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Connections Ministry Shelter Update
Did you know that there are less than two months until Connections Shelter again opens its doors? The shelter is scheduled to open on October 3rd. St John The Baptist and St John’s Episcopal churches will again be a team when we host. Our first hosting week will be October 10th.
I have attached a recap of last season so you can see in numbers the people you as a volunteer helped. I also encourage you to read the blog Parking Lot Pastors at https://parkinglotpastors.com On this blog Pastor Erica and Pastor Collette the directors of the shelter have begun to tell the stories of shelter guests.
It is rather amazing to think about how the shelter has changed and grown over the last few years in no small part thanks to you. Do you remember our first year when we packed up all the guests each week and moved them with their cots and belongings from church to church? Now we have one location … paid staff and this year because the director’s office has been moved to a separate location we will be able to increase the number of beds to 35.
One of our first challenges will be to spread the word and grow our teams volunteer list. Having more volunteers means that we can share the cost of meals and supplies. Feeding 35 people is not a small task but multiple cooks / people to share the expense make it easier. There will no longer be an early morning shift. Paid staff will be staying longer and getting guests on their way for the day. We will need 3-4 servers each night the weeks that we host.
I am asking that you help us spread the word by sharing this information with other members of the congregation or calling a friend and asking them to join us.
Although as coordinator my goal is to increase the number of volunteers on our church’s team anyone can join in. Invite a friend to come with you. Encourage a civic group you belong to to host a night. Perhaps a youth group would like to prepare the meal. Any community member or group is welcome to serve. We hope you will join us when we are scheduled to host but if you happen to be busy that week you can sign up any time and not have to miss the fun.
I will continue to update you as we gear up for the new shelter season. I am open to people calling me if they have questions. If you are a Face Book user you can also check out Tuesdays at Two when the pastors give a live update on the shelters FB page.
Thanks so much for taking the time to read this. Please call me with any questions or comments. Audrey Splinter, St. John's Connections Coordiantor, 507-820-8571
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