presbyterian Church (LPC) chose to hold both its regular Sunday service and the CNOY walk as planned.

 

It was a smart move; worshipful walkers from four different local churches came together to attend a combined service, after which a collection of over 30 parishioners from LPC, Trinity United Church, South Kinloss Presbyterian Church, and Lucknow United Church headed outside to brave the cold in the fight against homelessness. Heads were kept warm by this year’s stylish edition of the CNOY toque, and afterwards, most everybody stayed for a well-earned chili lunch.

 

Together, they raised over $1,400, which will be contributed to the central CNOY walk in Wingham, which happens on Feb. 22. All the money raised by the Wingham walk and its connected support walks is going to the Northern Huron Connection Centre (NHCC) in Wingham. 

 

Guest speaker Lisa Harper of the United Way was pleased to see such a robust turnout on such an inhospitable day. “I thought I brought too many toques,” she said, “but I ended up running out!” Harper also felt confident that the overall fundraising goal of raising $30,000 for the NHCC is within reach. She was, however, unable to stick around for lunch, as she was hoping to make the drive home before the weather took a turn for the worse. Luckily, there were take-out containers on hand, so she didn’t go home empty-handed.

 

The event’s organizers were also quite happy with their choice to carry on with church service and the CNOY walk as planned, even though they had no idea if many people would show up. They figured that, if only two people came, it was still worthwhile to make the effort. But Lucknow’s church-going communities came out in force that snowy Sunday, and that made all the difference.