WELCOME FROM HAYWOOD STREET:
UPDATES:
Corporate sponsors help make our events successful and support Haywood St. programs all year long. Please join us in thanking sponsors who are supporting this year’s planned events, including the first annual “Miss Mary’s Meatloaf Dinner”. Click here to learn more and identify sponsors that have signed on to-date.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
2. UPDATE: The clothing closet donation bin will be unlocked every Monday-Wednesday, 9:00-3:00. Please contact Hannah if you need to arrange an alternate day & time to drop off seasonal items.
3. Easter Sunday: We will have and outdoor worship service at 11:00 on Sunday, April 4. Please mask up and join us if you’re able!
COMPANION CORNER:
A note from Hannah —
“I know we are all so eager to get back and I am so excited to begin to rebuild with each of you. I am asking for folks to pick a day for the inside opportunities at this point to allow more companions the opportunity to return. Please consider this as you begin to make your way back. The opportunity for fellowship and presence is ALWAYS open, you just may not have a formal ‘job’.”
– Saturday Breakfast Prep will return on April 3
– Easter, April 4, Sunday companions are needed for the DWT’s return to the parking lot.
– Beginning Tuesday, April 6 we will begin clothing closet prep again 9 – 12
***Community Garden & other Holy Grounds
Our beloved, Robert Stafford, will be our garden lead this year as well as our property’s primary care-taker. If you are interested in being on the garden correspondence each week please let Hannah know. Our first garden opportunities are as follows.
9 AM – 12 PM Thursday, April 1 – Grounds clean up and maintenance in preparation for Easter
9 AM – 12 PM – Monday, April 5 – Campus and property clean up
9 AM – 12 PM – Tuesday, April 6 – Garden/Property Maintenance
9 AM – 12 PM – Wednesday, April 7 – 1st official Garden workday
A HAYWOOD STREET ASK:
Dear Haywood Street Supporter,
It has been one year since our doors first closed; since our staff huddled downstairs, timid to breathe the same air, baffled by how we would continue to feed, clothe and care for our Friends, while adhering to the rules of a mandatory shut-down. Our questions were endless, but our knowing was singular – our commitment to our community would not waver.
The devastation of the pandemic has been undeniable. Many of our beloved Friends have experienced relapse, loss of shelter, and new levels of mental illness, poverty and hunger. But, what cannot be overlooked, in the midst of this desperation, is the mysterious and abundant grace that decidedly wrapped itself around the Haywood Street Community and refused to leave us where it found us.
Grace trespassed through the dining room and ensured that we never missed the serving of a single Welcome Table meal. Grace remembered the sick and the wounded and found a way for us to safely re-open Respite. Grace would not allow our brothers and sisters to be without clothing, toiletries, and camping gear, so the donations came flooding in, and we sorted and distributed them to those in need. More recently, grace unlocked the doors to our sanctuary, creating a space for recovery meetings and for individuals to schedule time for prayer and contemplation. And earlier this month, grace in all its glory, allowed us to begin the vaccination of our staff and Friends, and brought us hope and gratitude through the process.
The thing about grace is that while it is something God gives recklessly to us, it is also something we share with each other. The tireless work of staff, the flexibility and understanding of companions, the generous donations from supporters – it is all a holy, heaven-on-earth kind of grace and it is the saving grace of this ministry.
As we move forward, we acknowledge both the wilderness we have traversed and the uncharted thicket that still lies ahead. By no means are we out of the woods, but with your support, we are well on our way. To ensure our community remains fed, clothed, connected and cared for, please continue to give as you are able.
Or send checks via mail to: PO Box 2982 / Asheville, NC / 28802
With abundant grace and gratitude,
The staff of Haywood Street Congregation
