{"id":3741,"date":"2013-03-27T11:36:13","date_gmt":"2013-03-27T18:36:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.pnwumc.org\/news\/?p=3741"},"modified":"2017-09-19T16:36:54","modified_gmt":"2017-09-19T23:36:54","slug":"twenty-four-seven-church-hospitality","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pnwumc.org\/news\/twenty-four-seven-church-hospitality\/","title":{"rendered":"Twenty-Four-Seven Church Hospitality"},"content":{"rendered":"

Scenes from Lake Washington UMC and Camp Unity Eastside: (clockwise from the top left)
\nA CUE resident sits at the tv waiting for the dinner line to be less busy; Tents at CUE; The Rev. Kelly Dahlman-Oeth accompanies a tour of Camp Unity Eastside; Steve Wiggins serves as operations director for CUE; Residents raise their hands as they participate in voting at the all-resident meeting for CUE.
\nFor more photos, visit Channels’ Facebook page.<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

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Twenty-Four-Seven Church Hospitality<\/strong>
\nBy Jesse N. Love with Ellen Johanson<\/em> | Special thanks to the Rev. Kelly Dahlman-Oeth and Steve Wiggins<\/em><\/p>\n

Lake Washington UMC and Camp Unity serve the community together and boost its power to engage in mission and ministry.<\/em><\/p>\n

On a wet and misty Thursday evening, men and women are gathering at Lake Washington UMC in Kirkland, opening the doors and leading others into the social hall. A warm and hearty dinner awaits: three kinds of lasagna, salad & assorted veggies, with brownies for dessert. Many are sharing the events of the day, like how their workdays were\u2026or some have turned on the television to watch their favorite movies, waiting for the dinner line to shorten.<\/p>\n

As dinner slowly concludes around 7 p.m., a meeting is called to order. With no microphones, voices echo through the large hall as they discuss managing food pantries, kitchen clean-up duties, and an upcoming relocation to a new church. This is an all-resident meeting of Camp Unity Eastside (CUE), formerly known as Tent City 4. CUE is a community of homeless men and women working together to be an \u201cempowerment community\u201d in the Seattle Area.
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\nAt this moment, the group is making plans as they prepare to fold up their tents and move on to their next host church. Lake Washington UMC served as hosts for this displaced community since November 2012. CUE and LWUMC are a week past the Temporary Use Permit that allows the group to be housed at the Church. For the members of Camp Unity and Lake Washington UMC, this time has served as a transformative experience for both a community in need and a church that is ready to serve.<\/p>\n

\u201cFolks have been incredibly gracious and helpful. The Camp is fully functioning and has been a great partner with our church,\u201d shares the Rev. Kelly Dahlman-Oeth, Pastor of Lake Washington UMC. In November 2012, Dahlman-Oeth was \u201cstrongly urged\u201d to attend an emergency Tent City 4 meeting. Two parishioners from his congregation thought it would be beneficial for a clergy representative be present. At this time, members of Tent City 4 were having internal conflicts with its parent organization. This meeting led to the dissolving of their relationship and an eventual exodus from TC4. Having adopted a vision to be \u201cContinually transformed by the power of the Holy Spirit\u2026by loving all those within our ever-expanding reach\u201d, members of LWUMC would have this vision tested by offering their sacred space to this group. \u201cWhat I do have is the certainty that Christ calls us to stand with the most vulnerable\u2026I need to know if you will stand with me and with the residents of the camp,\u201d wrote Dahlman-Oeth in a letter to his staff.<\/p>\n

So, after an all-church conference on November 11, 2012, the members of LWUMC voted unanimously to invite the residents of Tent City 4 for a three-month stay at Lake Washington UMC. With only their personal belongings and a sense of uncertainty, this community now had a temporary home after an arduous period of time.<\/p>\n

The LWUMC community struggled at first to accommodate CUE, but they eventually found various ways to make this group feel at home. Hallways were prepared with bedding throughout the church. Donations were gathered throughout the Eastside community and the Church facility remained open 24-hours, seven days a week for CUE residents. \u201cWe have never had 24-hour access at any church,\u201d shares Camp Unity Operations Director Steve Wiggins. \u201cWe\u2019ve never before had a church that\u2019s basically opened their doors, said \u2018Mine is yours\/help yourself\/do what you want to do.\u2019 But that\u2019s what they said here.\u201d<\/p>\n

One of the benefits of establishing Camp Unity Eastside is the ability to have a more connected relationship with its hosts. Dahlman-Oeth shared in a Facebook post how when he lent his personal vehicle to the residents of CUE, they helped fix minor problems with the car, like changing the oil and checking the car\u2019s brakes. Residents also offered to support the Church by volunteering with office work, repairing and maintaining the facility, and more. \u201cOur partnership with Camp Unity has allowed us to engage in more ministry and mission, offer better hospitality, and form relationships with our brothers and sisters who are currently living in a less than permanent dwelling,\u201d explains Dahlman-Oeth. This growing partnership has also led to a few CUE members joining the Church family with one resident receiving baptism.<\/p>\n

Maureen Horrobin, a resident of Camp Unity shares her feelings about some of the people at Lake Washington UMC: \u201cThey\u2019re some of the most loving, sincere people who I\u2019ve met. It\u2019s hard to find some real authentic, honest people on this planet these days and I\u2019ve found quite a few of them here. They\u2019re really willing to step out of their comfort zone and try to be there for you and be supportive in a time of dire need. I\u2019m totally appreciative.\u201d<\/p>\n

Today, Camp Unity Eastside is residing at Trinity Lutheran Church after almost four months at Lake Washington UMC. In a Facebook post, Pastor Kelly Dahlman-Oeth wrote \u201cThank you all again for your prayers, support, hours and hours of time, material and financial donations and especially your willingness to open yourself and begin to form relationships with folks you do not know.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Some info about Camp Unity Eastside:<\/strong><\/p>\n