Second Meeting
The Lord again created an awesome atmosphere of sharing during the second meeting of The Body of Christ.
Ben Wickel led off by recounting how Moore Square was blessed with a succession of ministries one Saturday, receiving clothing, prayer, brown bag lunches and even Gideon Bibles!
"We looked and could see church breaking out on the side of the street," Ben said.
Even as people were still arriving, one group was offering extended mattresses and box springs from N.C. State to a transitional house in need of sleeping accommodations. Others were discussing ways to spread the feeding programs to different downtown areas.
Roberta MacCauley of Catholic Social Ministries discussed her experiences helping 1,000 Katrina evacuees in Wake County with the help of 40 church congregations. As God would ordain, her group has been considering what to do once Katrina funding ends on July 1 -- and their emphasis has been on helping the Wake County homeless.
The group discussed ways to use the support circle concept of having several people teaming together to help each homeless person. There was also discussion of the best ways to approach churches -- both those who were involved with the Katrina project and others -- to help in the latest effort.
Ms. MacCauley said some important lessons from the Katrina project included making sure that there are resources to deal with mental-health issues, substance addictions and other things that might come up. She also said it was important to have dedicated case workers to oversee the work and provide support when unexpected things arise.
There were discussions of sending emails to Wake County churches, possibly with personal follow-ups to get them to attend an informational meeting in June.
There were more praise reports -- two couples have moved into a shared apartment and have received donated furniture from the Body of Christ. Members of the First United Methodist Church of Cary are helping to deliver food and other goods to 90 families served by Helping Hand. A new transitional home will be opening in June for men who have been substance free and out of jail for one year.
Among the new needs discussed were needs for:
Ben Wickel led off by recounting how Moore Square was blessed with a succession of ministries one Saturday, receiving clothing, prayer, brown bag lunches and even Gideon Bibles!
"We looked and could see church breaking out on the side of the street," Ben said.
Even as people were still arriving, one group was offering extended mattresses and box springs from N.C. State to a transitional house in need of sleeping accommodations. Others were discussing ways to spread the feeding programs to different downtown areas.
Roberta MacCauley of Catholic Social Ministries discussed her experiences helping 1,000 Katrina evacuees in Wake County with the help of 40 church congregations. As God would ordain, her group has been considering what to do once Katrina funding ends on July 1 -- and their emphasis has been on helping the Wake County homeless.
The group discussed ways to use the support circle concept of having several people teaming together to help each homeless person. There was also discussion of the best ways to approach churches -- both those who were involved with the Katrina project and others -- to help in the latest effort.
Ms. MacCauley said some important lessons from the Katrina project included making sure that there are resources to deal with mental-health issues, substance addictions and other things that might come up. She also said it was important to have dedicated case workers to oversee the work and provide support when unexpected things arise.
There were discussions of sending emails to Wake County churches, possibly with personal follow-ups to get them to attend an informational meeting in June.
There were more praise reports -- two couples have moved into a shared apartment and have received donated furniture from the Body of Christ. Members of the First United Methodist Church of Cary are helping to deliver food and other goods to 90 families served by Helping Hand. A new transitional home will be opening in June for men who have been substance free and out of jail for one year.
Among the new needs discussed were needs for:
- Low-cost (below $300 per month) housing for the homeless who are trying to qualify for housing grants.
- Pen pals for 14- to 17-year-old juvenile offenders.
- Drivers for the Church in the Woods bus.
- Prayers for ways to secure a Cary warehouse for the Body of Christ to use in many ways.
- Assistance for a downtown Raleigh transitional house that is in need of repairs.
The next meeting of the Body of Christ is scheduled for June 13th at 7 p.m.
Discussions will focus on new groups and people who should be invited to the meetings and the next steps to pave the way to implementing support circles.
posted by Al Boyce | 4:44 PM
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