SOCIAL CONCERNS
Last month, we had two Men's Overnights; Thursday, October 24th, and Friday, October 30th. We have been averaging 5-8 guests. We are offering a second men's overnight every seven weeks. This is in response to an emergency plea from the Salvation Army after a parish needed to drop out of the circuit. This month's will be on November 28th. Yes, that's the day after Thanksgiving. People need shelter every day of the year!
Please let me know if you can help to drive guests back and forth to Salvation Army, co-host, or make lunches. As always, new tee shirts, underwear, razors, aftershave, and deodorant would be appreciated. At this time of year, long underwear would be great too!
Great news! Our much-anticipated Women's Overnight begins November 4th! To begin, there will be three guests. As the weather worsens, there will probably be more guests. I would like to treat the women to some special amenities. Chocolate, feminine toiletry items, hair brushes are among the items on our wish list. Thanks to Lori Doig for her recent donation of women's clothing!
We want to thank all involved in hooking up our new washer and dryer from Mid Cape Home Supply. It was a little tricky, as the dryer runs on gas. (At this rate, I could just about move into the church!)
This month's DAY of Hospitality is on November 23rd; and yes, that is the day of Tony's Thanksgiving dinner. We will not require the ovens, though, because we have decided to serve picnic-style in the multi-purpose room.
We will need potato chips and simple finger desserts - bars, cookies - so, please check out our sign-up sheet in Fellowship Hall. We figured every parish from P-Town to Falmouth would be serving turkey and stuffing to their guests, and this might be a welcome change.
Our new foster mom, Sharon Holly, is delightful! Her home is warm, welcoming, and colorful! Sharon is an artist in her “spare time”. To date, her children have been residing with her for a few months at a time. As of this writing, she has four children; Harrison, 10; Billy, 11; Brandy, 12; and Tevin, 16½ . But, since the goal is to reunite the children with their families as soon as is possible, she may have a new crew when you read this. As a result, Sharon's wish list includes help with simple entertainment; pizza nights, bowling dates, or movie nights. Gift cards from Ryan's Family Amusement or the cinema would be terrific. Since Christmas is right around the corner, gift cards to Macy's, KMart, or Old Navy would be equally appreciated. And, something that never goes out of style: GROCERY CARDS. You can purchase those from Strat Haskell any Sunday morning.
We all need to remember to purchase grocery cards (myself included) on Sunday mornings! It does not cost anything extra to have a grocery card. For instance, a $25.00 card equals $25.00 worth of food. Buy them for your friends for Christmas - or your mailman or sanitation engineer - anyone! -Cindy and the Social Concerns Committee
The Cape Cod Faith Community working together to provide safe shelter and loving care to men & women who are homeless.
Overnight of Hospitality
Part of our church's mission is to open our doors to welcome in homeless guests who have nowhere else to go. One night each month, five to seven men are selected from the Noah Shelter in Hyannis to attend the overnights of hospitality program at Dennis Union Church. Our guests spend the night with a few church members in the Multi-purpose room. Just as in the Old Testament story in which Abraham welcomed the strangers who turned out to be angels, our church has the honor of welcoming strangers who are truly the sons and daughters of God and cherished guests for the night.
There are no structured activities. Other than light snacks and perhaps a movie to watch, our guests are provided with a safe, warm place to spend the night.
To read more on this wonderful program, click the link below for a brochure:
The Guatemala Experience (with video!)
Members of Dennis Union Church spent November 23 to December 3, 2007 in Guatemala donating their time and carpentry skills to Habitat for Humanity. Millard and Linda Fuller founded this non-profit organization in 1976 with the goals of eliminating poverty housing and homelessness from the world as well as raising global consciousness concerning living conditions and decent shelter. Habitat has built more than 225,000 houses around the world, providing more than 1 million people in more than 3,000 communities with safe and affordable shelter.
In Guatemala there is a need for approximately 1.6 million houses. In 2005, Habitat Guatemala constructed 20,000 homes. It is estimated that by the end of 2007 approximately 25,000 houses will be completed assisting 150,000 Guatemalans, many of whom are children.To learn more about Habitat for Humanity Guatemala visit their web site: http://www.habitat.org/intl/lac/86.aspx
Joe Remillard, a member of the Guatemala team and a sixth grade faculty member at Cape Cod Academy, videotaped much of his Guatemala experience to share with his classroom. Here is a video archive of his experiences.
Habitat Guatemala Video Archive
While viewing video from the archives, click the "pause" button on the active video to stop the audio of the current page.
