WELCOME FROM HAYWOOD STREET:

UPDATES:

Mark Windham is a student at East Carolina. For his Documentary Production class, he created this video on Haywood Street and the Downtown Welcome Table. Mark did a beautiful job telling the story in a few minutes. We are thrilled to share it with you and hope you will watch and give Mark the thumbs up.

The Hospitality Dining Room will be even brighter soon. We are changing out the block glass windows for one’s that will open. This work is ongoing for the next few weeks.  We look forward to letting the summer breeze through the new windows.

Haywood Street Respite has created a new role for companions. The Healthcare Advocate Companion will accompany Respite friends to medical appointments. The Healthcare Advocate Companion will be there to listen to the doctor (a second set of ears is often helpful), ask follow-up questions (if needed), as well as simply offer support and companionship in what is often a stress for time. If you are interested in being a Respite Healthcare Advocate Companion contact either Katlyn or nicole@haywoodstreet.org.

I Am Home Art show – many of Haywood Street friends’ will have their artwork on display. Stop by and remember Haywood Street’s friend Blue too.

COMPANION CORNER:

  • UPCOMING: Mark your calendars for a Companion Fellowship Event Tuesday on June 21 in the dining room 5:00pm-7:00pm. Dinner will be provided! More information to come.

  • NEW MINISTRY UPDATES – Starting the week of May 1

    • Sunday Bible Study – 11:00am in the sanctuary

    • Tuesday Prayer Group – 12:00 in the sanctuary – Gather for a time of communal prayer

    • Thursday Card Making Group – 10:00am in Room 1 (off the main lobby) – Gather together to make cards for our community and friends in prison or in the hospital.

  • Next Companion Orientation this Monday June 6 at 5:00pm in the sanctuary – invite your friends to become companions at Haywood Street! Register here: https://fb.me/e/1B5vIrdlG

A Reflection from Kerry S:

 

When you visit Haywood Street you will find an abundance of opportunities to meet other people, mingle, maybe learn something new or create a card to give a friend or family member. Play in the garden. Also available are different meetings and counseling options along with the invitation to come and eat with us at The Downtown Welcome Table for Sunday Breakfast or Wednesday Lunch.

Or, sit in the Sanctuary and “Be”.

You are welcome at Haywood!

Relationships, connecting, and being in community are what we are all about.

I’ve had the Blessing to be a Companion for almost 11 years. In those years we have had a lot of changes, growth, heartache, and pain. 

The constant is LOVE!

In Matthew 22-40, we read that Jesus was questioned by the Pharisees, “Teachers, what is the greatest commandment in the Law?” Jesus replied, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”

Jesus did not tell me (us) to love the person who looks like me; or talks like me; or thinks like me; or has the same friends or likes the same things. He said to love my neighbor, and we may know when He was asked, “And who is my neighbor (Luke 10:29) Jesus replied with the parable of The Good Samaritan: the man who when traveling from Jerusalem to Jericho was was assaulted by robbers and left to die on the side of the road. Two men, a priest and a Levite saw him and crossed the road to avoid him – offering no help. But, a Samaritan man “saw him, he took pity on him. Bandaged his wounds, put him on his donkey and took him to an inn where he paid for his care.” (Luke 10: 33-35)

In the next verse Jesus asked the ‘expert in the law’, “Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of the robbers?” The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.” Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.”

Like the Samaritan, who left a positive impression or ‘wake’ on the traveler he rescued, we all leave an ‘emotional wake’ when we interact with others – stirring up emotions in those around us. I read a weekly Christian based website called The Wellness Compass. A few weeks ago the article was titled, ‘Take Responsibility for Your Emotional Wake’. I was admittedly curious about the title and what was my ‘emotional wake’. The opening line was an invitation to bring to mind a person who creates positive and life-giving energy. Then to pause and remember what it felt like to be with that person. “The feeling you had when you remembered the person who positively affected you is the ‘emotional wake’ they have created in your life. That is a person we want to be with. Most of us have seen a boat traveling across the water – it leaves a trail of stirred up water behind it – a wake. We all leave an ‘emotional wake’ when we interact with others – stirring up emotions in those around us. They may be positive or negative, or even neutral. The important part to remember is that we are leaving this wake behind us as we travel through life. We need to ensure our own wake is not tipping people over.” (Holly and Scott Stoner)

We are all neighbors. We all need mercy that God offers us in abundance. We all need friends, companions, buddies, and confidants. We all need that person who leaves a positive ‘emotional wake’.

Be that person with positive energy. Positive attitude. Be a good listener. Be trusting and trustworthy. Be Respectful.

“I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” Maya Angelou

❤️ THE GREATEST OF THESE IS LOVE ❤️