Showering our Friends with Love.

A Day in the Life of our Shower Team…

Yesterday evening, during a virtual Community Ministries volunteer gathering, some of our volunteers asked, How is the CM Team doing? How are our CM friends? We’ll break down those answers in the coming weeks, but first, we want to invite you to see what a typical Pathways day currently looks like for us. 

7:00am Our groggy CM Team arrives onsite for shower setup.
7:30am Shower Registration begins–eager guests are given timed tickets until spots are full (usually by 9:00am).
7:55am Showers begin–the first guest arrives at the front door five minutes prior to their shower time for a screening and hand sanitizing. They are then offered toiletries, underwear, socks, a t-shirt, and other self-care items as available.
8:00am Hurry up and get your shower on!!
8:10am First Shower ends–guests are then offered a coffee, pastry and/or sandwich provided by our partners from Rescuing Leftover Cuisine, Inc., receive resource sheets for meals and services around the city.
8:15am Finish bleaching the bathroom and shower stall, wipe down chairs, doorknobs, and any surface or handle in sight.
8:15am Listen to shower guest talk about their feelings, COVID experiences, complaints, concerns, conspiracies, news reports…………….. with as much compassion and grace we have within us! Admittedly, some guests get more than others 😉 

[REPEAT 25 Times.]

In addition, we… 
– Pass out mail to appx. 20 friends per day who use All Angels’ as their primary mailing address
– Pass out coffee and pastries to appx. 20 more friends looking for some warmth or sustenance
– Refer 5-10 clients to the Institute for Family Health for medical or psychiatric care, or social services
– Assist guests with referrals to shelters, unemployment applications, COIVD-19 education, masks & hygiene kits, and etc.

If this sounds like a riveting way to spend your lockdown days, we have a new in-person volunteer opportunity for you! On Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9am-11am or 11am-1pm, we are seeking volunteers to help serve coffee and breakfast foods to our guests. Please email whitney@allangelschurch.com for more information or to sign up. 

Love & Peace,

The Community Ministries Team