News and Updates

October 13, 2023

Thank You, Golf for Awareness Sponsors, Volunteers, and Participants!

Many thanks to all who took part and supported the 2023 Haywood Street Golf for Awareness fundraiser! All funds raised from the event go to support the Downtown Welcome table.

This event would not be possible without each and every one of you!

Remembering the Allen School, October 21st

The Allen School provided a high-quality college preparatory education for African American girls, during segregation, until 1974. It was a boarding school supported by the Women's Division of Christian Service of the United Methodist Church. Many high school girls from Western North Carolina and other regions of the United States attended that school when it was impossible to receive a quality education in their own hometowns.

A North Carolina State historical marker memorializing the Allen School will be installed in downtown Asheville, on October 21st at 2 PM.

More information can be found HERE.

Thursday Companion Training

We had a meaningful and productive time at our companion training on Thursday afternoon. It was a time to re-center us on our theology of relationship so we can continue to move in a relational direction. We also had a chance to talk about the Downtown Welcome Table and the new things happening. Thank you to everyone who came out!

Mobile Clinic Rescheduled for October 25th

The Public Health Mobile Team will be back at Haywood Street on Wednesday, October 25th, from 10 am to 2 pm.

The vaccines included will be COVID, Flu, MPOX, Hep A & B, Tetanus, and Shingles. The team will also work with folks to connect them to other county resources and clinical services. 

Street Dog is Back on October 22nd

Street Dog Coalition will be back on campus Sunday, October 22nd, from 9-12, providing free veterinary care for pets of people experiencing or at risk of homelessness.

Services Offered:

Physical exams

vaccinations

parasite control

pet supplies

and more...

Precautions: Dogs should be on leashes, and cats in carriers.

On-going opportunities to participate at the Welcome Table:

• Have a meal! - Join us on Sunday or Wednesday to enjoy a meal with our community!

• Dining Room Clean Up - As always, clean up is one of the places that we need companion support. We promise to make it fun! On Sundays, we need companions from 10:00-12:00, and on Wednesdays from 12:00-2:00

• Kitchen Clean-Up - On Sundays from 10:00-12:00 and Wednesdays from 12:00-2:00, we would love for a couple of companions to help us clean up the kitchen and help serve the folks who come in during that time for a meal. You can sign up for this role on the sign-up sheet below!

Haywood Street in Photos

Getting ready for tee off at last week's Golf for Awareness Event!

This week, we had a group visiting from High Point University. They were such a vibrant and willing group of young people who brightened the days! Here, a few of them eagerly decided to join our impromptu choir during Wednesday's service.

If you know Falcon, then you know you probably won't leave a conversation without her pulling you into a fervent and adoring embrace! Confidently claiming Haywood Street as her church, she excitedly gifted us with a cross that she had made last week. Gifts like these are worth more than all the money in the world.



Falcon, this is your church. You belong here. And you are so loved here.

Weekly Ministry Opportunities:

Worship:

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

Tuesday Haywood Street Holy Ground Keepers:

8:30 a.m. in the parking lot. 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.

Wednesday Card Making: 8:30 a.m. in the Sanctuary. Gather together to make cards for our community and friends in prison or in the hospital. 

Weekly Sermons

Read each week's sermon and previous sermons on the stories and sermons page of the website.

Community Resources

Click below to see a list of places in the community to donate and find clothes, and when recovery meetings are held.

Fresco Viewing Hours:

Sundays 9:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m.

Monday-Thursday 10:00 a.m.- 2:00 p.m.

By appointment, contact April at april@haywoodstreet.org.

REFLECTION

I just love that phrase, "Holy Chaos," and it is truly felt and experienced as you spend time with this amazing community of people. The beautiful fresco, the free restaurant, the cultivated garden area, the free barber shop, the health care clinic, and the Respite are likely the pieces that get headlines, but for me, what made the biggest impact were the relationships that were so very evident during each moment of my visit. People whom broader society has cast aside are truly valued, empowered, included, and seen by the faith community at Haywood Street

The worship time was unlike any I have ever experienced, where housed and unhoused neighbors and siblings gathered as one to give God the glory, no one greater than another. I've long espoused the idea that ministry is done best in community, meaning we don't simply minister to others. Rather, we minister with and through others. In most cases, this has been somewhat idealistic in my own ministry, but I saw it exercised in practice here. 

The worship service was led not only by church staff but also by regular attendees, housed and unhoused visitors, and others who desired to share their gifts with those gathered. A particularly impactful time was a sharing time where a few attendees were invited to share the gifts with which God has blessed them. Prior to the soloists and poets being invited, one of the Pastors said something that I have recounted in my own ministry context, "I don't want you to misunderstand me. You are not just welcome here. You are necessary. You are necessary for us to be who God has called this body to be." After a wonderful message on inclusion and everyone having a seat at the table, which was largely a dialogue where congregants were invited to give their own input, the service was concluded with the congregation singing "Everyday People" by Sly and the Family Stone.

My visit to Haywood Street gave me a glimpse of what the Kingdom of God right here on earth can be. It's definitely messy and, admittedly, chaotic at times. But when God's people keep the main thing the main thing--love God and love each other, some of the rest just fades into oblivion, and all that's left is relationship. All that's left is giving the shirt off your back to a brother, sister, or sibling. All that's left is Holy Chaos. All that's left is a place where we are all not just welcome but necessary.

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Josiah and his family live in Harrisburg, PA, where he is a pastor at Harrisburg First Church of the Brethren, an urban ministry in the Allison Hill area of Harrisburg.

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.