Togetherness at heart of Faith 250 community cleanup

By Dana Kampa
| 7:30 a.m. April 21, 2026

At least 60 community members of all faiths joined in a clean-up of the island on April 18, celebrating the anniversary of Paul Revere's famed ride. Volunteers collected approximately 140 pounds of trash before coming back together for a breakfast and morning service hosted by Temple Beth Israel.

Longboat Key
Neighbors

Residents of the Keys are no strangers to interfaith events, like the highly celebrated Thanksgiving service that religious leaders have joined together to hold for 45 years. But in honor of the United States' 250th anniversary, leaders introduced something new last week.

With grant funding from Faith 250, those leaders united April 18 for an hour-long community cleanup, breakfast and morning service.

Faith 250 is a nationwide program promoting shared civic values across religions in recognition of the country's anniversary. It spotlights texts central to the country's history and future, including The Declaration of Independence.

At least 60 community members coming everywhere from Longboat Key's north end to St. Armands Key joined in the community effort. They met at Temple Beth Israel to don their reflective vests, grab their garbage-pinchers and trash bags, and start cleaning up the roadways of Bay Isles Road and Gulf of Mexico Drive.

Residents have joined in similar cleanups after the 2024 hurricanes and for regular Adopt-A-Highway maintenance. But this event had a special focus on unity.

Organizers planned the event to coincide with the anniversary of Paul Revere's famed ride to warn patriots of incoming red coats.

Volunteers paired up to help one another with filling their bags before returning to the temple for a red-white-and-blue themed breakfast.

Jason Brandt, chair of the Environmental Action Committee, also known as Temple Beth Israel's "Green Team," said volunteers collected about 140 pounds of trash in just one hour.

Jason Brandt, chair of the Environmental Action Committee, also known as TBI's "Green Team," said participants filled 22 large bags with approximately 140 pounds of trash.

The amount is commendable considering, unlike the post-hurricane cleanup of roadside debris, much of the trash was small, including cigarette butts and small pieces of plastic.

"The turnout is great," Brandt said as teams set out that morning. "It looks pretty clean, but once you start getting in there, you find a lot of stuff."

Besides getting waste out of the island's ecosystem, the interfaith cleanup gave participants a chance to form deeper connections with neighbors of other faiths, Brandt explained.

TBI's Rabbi Jessica Spitalnic Mates welcomed all the visitors to the celebratory service afterward, which started off with attendees singing, "This Land is Your Land."

Many people contributed to the program through speech, song and poetry.

All Angels by the Sea Episcopal Church's Rev. David Marshall read from The Declaration of Independence. Anne Lieberman read aloud a poem based on Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's work entitled "Paul Revere's Ride." St. Armands Key Lutheran Church's Rev. Kenneth Blyth, after making a joke about being a Brit celebrating the 250th anniversary, delivered heartfelt reflections on what the Statue of Liberty has meant to so many people over the centuries.

Paul Revere's Ride

In 1903, poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow published his work lauding Paul Revere's historic ride, which reads in part:

Listen, my children, and you shall hear / Of the midnight ride of Paul Revere, / On the eighteenth of April, in seventy-five; / Hardly a man is now alive / Who remembers that famous day and year. ...

He has left the village and mounted the steep, / And beneath him, tranquil and broad and deep, / Is the Mystic, meeting the ocean tides; / And under the alders that skirt its edge, / Now soft on the sand, now loud on the ledge, / Is heard the tramp of his steed as he rides. ...

So through the night rode Paul Revere; / And so through the night went his cry of alarm / To every Middlesex village and farm, — / A cry of defiance and not of fear, / A voice in the darkness, a knock at the door, / And a word that shall echo forevermore! / For, borne on the night-wind of the Past, / Through all our history, to the last, / In the hour of darkness and peril and need, / The people will waken and listen to hear / The hurrying hoof-beats of that steed, / And the midnight message of Paul Revere.

