For several months FPC offered Christian hospitality to a group of men with no homes of their own. Our Winter Emergency Shelter, in partnership with Urban Ministry, shared a meal and a warm, quiet, safe place to sleep. Many thanks to everyone who helped make it happen. For member Paul Leonard, one of our regular shelter volunteers, this ministry was an experience of the authentic connection that is part of our church’s vision. He shares his experience below.
Paul Leonard
I was happy when I learned that our church would be hosting a winter shelter in the Shetler Building due to my pleasure of working in two previous shelters. I volunteered when the shelter was in the basement of the Memorial Building and when it was in the white house on Greene Street and I had great experiences both times.
My duties this year were to man the entrance to the shelter, located in the lower level of the parking deck, for the hours of 6 till 9 pm. I greeted the guests as they arrived, and it was a pleasure getting to know them on a first-name basis and to see if they had any special requests that night. They seemed to value the personal reception that they received, and they were appreciative of having a place to stay and being treated with respect.
An important benefit of the shelter to the guests was that I could schedule them for hot showers with abundant towels in the basement of the Memorial Building. The guests also enjoyed the quantity and quality of the food served each night, particularly the desserts.
I was impressed by the number of volunteers that provided the excellent food and the number of volunteers from our church and other churches that performed critical tasks in keeping the shelter operating on a high level. One of the personal benefits to me was getting to know some of our members and volunteers from the other churches during our three-hour shifts together.
See WFMY’s story on the shelter program.
