wfn.org | UMNS# 04577-Urban churches embrace homeless ministries

["NewsDesk" <NewsDesk@UMCOM.ORG>]

Urban churches embrace homeless ministries

Dec. 7, 2004	 News media contact:   Matt  Carlisle * (615) 742-5470*
Nashville {04577}

NOTE: A related story, UMNS # 576, is available at www.umc.org.

Most of the United Methodist Church's homeless ministry is done in major
cities, which include the oldest and largest efforts to feed the homeless on
the West Coast.

First United Methodist Church of Seattle makes homelessness the prime focus
of
the church's outreach programs, says Jo Gustafson, urban outreach
coordinator.

"We dedicate a lot of our time with shelters and with feeding programs," she
says.

Gustafson believes the church has hosted some kind of holiday meal for the
homeless for its entire 150-year history. This year, because Christmas falls
on a Saturday, the men's and women's homeless shelters that use the church
facilities will provide worship services and meals on Christmas Day, and the
church will host a large breakfast Dec. 26.

"We'll leave the building open from 8 to 5, because the homeless have no
place
to go during the day," Gustafson says. "While they are here, they can watch
movies or TV, play cards or games, basically hang out in a safe and secure
place. Our volunteers drift in and out all day long, with most bringing
food."

First Church Seattle is also one of many United Methodist congregations
participating in the "Room at the Inn" program, which provides a safe
sanctuary for families that have been living on the street.

"We have a monthly meal that serves around 500 people, and we're adding a
second meal each month that we're very excited about," Gustafson says.

At Glide Memorial United Methodist Church in downtown San Francisco, more
than
a million meals are served to the city's poor and homeless population
throughout the year.

The free meals program, which is celebrating its 35th anniversary this year,
is the largest of Glide's nearly 90 ministries. Twenty-seven staff members
and
thousands of volunteers are committed to serving three hot meals a day to the
Bay Area's poor.

"For Glide, this is our family," says Calvin Gibson, managing director of
human services at the church. "We see ourselves as being an integral part of
the community, and the meals program is something we need to be doing."

Each year, Glide organizes a weeklong series of Christmas events for the
homeless, including giving away 6,000 bags of groceries to needy families and
individuals, and 5,000 toys to local children. On Christmas Eve, the church
sponsors a prime-rib lunch. That is followed by a Christmas Day breakfast
from
7 to 8:30 a.m. and lunch from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. The church also offers two
morning worship celebrations to ensure that guests are served spiritually as
well as physically.

More than 5,000 people are served on Christmas Day, which is almost double
the
number the church helps on a typical day. Thanksgiving also sees huge
numbers.

"On Thanksgiving and Christmas, we're seeing more of the working poor -
people
who cannot afford to serve their families the traditional holiday meals,"
Gibson says.

Glide also hires its meals staff from the population it serves, "giving them
the opportunity to start anew in their lives," Gibson says.

"This is a very exciting time of year for us," he adds. "Although we do
provide meals every day, there's something about the holidays that provides
an
extra sparkle."

*Caldwell is a freelance writer in High Point, N.C.

News media contact: Matt Carlisle, Nashville, Tenn., (615) 742-5153 or
newsdesk@umcom.org.

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United Methodist News Service