Nichols-Bethel United Methodist Church » Homeless Shelter

Homeless Shelter 2008 Recap

Bill Oley — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 16:46:56 +0000

During the first week of March, Nichols-Bethel ministered successfully to 25 homeless men who were our guests. This successful ministry was made possible by the willingness of so many members of our congregation to step out in faith and extend a hand to these men, by providing transportation, by staying with them in the shelter, by preparing and serving their meals, and many other acts of Christian kindness. More
than 50 Nichols-Bethel members devoted approximately 500 total hours during this week and I believe that we touched their lives in important ways. I want to thank all of you who gave so freely of your time and energy. It was an uplifting week for me and I hope all of you feel similarly blessed.

Jim Roser
Shelter Director

Homeless Shelter Needs

Bill Oley — Mon, 21 Jan 2008 17:55:59 +0000

During the week of March 3-10, Nichols-Bethel United Methodist Church will host the Winter Relief rotating shelter for 25 homeless men and women. One of the essential elements of that ministry is providing transportation from the Arundel House of Hope Day Center in Glen Burnie to the church each evening and return transportation from the church to Glen Burnie each morning. These transportation requirements represent a significant challenge for our congregation. The availability of a bus, van, or other large vehicle would be of great help to us. If anyone has a bus, van, or other vehicle capable of carrying at least 12 passengers that could be used to help transport our guests, please call Jim Roser at 410 672-6533.

Thanks to all of you who responded so generously to our plea for sheets to assist with the homeless ministry. The response was heartwarming – we received enough sheets to meet our needs and to assist another church participating in the Winter Relief Program.

Winter Relief for the Homeless–Volunteers Needed

Administrator — Mon, 07 Jan 2008 02:34:03 +0000

Nichols-Bethel will again host the Winter Relief shelter for homeless men and women from 03-10 March 2008. This is an opportunity to touch the lives of people in a very unique and personal way. We will need volunteers to act as shelter monitors and to help with driving our guests between the Church and the Winter Relief day center in Glen Burnie. We normally have the shelter manned in two shifts with two volunteers per shift; the first from 5:00 P.M. to 11:30 P.M. and the second from 11:30 P.M to 7:00 A.M. the following morning. We will also need five or six drivers, depending on the capacity of the cars, each morning and each evening and we usually need a few additional drivers to pick up guests who need to come in after hours because of medical appointments or job requirements. If you would like to help with this ministry or want additional information, please call Jim Roser at 410 672-6533 or Rick Binfield at 410 551-5917.

Winter Relief for the Homeless

Bill Oley — Mon, 26 Mar 2007 01:09:26 +0000

During the week of 05-12 March Nichols-Bethel provided shelter for 24 homeless guests (15 men and 9 women) as part of the Arundel House of Hope Winter Relief for the Homeless program. We not only gave our guests shelter from the elements (which were pretty severe that particular week), but we also treated them with kindness and compassion.

During the course of the week, I heard many expressions of gratitude from our guests for the hospitality extended by the members of Nichols-Bethel; I think we made a difference in their lives. This effort required a great deal of hard work by many members of our congregation – at least 60 different people volunteered to prepare the meals, man the shelter watch, and transport our guests to and from Glen Burnie each morning and evening. Those volunteers spent approximately 200 total hours in the kitchen preparing 25 plus dinners each night and 20 lunches for the next day.

The shelter watch personnel spent over 90 hours ministering to the needs of our guests and our drivers made in excess of 70 trips to Glen Burnie and back. We were assisted this year with food preparation by members of the Ark and Dove congregation and by the Ladies of Preceptor Lamda Sorority. I want to thank all of you who gave so selflessly of your time and energy to make this ministry possible. I want to express my special thanks to Rick Binfield, who assisted with managing the shelter; to Hillary Geiger, who coordinated the shelter watch; and to Dolores Bell, who ran the kitchen operation. May God bless all of you for your generosity.

Jim Roser

2007 Homeless Shelter Program

Bill Oley — Sun, 04 Mar 2007 01:10:51 +0000

Nichols-Bethel will be providing shelter during the week of 05-12 March 2007. We will need lots of help to make the shelter a success. This help takes many forms; including drivers to assist with the daily transportation between the Church and Glen Burnie, people to help with preparation and serving of the evening meal and the lunches for the next day, and manning for shelter watch.
(The watch is broken into two shifts, the first from 5:00 P.M. to 11:30 P.M. and the second (mid) shift, 11:30 P.M. to approximately 6:30 A.M. the next day.) In addition to these daily duties, we will also need to provide transportation for guests whose work requires a ride outside of our normal pick up times and to the showers at Crofton Middle School on Tuesday and Thursday evening. At the end of the shelter week, we will need to sort, wash, and fold the bedding used by our guests and deliver it to another sheltering church. The reward for this hard work is a unique opportunity to put our Christian beliefs into action and to touch the lives of homeless people in a very direct and positive way. The strength of the Winter Relief program is the caring and compassion that our member churches show to a segment of our population in great need of those gifts. If you would like to assist or desire more information, please contact our site coordinator, Jim Roser, at (410) 672-6533 or jh.roser@verizon.net.

Winter Relief for the Homeless

Bill Oley — Sun, 04 Mar 2007 01:07:25 +0000

Nichols-Bethel United Methodist Church is one of approximately 30 churches in Anne Arundel county that participate in a rotating winter shelter for homeless men and women. During the 2005-2006 season, Winter Relief provided 5, 127 total bed nights, over 16,000 meals and touched the lives of 137 people (111 men and 26 women).