November 27- December 4, 2011
Ministry Opportunities:
- Prepare & deliver a meal which serves 14 - 20 people.
- 3 flexible hours
- Serve as an evening host from 5:30 – 8:30 p.m.
- 3 hours/night
- Serve as an overnight host from 8:30 p.m. – 7 a.m. Separate room provided.
- 10.5 hours/night
- Help wash linens
- 3 flexible hours
- Serve on Set-up and Take Down Team
- 2 hours
Contact Jara Jones or Beth Holladay to get involved or learn more about the ministry opportunities.
What does GAIHN stand for? Greenville Area Interfaith Hospitality Network
GAIHN works by partnering with area congregations to provide clean, comfortable shelter for homeless families in classrooms of participating church facilities. GAIHN is the ONLY Homeless shelter in Greenville that keeps families together. At any other area shelter, if you are a single parent and your child is 10 years or older, you will be separated from them if they are a different gender than you. GAIHN closely screens Guest families and does not allow anyone with an active domestic violence case in the program, anyone using drugs, or other criminal offenses. Most of the families are working and if they are not, GAIHN helps them during the day with job searches or partners with United Ministries to help them get GED or employment readiness or obtain other skills.
Hospitality is the key- We as a congregation make the experience a true GAIN for guests & hosts alike. Families gain dignity and a way back to normalcy. Volunteers gain a wealth of fellowship and the opportunity to make a real difference in someone's life by doing what we do best at Westminster - gracious hospitality.
Hosting the program within our own facility in this very personal way provides hidden benefits for guests and for volunteers. Guests feel the warm fellowship of God’s people in a very tangible way. Providing comfort and interacting with these struggling families brings the issue of homelessness to the forefront in volunteers’ minds and puts a real face on this social issue. These families are not just “out there in a shelter”, they are guests in our church home and in real need of our hospitality.
Yet, temporary shelter housed in church facilities is only one part of what GAIHN does to fight homelessness. Because of the generosity of so many member congregations, GAIHN now has 21 transitional homes that guests “graduate” to on their road back to stable living conditions. Parents that demonstrate responsibility and complete milestones in required training programs become eligible for these homes. Most transitional homes belong to churches, acquired by various means. Some are staff houses or parsonages that congregations are no longer using or they have been donated to the church by members.
The next step for families beyond transitional housing is section 8 housing or even home ownership. GAIHN works with those determined to help themselves to achieve permanent housing. Three years after my family’s host meal with the Williams family at our first GAIHN volunteer slot, we had the distinct pleasure of attending the House Warming of their new Habitat Home. That is one of the sweetest bites of “reception cake” we have tasted in a long time!
WPC is thrilled to be a part of the hosting network with our members and beautiful church facilities. Jara Jones and Beth Holladay are co-coordinating the hospitality efforts for the church. We will have up to 3 families stay at the church who check in on Sunday evening and check out the following Sunday morning by 7:00 a.m. GAIHN will provide WPC with the names and ages of the families before they arrive as well as providing food preferences and any allergies.
The areas we are focusing on right now include the following:
- GAIHN Coordinators are asking groups in the church to consider taking responsibility for one evening each time we host the GAIHN families. We will host the families the week of November 27 – December 4. At most we will host 4 times in one calendar year.
- What does it mean to take an evening? This would include having group members help with providing a dinner for about 14 – 20 people, being an evening host from 5:30 – 8:30 p.m., or being an overnight host from 8:30 p.m. – 7:00 a.m.
- We are also looking for individuals or a group to wash all the linens at the end of a week of hosting or be on our set up or take down team.
If your group wants to try one or more parts of the hospitality roles above, that is great too – meaning you don’t have to take all the parts of an evening. To learn more about GAIHN visit their website at www.GAIHN.org.
