Hypothermia Prevention Week is Coming!

There are three pictures in the Washington Post this morning that tell the chilling story of homelessness.  One shows a woman in a shelter setting up bedding on a cot, another depicts a man spreading a blanket over what appears to be icy steps near Union Station, while the final picture shows people covered by thin blankets in the limited shelter of a bus stop on Massachusetts Avenue.  I know how cold I have been moving from place to place over the last few days in the frigid, wind-driven winter weather.  It is hard to imagine trying to sleep outdoors under such conditions.

 

Several years ago Westwood became a partnering church with Facets and Fairfax County in an attempt to provide shelter for homeless folks in our area during the cold winter months.  We first partnered with other churches to support them in their facilities, before making the decision to open the doors of our church to welcome these guests.  It has been a rich and challenging experience for our faith community, not only in providing a warm and safe place, but in getting to share around the dinner and breakfast table with men and women whose stories are often not that much different than our own.  We have been reminded throughout this experience that open doors, hearts, and minds truly do make a difference. 

 

Hypothermia Week at Westwood will be February 8-15.  As many of you know, it takes a lot of folks to make this ministry work.  We are blessed to have support from Burke Presbyterian Church and the Iglesia Bautista Remanente De Dios congregation that meets in our building. Together with these brothers and sisters in faith we share the love of Christ.  I would ask you today to consider how you might participate in this special week.  Some may help in greeting and registering our guests, others cooking or cleaning up after meals, while others might provide security, clean rest rooms, or help set up at the beginning of the week or tear down afterward.  There is a ministry opportunity for all who want to be involved, so I encourage you today, or particularly tonight, when you go out into the cold, to think about what it would be like to be without shelter.  Then think about the possibilities before you to be a blessing to those in need and sign up this Sunday at the welcome center.

 

I hope you will join us for worship and Bible study this Sunday.  I will be preaching from Genesis 1:1-5 about the wonder of God's creation.  Invite a friend to join you. 

 

Jim Abernathy