Christ Church of Longboat Key's Rev. Julia Piermont mused on the symbolism of the lyrics in Katharine Lee Bates’ anthem "America the Beautiful." Longboat Island Chapel's Rev. Brock Patterson read excerpts from Frederick Douglass's address, "What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?" Dennis Piermont from Christ Church and TBI Choir Soloist Kei Sulhi brought the service to a close with song.

The selection of materials stems from Faith 250's guidelines on what texts sacred to the country should be extolled.

Mates said the effort came about because, "There are faith leaders all around the country who are figuring out, in a time when we can feel so separated, how we can come together to celebrate America's 250th anniversary."

She said leaders endeavored to make sure all voices are being heard in this year's celebrations.

As for why an environmental cleanup was at the heart of it all, Brandt said, "On Longboat Key, we are surrounded by a world that is both beautiful and vulnerable. Our beaches, our waters, our birds, our mangroves, our skies are all part of what makes this place special. But they are also reminders that creation is not a one-and-done deal. Creation must be nurtured."

Asked why she wanted to help with the community effort, Maxine Spitzer of TBI said she appreciated the idea of everyone coming together as one unit.

"This is what Longboat Key is all about," she said.

Religious leaders from institutions across the keys of Longboat and St. Armands brought together community members for a roadside clean-up, breakfast and morning services on Feb. 18, hosted by Temple Beth Israel. From left, All Angels by the Sea Episcopal Church's Rev. David Marshall and Father Fred, St. Armands Key Lutheran Church's Rev. Kenneth Blyth, Temple Beth Israel's Rabbi Jessica Spitalnic Mates, Longboat Island Chapel's Rev. Brock Patterson, Christ Church of Longboat Key's Rev. Julia and Dennis Piermont, and TBI Choir Soloist Kei Sulhi.

After gathering their supplies at 8:30 a.m. outside Temple Beth Israel, the 60-some volunteers started out on their mission to clean up the roadways along Gulf of Mexico Drive and Bay Isles Road.

Chris Sturm from St. Armands Key Lutheran Church and Maxine Spitzer from Temple Beth Israel team up at the Faith 250 clean-up.

Kelli Veit, Christ Church of Longboat Key's Rev. Julia Piermont and Cindy Ritchell team up at the Faith 250 cleanup.

No piece of trash is too small for the well-equipped volunteers. Still, they managed to collect about 140 pounds of trash along the roads.

The early morning volunteers enjoyed a mild breeze Saturday morning along Gulf of Mexico Drive during the clean-up. The interfaith effort coincides with the anniversary of Paul Revere's famous midnight ride.

Carol and Bob Erker and Terry Cobb from All Angels by the Sea Episcopal Church lend a hand.

Bob Zorn with Temple Beth Israel said he hopes to someday work himself out of a job when it comes to the two-mile Adopt-A-Highway stretch of the roadway.

All Angels by the Sea Episcopal Church's Rev. David Marshall and St. Armands Key Lutheran Church's Rev. Kenneth Blyth work together at the Faith 250 clean-up.

Volunteer Mindy Brandt welcomes clean-up crews back to Temple Beth Israel for breakfast.

Longboat Island Chapel's Rev. Brock Patterson welcomes people back and helps collect cleanup gear.

Fred and Melissa Kleiman, new residents on Longboat Key, said they were happy to lend a hand at the clean-up.

Temple Beth Israel Choir Soloist Kei Sulhi starts the Saturday morning interfaith service by leading a group singing of "This Land is Your Land."

Anne Lieberman read aloud a poem based on Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's work entitled "Paul Revere's Ride."

Temple Beth Israel's Rabbi Jessica Spitalnic Mates welcomes one and all to the morning service.

Poking fun at his background as a Brit, St. Armands Key Lutheran Church's Rev. Kenneth Blyth earns some hearty laughter singing a few cheeky lines by King George III from the Broadway hit "Hamilton."

author

Dana Kampa

Dana Kampa is the Longboat Key neighbors reporter for the Observer. She first ventured into journalism in her home state of Wisconsin, going on to report community stories everywhere from the snowy mountains of Washington State to the sunny shores of the Caribbean. She has been a writer and photographer for more than a decade, covering what matters most to readers.