Update – November 2021
Some Updates from Grace and Main
By this time next month, we’ll already have started the season of Advent and, with it, a new year in the Church calendar. As we continue our journey through the year and temperatures get cooler and days get shorter, we find ourselves preparing ourselves and our work for some seasonal rest, as well. We’re starting to bed down our Urban Farm for the fall and winter with some more compost and mulch and some “no till” beds. We’re taking some of the tool library’s tools in for repairs and re-cataloging what we have there.
But just as winter brings Advent and Christmas and a new calendar year, we’re also looking forward to new births and new opportunities. Our housing work has taken some big steps forward in the last few months and will continue to do so in the months to come. We are hopeful that this new year will bring growth in our ability not only to provide shelter but also to provide homes and stability in new ways. We are also hopeful that next year will bring a chance for our big meals to resume in a safe way. We would love for you to join us in this hope and prayer as well as by being vaccinated.
As always, I welcome your questions and thoughts. Please feel free to reach out and, if you find yourself encouraged by what we’re working on and want to see if continue and grow, consider becoming a supporter.
Grace and Peace,
Joshua
In September 2021, we provided 388 meals through grocery bags, subsidies, the Urban Farm, meal pickups and dropoffs, and a few other methods. This brings our yearly total up to the end of September to 3,196 meals.
In October 2021, we provided 434 nights of shelter through our network of housing resources including hospitality spaces, rent/utility subsidies, and a few other methods. That brings our year-to-date total to 4,430 nights of shelter.
In September 2021, we provided pastoral care and spiritual direction 198 times lasting 91 hours. This brings our yearly total up to the end of September to 2,069 sessions lasting 838 hours.
In September 2021, we provided 255 rides and spent 28.2 hours personally giving rides. These rides include trips to the doctor, pharmacy, grocery store, and work. This brings out yearly total up to the end of September to 1,951 rides with 378.1 hours personally giving rides.
Here’s a quick glimpse of one of our properties getting a fresh coat of paint, a deep clean, and some new furniture and appliances. By the time you read this, we’ll have moved another household in.
A look down N Main St. with sunset approaching.
A Short Prayer for Stable Shelter
O God who decreed a time for everything in its season — for rising and falling, for growing and withering;
O God who made a home for all creation in the midst of swirling chaos and void and who, in your earthly incarnation, had nowhere to lay your head;
intervene on behalf of all who lack stable shelter of their own and who make their homes in inhospitable places, convict those who, by their decision, make stable shelter a luxury missed by too many;
in order that we see your glory through the love of the people who aspire to represent you to the world.
In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
A Quote to Contemplate
Brennan Manning said, “The kingdom is not an exclusive, well-trimmed suburb with snobbish rules about who can live there. No, it is for a larger, homelier, less self-conscious caste of people who understand they are sinners because they have experienced the yaw and pitch of moral struggle.”