Congregations for the Homeless is coming to East Shore in October. Support of the shelter is one of the main ways East Shore fulfills “service is our prayer,” but not enough people are volunteering! You can sign up right now!
Congregations for the Homeless (CFH) is our October ministry, where 25-30 homeless single men stay in our Spring Hall from 6:45 p.m.-7:00 a.m. They are served a hot dinner, breakfast, and can utilize our shower facilities, laundry, and receive life-coach counseling, basic personal health care advice, and may select donated good-condition clothing.
These men have often spent months to years of their lives feeling the judgment and shame of being homeless. To have a volunteer bring a warm meal and offer a smile and a kind word is powerful; to sit down and share a meal with these men is a true gift for you and them alike. Eating and chatting with them allows them to feel a part of society, and it allows you to see they aren’t so different from the rest of us. Sharing a meal sends a clear message to the men that they are lovable and loved; you too will enjoy a much more genuine experience from this brief interaction. You don’t need to be pressured to solve any of their issues during dinner; all you need to do is care about them, and be interested in what’s happening in their lives.
Right now, we need 6 groups to provide dinners, 20 people to host (greet the clients and represent East Shore), 7 to shop for supplies (using a provided list), and 23 to create sandwiches (using provided fixings). You can sign up HERE. If you would like more information, call Dean Dubofsky (425-495-3328) or Peggy Phillips (425-417-1366)
“What can you do to change the situation? You might not be able to do a great deal, but start where you are and do what you can where you are.” – Desmond Tutu
Your Women’s Perspective Ministry Team has been working to develop action items to address the reproductive injustices that are resulting from the overturning of Roe V Wade. Here are some ways we can all get involved:
Donate items for AfterCare Kits for women receiving abortions, in coordination with Northwest Abortion Access. Women’s Perspective will have bins in the sanctuary lobby to collect requested items, which include:
Overnight maxipads
Disposable or home made heating pads
Chux (bed pads)
Fluffy sox
Graham crackers, granola bars
Chocolate
Herbal and other teas
Lip balm
Advil/Tylenol/Emergen-C
Hand written notes of affirmation and support
Medium size paper or fabric gift bags
Donate Travel Points/Miles to “Points with Purpose”which connects points holders with nonprofits and practical support organizations who are coordinating travel for critical abortion care
Support local reproductive care and advocacy organizations:
ProChoiceWashington which focuses on political and legislative advocacy for reproductive freedom in Washington state
SeattleNOW, which works to protect women’s right to choose
Look for Postcard Writing opportunities in support of voting access and turnout. ESUC is partnering with both state and national organizations in this effort. Most writing for the November elections is complete, but other issues and opportunities continue to arise.
Some additional efforts are in the works, including:
Phone banking
Working with our sister churches in the Seattle area, and in the Spokane/Idaho border area
Reaching out to organizations in deeply red areas such as Texas and the South
Questions, suggestions and help are warmly welcomed!
Lori Saccardi, Women’s Perspective Co-Chair/Reproductive Justice Chair
East Shore is blessed to receive and display the “E Ala E” Mural in the Sanctuary. It is the culmination of a collaborative process between Guatemalan Social Artist, Melanie Schambach, and hundreds of contributors across the country. East Shore members and friends painted parts of the Mural as it accompanied the Red Road to DC Totem Pole journey over the summer, 2021.
We invite you to view the Mural accompanied by photographs and explanatory materials in the Sanctuary. The mural will be on display at East Shore through October, 2022. Don’t miss it!
For those who would like to try their hand at coloring some of the images, please note that Melanie has generously offered a free coloring book and coloring sheets available at her website: melanieschambach.com/ealaedownloads.
Women-Helping-Women (WHW) is a group that Laurie Wick started in 2008 influenced by hearing Nicholas Kristof and Sheryle WuDunn speak about their book ‘Half the Sky’.
We have grown to125 women, mostly from East Shore but not all. Pre-pandemic we always had at least one global project and one local project benefiting girls and women. We were very active with a group called Baracat, who built schools for girls in Afghanistan. We helped pay for supplies and teachers’ salaries. Unfortunately, these schools have either shut down or gone underground since the Taliban took over the country. We have partnered with our Muslim sisters from the Muslim Assoc. of Puget Sounds (MAPS) in Redmond on many wonderful projects.
We also have supported The Sophia Way homeless women’s shelter from the beginning, providing meals and financial support. We currently have some volunteers doing this important work. They cook/buy a meal once/month to deliver to the Bellevue shelter and could always use more help.
For the three years preceding the pandemic we were very actively involved in Lake Hills Elementary, which is located about one mile from East Shore. This school is Title One, which means 60% of its kids are low income. There are at least 25 different languages spoken here in addition to the Spanish Immersion.
Lake Hills tutoring is back! There are two 2nd Grade and one 1st Grade classroom that want volunteer reading tutors. More if we have Spanish speaking volunteers.
Some of you participated in this program pre-Covid when we had tutors in the 2nd grade classrooms for 3 1/2 years. It is not a hard job and there will be training in September. We have made such a huge difference in the lives of these children. Comparison testing done between Lake Hills tutored children and non-tutored children from another nearby low income school definitely showed that. This is a very fun and rewarding volunteer role and only requires about an hour/week of your time.
Congregations for the Homeless (CFH) is a non-profit dedicated to helping Eastside men who are experiencing homelessness as they move towards independent living. Each month a CFH shelter rotates from one Eastside congregation to another. East Shore hosts the Rotating Shelter in October.
The Shelter provides a vibrant healthy community where men can rest, recover and rejuvenate. In addition to accessing case management supports, the men are able to obtain three meals a day, washers, dryers, showers, and haircuts. To be at the shelter, a man must
Have a current state picture I.D.
Allow CFH to run a criminal background check. (No one convicted of a sex offense crime is allowed.)
Be willing to be drug- and alcohol-free, and willing to address any addiction issues.
Be willing to work one-on-one with a Housing Navigator.
In this time of COVID, interaction with the men in the Shelter is in flux. Your CFH Ministry team will soon be looking for volunteers.
For more information you can go to cfhomeless.org or contact Dean Dubofsky (425-495-3328) or Peggy Phillips (425-417-3539)
The Share the Plate collection on August 14 will be for NWAAF, the Northwest Abortion Access Fund. This is an abortion fund usually serving Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and Alaska. Since the recent Supreme Court decision, their work has become even more crucial, and they have expanded their services to other states.
Trained, compassionate volunteer advocates run their toll-free hotline. They help people pay for their abortion care by sending funding directly to the clinic. They also help people get to and from the clinic and make sure people traveling for care have a safe place to stay.
A representative will be available on the 14th to provide more information about the organization. We hope our congregation will generously support their vital work.
