News and Updates

February 28, 2025

Companion Orientation this Monday March 3rd at 5:00

The next companion orientation will be this Monday, March 3rd, at 5:00. We'll meet in the sanctuary. Please invite your friends and family to join if they are interested in becoming a companion!

First Quarterly Memorial Service, Ash Wednesday, March 5th

Haywood Street's first quarterly memorial service will take place next Wednesday, March 5th. We will also observe Ash Wednesday, which marks the beginning of Lent.

Save the Date for a Spring Screening, March 20th!

Join us on Thursday, March 20th at 1:00 p.m. in the Haywood Street Sanctuary for a viewing of the documentary film, Theirs Is the Kingdom. Directed by Chris Zaluski, Theirs is the Kingdom follows the creation of the Haywood Street Fresco and is a work of art in its own right. Whether or not you've seen the film before, we are looking forward to experiencing it in community with the artwork as a backdrop. As if that wasn't enough, refreshments will be provided.

Haywood Street Wish List

You can always find the Haywood Street wish list either on our website under "Ways to Support," or by clicking here.

Housing Update

Update on the Lady Gloria Ridge Community

Construction on our Lady Gloria Ridge Community is progressing excitingly! 98% of the doors and windows are complete. Work on the roof will start at the end of February. Brick mock up has been installed. Once approved, our construction crew will continue with the brick install, then Hardi board. After the roof is complete, we’ll be dried in and all the good interior work can start!

To stay updated on our construction progress, follow us on Instagram or check out our website!

Haywood Street Highlights

We are so grateful to The Hop Ice Cream Shop for providing us with delicious ice cream desserts this week! We were able to share pints of vegan ice cream with everyone who dined with us on Wednesday. What a blessing on a gorgeous, warm day!

Our next Companion Orientation will be this Monday, March 3rd, at 5:00 pm in the sanctuary. Please invite anyone who may be interested in becoming a companion!

Respite would love companion support this March through meals or presence! The Meal Train and Respite sign up sheet are updated with March dates. If you have a group interested in bringing a monthly meal, please email Jenny.

Weekly Ministry Opportunities:

Tuesday Haywood Street Holy Ground Keepers: 9:00 a.m. in the parking lot, weather permitting. Walk the grounds of the church campus and our local neighborhood, cleaning up along the way.

Tuesday Prayer Group: 12:30 p.m. in Room 6. Gather for a time of communal prayer.

Tuesday Book Club: Join us at 1:00 pm in the Sanctuary!

Wednesday Downtown Welcome Table: Join us for lunch between 10:00-1:00 or help with kitchen and dining room clean-up from 1:00-3:00. Sign up here!

Art Ministry: Join us in the Bleu Room on Wednesdays from 10:30 to 1:00 to make art in community! Please encourage people to access via the stairs in the sanctuary.

Story Circle: For a time of listening, sharing, and being heard, come to Room 4 on Wednesdays between 9:00 -10:00 a.m.!

Wednesday Worship: 12:30 p.m. in the sanctuary.

Praying in Color:

Thursdays at 10:00 a.m. in the Respite Kitchen with Doug and Brother John. Come color and pray for Respite!

Weekly Sermons

Read the weekly sermons on our website here.

~Preaching Schedule~

March 5th:

Pastor Seth

March 12th:

Pastor Jody

March 26th:

Dave

April 2nd:

Pastor Jody

Fresco Viewing Hours:

Monday - Thursday, 10 am - 2 pm (with the exception of during our worship service, which is 12:30 pm every Wednesday).

Contact April if you would like to make an appointment to see the Fresco outside of those hours.

Reflection

Lady Gloria Howard Free — A Namesake

By El S., Storyteller and Communications Intern

Construction picture of the Lady Gloria Ridge Community, 2025, from Melanee R., Lead Storyteller

Oralene Simmons, Eugene Ellison, and Gloria Free, 2004, from Ami Worthen 2015 interview

Gloria Howard Free, also known as Lady Gloria Free, is the namesake for the first Haywood Street Community Development (HSCD) affordable housing community. The Lady Gloria Ridge Community will bring 41 permanently affordable apartments to the West End Clingman Avenue neighborhood. HSCD first formed in 2020, with the mission of “dignity through dwellings, connection through community.”

In discussing the namesake of their first apartment community, Laurie Shea, Director of Housing, emphasized that HSCD strove to highlight someone who grew up in WECAN and made a difference in Asheville. Naming the building after Free, an Asheville native who was born and raised on Clingman Avenue, emphasizes the contributions people in this neighborhood have made, as well as the importance of the WECAN community to Asheville.

Continue reading. . .

A witness to include the most excluded, Haywood Street not only welcomes every child of God–especially beloved siblings 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.