WELCOME FROM HAYWOOD STREET:
UPDATES:
The blue bin is no longer available for clothing closet donations. Please drop off seasonal items and camping gear on Tuesdays from 10am-noon around back by the white door. If this day and time does not work for you, please reach out to Hannah. Thank you!
Robert is inviting community participation in the garden and with campus maintenance Sunday-Tuesday each week, 9am-12pm. Contact Robert if you would like to make a donation of edible plants and/or flowers.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
2. Haywood Street has multiple employment opportunities! More…
3. Our Amazon Wishlist has been updated! Donations of these items go directly to our unhoused Friends and those healing at Respite.
COMPANION CORNER:
A note from Hannah:
If you are hoping to make a return soon, please let me know what days and where and I will do my best to plug you into your first preference. For now, I may only be able to schedule you for just one day/week in your preferred location, and I may ask you to be flexible when needed. On the days I am unable to accommodate everyone, you are always welcome to come and just be a presence on campus without an official role on Wednesdays and Sundays. Remember, relationship above all else is always our first priority!
Downtown Welcome Table: This week Ms. Mary will return to the kitchen to prepare her famous meatloaf. Per Chef Dave’s request, we are limiting each kitchen shift to 4 companions and 1 Lead (usually Kaleb, Dave, or Mary) with 5 people maximum since space is limited. If you would like a kitchen shift in the coming weeks please let Hannah know and she will get you on the calendar. With the exception of this week, will restart Tuesday prep beginning in May.
Clothing Closet: If you would like to come help sort donations on Tuesdays 10am-12pm, or help as an attendant on Wednesdays, please let me know.
Respite: Sign up to provide a meal for Respite meal here
Supplemental Opportunity: The Alzheimer’s Association is hosting a free course for our community on Effective Communication Strategies for folks with dementia and/or Alzheimer’s on Tuesday, April 13 from 2 pm – 3 pm. Please register ahead of time here if you would like to attend.
Please remember that we are still requiring masks to be worn by all staff and companions while at Haywood Street (per the recommendations of the CDC) and we are asking you to abide by a covenant of care and responsibility when you are not at Haywood Street. We affirm the humanity, worth, and dignity of our neighbor when we show love and care through this small but mighty action.
A HAYWOOD STREET REFLECTION BY: APRIL
I’ve carved out a workspace for myself in the balcony of the sanctuary. While it is a lovely spot, it can be lonesome. I remember it, pre-pandemic days, to be a peaceful refuge for our friends, a place to literally take weight from their shoulders and rest for a while. I use the rolltop desk that has been used in the past as a control board to record services, to hold my notebook and laptop. Pastor Brian told me that the desk was made by Charlie Burns and I think of that when I roll it open and close it each day.
As many of the ministries of Haywood have evolved over the last year, so has the use of the sanctuary. Guests still visit the Fresco, but they now come in pairs, instead of in larger groups spilling out of church vans or school buses. Recovery groups continue to meet several nights a week, spread out in the pews. The only evidence they’ve been there is the occasional coffee mug or pair of reading glasses left behind. The sanctuary has been a place where the staff has come weekly for COVID testing, often the only time we would see each other in a week. Testing has been like a guidepost from week to week, a way to make sure we help keep the community, and one another, safe.
In recent weeks the sanctuary was transformed into a clinic where staff and friends were able to receive the COVID vaccine. Many of us were giddy on those days, seeing and interacting with friends inside the building, feeling ourselves move closer to being in physical community with one another. Both times I received the vaccine, I focused on Jerry and Wayne in the Fresco to distract myself from the shot. And I, like many others, waited longer than 15 minutes during the suggested observation time, because it was just so nice to sit with other people there in that space for a little while.
A couple of the definitions of the word sanctuary in the Merriam-Webster dictionary are: a sacred or holy space, and a space that provides safety or protection. Even though we have not been able to gather inside for worship, Haywood has in large and small ways, provided sanctuary. And for all of these ways, I am grateful.
If you’d like to visit the sanctuary, whether to learn about the Fresco, or spend time in quiet prayer or reflection, feel welcome to schedule a time by emailing me, april@haywoodstreet.org. Also, stay tuned for more information about open Fresco hours soon returning to the weekly schedule later this month.
