wfn.org | UMNS# 04524-Church spreads warmth to city's homeless

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Church spreads warmth to city's homeless 

Nov. 5, 2004	 News media contact:   Fran  Walsh * (615) 742-5458* 
Nashville {04524}

NOTE: A UMTV report is available at http://umns.umc.org.

By Tamie Ross*

ATLANTA (UMNS) - Cascade United Methodist Church hopes the homeless of
Atlanta can feel its warmth - literally.

For 20 years, the Atlanta congregation has reached out to those on this
city's streets, offering everything from food, clothing, and physical
necessities to worship and job training. But two years ago, a new opportunity
to help emerged when ministry leaders saw a need to help the homeless get
through the cold winters.

More than two dozen homeless ministry participants gathered their sewing
machines and notions and began meeting every Saturday to transform discarded
comforters into warm sleeping bags for those who spend each night sleeping
outdoors.

"These bags go to the guys living under the bridges, sleeping on the streets.
These are the ones who don't want to go to shelters and have no escape from
the cold," says Allene McCollum, outreach coordinator at Cascade. "We find
these people and hand-deliver something that hopefully can keep them a lot
warmer at night."

The bags begin as huge, colorful bed comforters - some are lined, some not.
They're carefully cut and measured, designed to be both snug and lightweight
for easy transport. One comforter, depending upon its size, can produce
several sleeping bags. 

The 15 or so volunteer seamstresses at Cascade, a predominantly
African-American congregation, create hundreds and hundreds of sleeping bags
each year. Sometimes they meet at church, other times at a home or local
senior center. McCollum says the bags are distributed as quickly as they are
finished.

The ladies who make them say they are blessed to have a small part in helping
others get a better night's sleep, which is especially crucial to those
fighting so many other personal battles.

"A lot of homeless people work - that's a misconception by a lot of people,"
says Mildred Gunn, Cascade's director of programs. "It's hard to carry on and
go to that job if you can't get any rest because it's so cold."

Taking care of the many needs of the homeless is a key ministry among
Cascade's 50 outreach programs, Gunn says. Each Thursday, volunteers gather
at a downtown mission to feed and worship with 500 or more homeless men,
women and children. On the first Thursday of each month, doctors and nurses
from the congregation donate time and supplies to offer medical care, Gunn
says.

Additionally, job fairs, training programs and other services are provided by
Cascade at downtown missions, McCollum says.

Her work with the homeless is an example of how the need can sometimes
overtake any reservations about working in a particular ministry, she says.

When Cascade began its once-a-month treks to the downtown mission, McCollum
says she couldn't wait to "get away from" the hungry crowd that had gathered
for a meal. She planned never to return.

"That night, I went to bed and couldn't sleep at all," she says. "I tossed
and turned all night long, thinking about the people I had met and how great
their needs were. God wouldn't let me forget."

She promised God that if he'd just let her sleep, she'd call the shelter the
next morning and make plans to volunteer again. That was six years ago, and
McCollum says she plans to continue on as long as possible.

"All of us have great stories about why this work is so important to us," she
says. "Our goal is to just make it happen to God's glory and so these people
might benefit."

Gunn says the national economic downturn has resulted in more homelessness
nationwide. In the Atlanta area, the rate also has increased due to a change
in government housing standards.

"Less people are qualifying to live in government housing, but more people
need help," Gunn says. "With so many losing jobs, plus the continuing effects
of the Sept. 11 attacks, this problem just keeps increasing."

She and McCollum hope that through Cascade's program and by the caring
efforts of churches across the nation, the homeless can experience the love
of those who work in Jesus' name.

"There's a lot of hope out there," Gunn says. "We have to have hope and to be
a light."

*Ross is a freelance journalist based in Dallas.

News media contact: Fran Walsh, Nashville, Tenn., (615) 742-5470 or
newsdesk@umcom.org.

********************

United Methodist News Service
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