WINTER SANCTUARY HOMELESS SHELTER
We have opened a shelter utilizing all of the local congregations through a grass roots effort. We have included area colleges as well as community organization. This has never been attempted in our community and opened on Dec. 8th. Our hours of operation is 10:00 pm - 7:00 am with volunteers showing up at 9:00 pm to set up cots and personal hygiene items. Guests must be gone by 7:00 am to allow time for the Church to use the building for other programs. We do not do background checks on guests because we believe that as Christians we should accept anyone into our shelter. By law, we must report sex offenders that register in our shelter. We will provide breakfast every morning as well as hot drinks. Each person will be issued hygiene items. Every night, a simple prayer is said to end the day. We are amazed that so many churches of different ideology have come together to serve this cause.
To provide a cold weather shelter for men in Knox County no matter what their circumstances are, in which they are treated with dignity and provided a warm and safe environment. As a church, our mission statement is to "show Jesus"
We believe that in order to be successful, we must include all the churches and organizations in our community as possible:
- Interchurch
- St. Paul's Episcopal
- First Congregational
- First Church of the Nazarene
- Fredericktown Seventh Day Adventist
- Gay St. Methodist
- Howard United Methodist
- St. Vincent Catholic Church
- Christ the King Fredericktown
- Lakeholm Nazarene
- Gay St. Methodist
- First Presbyterian
- Harcourt Parish
- Kenyon College
- Church of Christ
- Mt. Vernon Nazarene University
- Kenyon College
- The Main Place on Gay St.
practicing radical hospitality ‚—receiving all into our community of faith regardless of who they are or where they are on their spiritual journey
our actions and our love ‚—demonstrated
in our care for one another,
in making a difference in our community and world,
in seeking justice and peace,
in being the Light of Christ
in asking and reflecting on ‚"What Would Jesus Do ‚" to guide our actions
in developing community with Christ and one another
by supporting activities that resist reducing people to statistics and consumers
engaging in worship and spirituality
that honors our heritage yet is fresh and innovative,
that celebrates all that is simple, true and beautiful
that comforts as well as transforms
that speaks to our deepest hungers and yearnings.
a commitment to lifelong Christian formation,
that is rooted in Christ,
that values scripture, tradition, reason and experience,
that creates a safe haven for all who seek a deeper knowledge of God.
a commitment to stewardship:
that cares for the earth as God ‚’s creation
that discovers and uses our spiritual gifts to build up the church and to serve the world
that gives of our treasure, time and talent in manner that reflects our belief that ‚"all things come of thee, O Lord and from thine own have we given thee ‚"
embracing the future with faith, hope and confidence, acknowledging that the Holy Spirit guides and leads us
