The East Hampton Methodist Church is launching a cancer care ministry. At the helm of the program is Kenny McQuiller, the church’s pastor, who is himself a cancer survivor. The first meeting is to be tonight at 6.
The meeting will be secular in nature, Mr. McQuiller said. “I’m envisioning a safe place to tell my story” and help those affected by cancer.
In 2011, after four years with colorectal cancer, Mr. McQuiller said, he was drawn to helping people who had the disease as well as their families and those caring for the ill. At the time, he was not a pastor and was working for a cellular provider, but that didn’t stop him from getting certified with a cancer care center in Philadelphia in 2017.
While the group will meet at the church, on Pantigo Road, Mr. McQuiller plans to assist getting patients to hospital visits and treatments. “It will take on a lot of different forms,” he said this week.
It wasn’t until 2021 that Mr. McQuiller became a pastor, and he now serves the East Hampton and Hampton Bays Methodist Churches. He said the cancer ministry will be available only in East Hampton, however.
For now, he plans to hold meetings every third Thursday of the month, and any changes to the schedule will be posted on the church’s website, firstunitedmethodistchurchofeasthampton.com.
