News and Updates

November 25, 2022

Holiday Decorations!


Come help us decorate for the holidays! On Tuesday, November 29th, from 12-2, we'll be doing some holiday decorating. We hope you can join us. For any questions, reach out to Pastor Jody at jody@haywoodstreet.org.

Thanksgiving Feast!

Wednesday was our Thanksgiving Holiday feast. Thank you to our companions and staff who helped put on a delicious meal!


Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

ONE WORD Campaign


We're so grateful to our donors and supporters for their contributions to Haywood Street's ministries. This year, we thought the best way to thank them was by hearing directly from our friends and companions.


We asked a few friends and companions to describe what Haywood Street is to them in one word. Not surprisingly, each person had a unique reason for choosing their word.


To follow this campaign, go to our website!

Garden Updates

Alyssa from Sweetgum Gardens and garden intern, Hannah, have been hard at work in the garden preparing it for winter. Next time you're around, be sure to take a look!

Companion Corner


COMING UP:


  • Mark your calendars for December 19thThis will be an extra kitchen prep day to get ready for our holiday meal!


  • Companion Orientation December 5th. We will meet in the sanctuary at 5:00pm. Invite your friends or family to attend!


  • Companion Care Crew- The Companion Care Crew is made up of Companions at Haywood Street Congregation who have the time, energy, and a sense of call to support Haywood Street’s ministries and Companions. If you'd like to join, let Katlyn know & look out for our next meeting time! 


SIGN UP:

  • Please make sure to check the sign up sheet each week and update it based on your availability or let Katlyn know if you will not be here. This lets us know if we will have the coverage we need each week.
Sign Up

Haywood Street in Photos

Resources for Resiliency wrap up day. Thanks to all who participated.

Little Lillian enjoying Henry practicing before worship on Wednesday.

Mary and her family at the Welcome Table for the Thanksgiving Feast.

Weekly Ministry Opportunities:


Worship:

Sundays at 11:00 and Wednesdays at 12:30 in the sanctuary


Tuesday Prayer Group:12:00 in the sanctuary. Gather for a time of communal prayer 

 

Thursday Card Making: Group - 10:00am in Room 1 (off the main lobby) - Gather together to make cards for our community and friends in prison or in the hospital. 

Clothing Resources


Click below to see the list the places in the community to donate clothes and to find free clothes.

Click Here

Fresco Viewing Hours:


Sundays 9-12 

Monday-Thursday 10-2


By appointment, contact April at april@haywoodstreet.org

Ways to Give


Your gift ensures that there is always enough, and room for everyone, at the many welcoming tables of Haywood Street. 

Donate

Delighting in Holy Chaos

by Companion Coordinator, Katlyn

In an interview about his book, Tattoos on the Heart (which I highly recommend to all who love Haywood Street), Father Greg Boyle says, “Delighting is an action verb. It’s being attentive to who’s in front of you. Somehow transforming interruptions into great adventures.” And speaking about his ministry with former gang members in Los Angeles, he says, “This place is full of interruptions. If you can correctly consider them then suddenly they become adventures that are delightful as opposed to things that pull you from your tasks.” 


If you have been to the Downtown Welcome Table, you know that interruptions are a guarantee. They come in all forms. Someone stopping you in the middle of what you’re doing to tell you about their day. Maybe their whole life story. A dog is barking in the dining room while you’re trying to take an order. The fire alarm goes off right before we start serving food. One of our friends is having a difficult day because they couldn’t afford their psych meds. The examples are endless.


When we consider all that has to be done to make the Welcome Table happen each Sunday and Wednesday, it can be hard to not feel interrupted in the middle of a task, which can be frustrating. And most of the time, that frustration is valid. We are humans living in a society that is concerned with efficiency and expediency. We are also humans who sometimes have bad days and have lower thresholds for things being out of our control. I will be the first to say that some days I am quicker to get frustrated and less likely to delight in the beauty to be found in the midst of the Downtown Welcome Table. 


But at Haywood Street, we are constantly inviting everyone, staff, friends, and companions, to prioritize relationship before everything else. To see these “interruptions” as invitations to encounter the divine within the person “interrupting” us. To actively delight in the ways that mutual relationship with our neighbors makes us all better. It won’t always come easily and we must all actively negate our instinct to be proficient, but the wonderful thing about Haywood Street is that we get to do it together.


So, may we encourage one another to delight in the beauty of the holy chaos that is Haywood Street. To slow down long enough to notice one another. To delight in all the tiny miracles that are happening in our midst. And to welcome “interruptions” as they are often invitations into relationship.

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A witness to include the most excluded, Haywood Street not only welcomes every child of God–especially sisters and brothers of every mental illness and physical disability, addiction and diagnosis, living condition and employment status, gender identity and sexual orientation, class, color, and creed–but we celebrate your presence, certain that the kingdom of God is coming closer because you are here.