Wonderful Local Writer Pens Feature on Church Aiding Homeless in Spite of Hardship

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Naga_Fireball
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Wonderful Local Writer Pens Feature on Church Aiding Homeless in Spite of Hardship

Post by Naga_Fireball »

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 note to EE readers, in a reply to Anders earlier in the thread about our reaction to death, i mentioned some dreams of my deceased father.

In one of these dreams, about 4 years ago, i dreamed that i saw my father standing facing me in the road outside of a walla walla church.

On top of the church was a fancy lighthouse looking dining room with no people. In the basement was a cheerless congregation of scared Christians. My father pointed silently up the street, Get the Hell out of here while you can, his eyes pleading. 

-NF 
......

Walla Walla church weathers split over aid program
Sheila Hagar Jan 22, 2017 Updated 10 hrs ago (0)


As a cluster of adults pushed through the side door of New Beginnings Chapel in Walla Walla, the aroma of hot food and promise of heat wafted out into the bitter, late-morning air Jan. 13.

“We’ll need a door keeper today,” the Rev. Tim Bruner exclaimed, closing the glass door swiftly after each arrival to the church’s Friday “soup kitchen” lunch.

And while there were three steaming soups to be had, there was also a host of other items, from salad to deli-style sandwiches to egg-and-sausage casserole and a spread of desserts.

By teaming with Spokane-based Second Harvest Food Bank, Bruner’s church has gained access to donated food from local restaurants and stores. That’s allowed church members to lay out a buffet meal every week and have food to send home with those who lack groceries.

“I tell everyone on Friday, ‘Welcome to the grocery store,’” Bruner said. “We give away 120 loaves of bread a week, and milk, chicken, cheese — and that’s the way I want it.”

The meal is one part of what the small church on the west end of Main Street does in serving those living in homelessness, poverty and other difficult situations. New Beginnings also serves as an informal overnight shelter, both when the number of Walla Walla Warming Center users overflow the space at First Congregational Church on Palouse Street, and when Bruner’s organizers decide a night is just too cold to not open the doors.

“These people are out there in 30 degrees,” Bruner noted. “Have you tried being outside in 30 degrees? It’s nasty.”

Giving vulnerable people shelter, food and warmth is what Christians are supposed to be doing, he pointed out.

Not everyone has agreed with the pastor’s vision, however. The New Beginnings flock is thinner than it was when the homeless ministry began about a year ago, Bruner said. Church income has dropped, too.

It’s been painful, he conceded.

“I tell people, ‘Make sure you’re called for a ministry, because if you’re not called, it can end in tragedy.”

Helping body and soul
The soup lunch feeds more than the body. Once a month a local physician does blood pressure checks and mini physical exams. Annett Bovent of Hope Heals mans a table piled high with donated winter clothing, new knit caps and mittens. She passes the items out to people in need at New Beginnings and Walla Walla Warming Center as part of the mission of her nonprofit agency, Bovent said.

A few yards away, stylist Carrie Wilbur offered free haircuts on this day in one corner of the large room. “Wild Bill” Justton agreed to let Wilbur snip away some of his gray hair, but planned to leave his long beard alone as a sort of shield.

“Every time I get my hair cut and beard trimmed, the women make passes at me,” the 79 year-old said with a twinkle in his eye.

Around the fellowship hall people like Scott Rumple settled in with a plateful of food.

Rumple, 43, has taken advantage of the free lunches at this church and others in Walla Walla for the past year or so.

“The food is good,” he said, “And when you’re needing it ….”

Rumple said he has been without steady work for some time now, despite having recently graduated from an auto mechanic program.

“But I work for a temp agency as a general laborer all I can,” he added.

Established a decade ago, New Beginnings has tried out a number of ways to be a force for social good in Walla Walla, as a stand-alone group funded only by donations, Bruner said.

Last year the church was asked to join with other area churches serving free, hot lunches. Christian Aid Center on Birch Street offers breakfast and dinner to all those needing those meals.


Division among the flock
Bruner and his church council initially added a communal Sunday breakfast. That’s when frustration among some members of the flock began to filter in.

“Homeless people came in, and some were drunk. Some congregation members were worried about their kids being there,” Bruner said, recalling an incident where one man passed out at the morning meal.

Although he then closed the breakfast to the public, Bruner conceded he went “overboard” at first in serving people who live with challenges, including being homeless.

“People thought we were going to be a ‘homeless’ ministry,” he recalled.

Within the year, 10 or so families departed New Beginnings, including some in leadership positions. Some cited the behaviors and odors of those now sitting in the sanctuary, Bruner said.

Give-and-take was needed, the church council learned.

“You get excited about a ministry and you move forward,” Bruner noted. “But if we’re not balanced, you get yourself in trouble … but you can’t throw the baby out with the bath water.”

Bouncing back
Despite the setback, Bruner’s baby is growing once again, faster than ever.

Friday’s meal is feeding 80 to 110 people regularly, and when the church opens for overnight shelter, 15 or more people each time agree to stay put for the night, not use alcohol or tobacco, and that the men will sleep in a different area than the women.

Any overnight guest who can lend a hand to something around the church is asked to do so. All have been happy to help.

“These people have to feel worthless at times, and we don’t want them to feel that way,” Bruner said.

Nothing his church is doing is meant to clash with other community efforts to serve at-risk residents, Bruner emphasized.

“I know everyone is doing good work … this is not a competitive thing,” he said. “We’re all going to save lives or lives are going to be lost.”

The New Beginnings congregation is growing again, too, with new families joining those who stayed with the church’s mission.

Newcomers were drawn to a place working with “the broken and wounded,” Bruner said.

The church budget, cut by a third when families left, is also healthier — important in that balance equation Bruner seeks.

“We’re trying to be creative in bringing in money so we don’t tax our congregation,” he said. “We’re not out of the hole, but we’re climbing out.”

The past year has affirmed what New Beginnings has been called to do, which includes a number of ministries, Bruner said.

“This is a very important part of our church but it’s just one part,” he said. “We want the community to know that going to church and being a Christian is not the last thing you do for God.”

Sheila Hagar can be reached at sheilahagar@wwub.com or 526-8322.
Brotherhood falls asunder at the touch of fire!
He finds his fellow guilty of a skin
Not coloured like his own, and having power
To enforce the wrong, for such a worthy cause
Dooms and devotes him as his lawful prey.
~William Cowper
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Re: Wonderful Local Writer Pens Feature on Church Aiding Homeless in Spite of Hardship

Post by Naga_Fireball »

Sheila is a selfless and caring journalist who has experience with children of disability. She gives extra attention to issues other writers often overlook. This community would be years behind without her.
Brotherhood falls asunder at the touch of fire!
He finds his fellow guilty of a skin
Not coloured like his own, and having power
To enforce the wrong, for such a worthy cause
Dooms and devotes him as his lawful prey.
~William Cowper
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