Anawim Christian Community - Portland

Here's an encouraging report from Anawim Christian Community, a church/ministry to Portland's homeless and mentally ill (Pastor Steve Kimes helped with our HRWS training/orientation):

This has been an amazing year. This year we’ve been able to provide shelter for some of the coldest days out of the year. And we’ve been part of a network of churches to shelter the outcast from elements of weather and society that would attack them outside. Through a generous grant, we’ve been able to help folks get birth certificates and IDs. We’ve been able to give the word of God with faithfulness. We’ve been able to provide thousands of showers, thousands of sets of clothes and thousands of meals.

We’ve been able to provide opportunities for service both for those on the street and for other church folks who might not have an opportunity to connect with people on the street. We’ve provided the opportunity for street folks and the mentally ill to be artists, to give of their talents and of their meager possessions. We’ve prayed and provided counseling for hundreds of people who otherwise might not be prayed for. And we’ve been able to share love for those who both gratefully acknowledge their need and to those who spit in our face and throw our food back at us.

In other words, we’ve been a church. A unique church that ministers to a unique people, but still, a church. This is what we are called to, why we exist as an organization.
Thank you to everyone who has been a part of this exciting year. Thank you to everyone who will support us this year and love those people whom we love. Please help us to help others.