Have you looked at the window on a cold and snowy night and wondered what people without homes could possibly be doing in that weather? If that question has gnawed at your conscience, you may be getting a nudge from Heaven. And we have great news for you: Room in the Inn returns this winter, and Covenant UMC is responsible for five nights across the coldest part of the year. We open our doors on November 6, December 4, January 8, February 5, and March 5.
Here is how we do it. We open the building to a small group of neighbors who have nowhere warm to sleep. They arrive in the evening. We feed them dinner. They shower, they sleep in a warm room, they get breakfast and something to take with them, and they go in the morning.
It takes more hands than you would think and less expertise than you would fear. We have a team that cooks. Other are helping to set up beds. Several of us sit with our guests after dinner and talk, which sounds like the easiest job. If you think about it, it won't surprise you to find out that it is usually the one that matters most. A very few volunteers are needed to stay overnight. In the morning, another volunteer or two come in to make breakfast.
That sounds like a lot. But you don't have to sign up for all of it. You might do exactly one of those things, one time, on any one of those five nights, and that contribution will make all the difference in the world.
We hear most people say the same thing after their first night. They came expecting to serve strangers and spent the evening in conversation with people.
We are not solving homelessness in Memphis. That effort is bigger and requires more hands and feet. That can't be done from a church fellowship hall. What can be done from our building is the ministry of keeping specific people warm and fed -- and treated like people. We'll do it five nights this winter, and that is the part you might be considering.
November 6, December 4, January 8, February 5, March 5.
Call us. If you want to be on the list when it opens, let the church office know.
Here is how we do it. We open the building to a small group of neighbors who have nowhere warm to sleep. They arrive in the evening. We feed them dinner. They shower, they sleep in a warm room, they get breakfast and something to take with them, and they go in the morning.
It takes more hands than you would think and less expertise than you would fear. We have a team that cooks. Other are helping to set up beds. Several of us sit with our guests after dinner and talk, which sounds like the easiest job. If you think about it, it won't surprise you to find out that it is usually the one that matters most. A very few volunteers are needed to stay overnight. In the morning, another volunteer or two come in to make breakfast.
That sounds like a lot. But you don't have to sign up for all of it. You might do exactly one of those things, one time, on any one of those five nights, and that contribution will make all the difference in the world.
We hear most people say the same thing after their first night. They came expecting to serve strangers and spent the evening in conversation with people.
We are not solving homelessness in Memphis. That effort is bigger and requires more hands and feet. That can't be done from a church fellowship hall. What can be done from our building is the ministry of keeping specific people warm and fed -- and treated like people. We'll do it five nights this winter, and that is the part you might be considering.
November 6, December 4, January 8, February 5, March 5.
Call us. If you want to be on the list when it opens, let the church office know.
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