by Rev. Anna Brook Opalinski, Associate Pastor

We here at Trinity UMC have had the wonderful experience of collaborating with First Baptist and First Presbyterian during Advent on lunches that help us “Encounter, Experience, Action” with those in our community who are unhoused. Throughout our lunches, we formed a community that strives to answer God’s call to care for all of our neighbors. As a result, I am thrilled to announce that First Baptist and First Presbyterian have decided to join hands with Trinity and our snack pack ministry. In the New Year, between these three downtown churches, we will be offering snack packs five days a week!

During this luncheon series we worked closely with Grace Mission Episcopal Church and met several congregation members from Grace Mission who shared their experiences of being housing insecure. In our final luncheon, we packed backpacks with blankets, hats, gloves, hand warmers, granola bars, water bottles, and bus passes for Grace Mission to hand out. It was a powerful experience to see how three different traditions worked together to be in community with each other and those in our community and to answer God’s call to love each other as God loves us. We look forward to more collaborations with the downtown churches in the future!