WELCOME FROM HAYWOOD STREET

Updates:

Thank you to Red Door for showing up and helping to make the Haywood Street campus look so good. We’re so grateful for all of our partners who are willing to work beside us on these projects.

Here’s a heads up that a time change is coming to the Wednesday Downtown Welcome Table. Beginning on August 17th, the Welcome Table will be moved to 10:00-11:30 am. The hope is that this shift will allow companions and staff who want to attend worship at 12:30 have enough time to clean and transition upstairs.

Folks staying in the Respite–whether staff, companions, or friends–begin to feel like family after so long. We’re reminded of this the most when the time comes for them to move on to something new. This week we gathered to say farewell to one of our family members. Although the good-bye is always bittersweet, it is a reminder of the depth of community that forms in the Respite and at Haywood Street. That kind of community is truly invaluable.

Golf for Awareness registration opens on August 1st! This annual fundraising event benefits the Downtown Welcome Table and Respite, supporting those struggling with poverty and/or homelessness. The event will be held at the Asheville Municipal Golf Course on September 16th. Check out the highlights from last years event here.

Check out this updated calendar that lists the food resources in the Asheville area. You’ll find the organizations, times, and locations where folks can get meals and groceries each day.

COMPANION CORNER:

  • Servers Needed: The kitchen is in need of additional servers at the Downtown Welcome Table on Wednesdays and Sundays. If you’d like to help, please let Katlyn know or sign up and feel free to bring a friend!
  • Meal Train Meals Needed for Respite:  Every night of the week a wonderful home cooked meal is provided for our friends in Respite. This month there are several open days that we need folks to sign up for. You can do so here: https://mealtrain.com/dm2y6z. Feel free to share this need with your friends, Bible Studies, etc.
  • Haywood Street Hair Cutting Ministry – We are currently in the process of reimagining the Hair Cutting Ministry here that we have had in the past. If you would like to be a part of that process or would like to cut or wash hair when it is open, let Katlyn know!
  • 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

SACRED ENCOUNTERS

The term encounter is used in a few different contexts, like when we see someone unexpectedly, share a special moment with someone, or talk about conflicts or other uncomfortable situations. The general sense, though, is that when we “encounter” someone, there’s usually some experience of awe, struggle, mystery, vulnerability—and sometimes all of these things at once.

The gospels are filled with stories of Jesus encountering others. He encounters the sick, the poor, the wealthy, those with no status, and those with high status. In all those encounters, Jesus tells us–and better yet, shows us–how to be in relationship with others, others who sometimes (most of the time) seem very different from us. These stories, however small and insignificant they may seem, have life altering consequences. People are made well. People are rebuked. But everytime, they walk away differently than they were before.

At Haywood Street, we have seen that Jesus is most visible in individuals who are among the abused, abandoned, and ignored in society. Having come into this world homeless and without status, Jesus teaches that these are the very people who his disciples ought to seek out and live among. Only when there’s an openness to those on the margins, will we see and experience the sacredness of those tormented by the wounds of the world.

The transformation that comes from these encounters will go both ways if there is giving and receiving. If not able to receive–like Peter learned in the upper room as Jesus washed his feet–then any giving will be futile. This kind of encounter dissolves the boundaries separating one from another, and it recognizes and affirms the dignity of each person.

There is no question that sacred encounters occur everyday at Haywood Street. They are the moments that cultivate relationships among friends and companions. Sharing these encounters, recognizing and naming how they transform us, are some of the most significant ways we can participate in Jesus’ mission to break down the walls of who is in and who is out.

So, here is the invitation for you–friends and companions–to share your sacred encounter. Share the moment that transformed you–the moment that was unexpected, challenging, or awe inspiring. And be vulnerable. That’s the only way seeds begin to take root.

To have your sacred encounter featured in the newsletter, email Lead Storyteller, Melanee at melanee@haywoodstreet. org