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St. Pete Congregations Open Arms to Homeless
ST. PETERSBURG, FL (September 22, 2005) - Two Covenant churches reached out to
the homeless in their community last Saturday, offering help to 170
people in an event that left a profound impact on church members.
Faith Covenant Church and The Bridge, which was adopted into the
denomination at the Covenant Annual Meeting this past summer, held a
picnic and provided services as part of Christian Formation Weekend.
Organizing the event were John Myers, pastor of The Bridge, and Brian
Alnes, youth pastor of Faith Covenant.
Buses donated by the local school helped bring people to the picnic,
held on the grounds of Faith Covenant. The congregations sought to feed
both body and spirit through worship led by The Bridge and followed by a
meal.
The attendees also were provided with a number of community and social
services. "It became way more holistic than I thought," says Alnes, who
had begun planning the event with Myers after initial discussions at the
Annual Meeting.
A representative from the Veteran's Administration helped to
re-establish benefits for veterans whose services had been dropped for
various reasons. "There are so many veterans on the street who have
served the country, and they don't know their rights or what benefits
they have," says Myers.
Attendees lined up for as long as an hour to meet with a representative
of an organization that helps the homeless find employment. A number of
them already have found jobs since Saturday, Myers says.
Also available were representatives of a company that helps the poor get
free medication and a recovery group. Important to many of the attendees
was getting a haircut given by stylists who attend either Faith Covenant
or The Bridge. As many as 70 haircuts were given.
Alnes says many members of his congregation did experience "fear and
trepidation" going into the event because, "for 90 percent of the
people, they had never done anything like this before." Their concerns
soon turned to gratitude.
The event proved emotionally powerful for members of Faith Covenant,
says Alnes, who also preached at the church's regular Sunday service. "I
probably had 15 to 20 people come up to me on Sunday. They hugged me
like I've never been hugged before after a service."
Many of those coming up to him after the service were older than 50, he
says, adding that they thanked him for stretching them beyond their
comfort zones. One woman found healing after suffering 45 years of pain
that began when a relative had been molested by a homeless person.
"She was bawling," Alnes says. "She fell apart in my arms." The woman
spent Saturday meeting as many of the attendees as she could, he adds.
"There was a lot of healing."
Working with the homeless has been a focus of The Bridge since it was
formed about three and a half years ago, says Myers. "Our goal is to
take one person off the street one at a time." The church has helped 16
people get off the street. Some have since been able to buy their own homes.
"We're a poor church," Myers says, adding that attendees at each of the
congregation's two Sunday services include people from the street. About
150 people attend the church, which is looking for a permanent building.
The church is giving away 2,000 Bibles in its community, and each person
attending Saturday's event received their own, Myers says. "That's where
the answers to all their life issues are," he explains.
Because churches can help meet spiritual as well as physical needs, they
are in unique positions to help the homeless, Myers says. "Anybody can
give away food and clothing," he explains.
The church hosted events such as Saturday's the past three years but
this was the first one in cooperation with another church. With the
congregations working together there was almost a one-to-one ratio of
volunteers and attendees, Myers says.
Alnes says he was inspired that several people who had come to
Saturday's event returned for service Sunday.
For more information, email Myers at thebridgechurch@tampabay.rr.com.
The church has put together a written plan with information on how to
hold such an event.
Faith Covenant Church can be reached at 727-525-1699 or at
office@fccusa.org.
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