Over 20 yrs of Room In The Inn

About Room In The Inn at Avondale Presbyterian Church and our 2022-23 Winter Season:

Though we have all been impacted by Covid, our lowest income neighbors have suffered far more than most of us. Many have lost the roof above their heads. Drive through our urban area- any urban area for that matter- and you will be struck by the numbers of men, women and children living on the streets. The pandemic not only caused an increase in the rate of homelessness, but it also challenged our ability to address the issue. We simply have not been able to help our neighbor as ourselves with the health risks of the rapid spreading Covid infection. Room In The Inn was suspended for 2020-21 and operated in a limited capacity in 2021-22 for the safety of all involved.

Sign-up: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/20f044eaeab2da1fe3-room1

This year, Room In The Inn is up and running. Avondale will be responding in full force, and we need members and friends to step up and help serve our homeless neighbors this winter. If you have never participated, please consider doing so.

What is Room In The Inn (RITI)?
 It is a community wide program, run by Roof Above www.roofabove.org, to house homeless men, women and families in the winter months- most often in houses of faith. At Avondale, every Sunday evening, from December 4-March 26, 2023, we will welcome eight homeless neighbors for a hot meal and a warm bed in our Fellowship Hall.

There are 17 nights that we will host guests and we need 12 volunteers each night. That is 204 volunteer positions that we need to fill!!! We know that our members care enough to help, and to help in a BIG way.

This year, Avondale has experienced tragic loss - inexplicable loss. We have a choice how to respond to that loss; we can hide from the world or we can serve the world. At its core, Avondale is a church that responds to God’s call of serving and caring for God’s most vulnerable. We continue to cradle Avondale’s losses, as we serve our most vulnerable neighbors in the world beyond these church doors. After loving the Lord, we are instructed to love our neighbors- all neighbors- as ourselves.

If you have never participated in RITI, please do so now. Sign up for something you feel you can do. And once you do it and hopefully you feel graced by God’s blessing on us as we serve, you will sign up again, and again, and again…..

If you have participated, consider increasing the level of your commitment to volunteer more often or to do more things. Opportunities include: pick-up guests, drop-off guests, setup beds, breakdown beds, wash linens, prepare dinner *, bring breakfast and bag lunches*, and the crown jewel of RITI opportunities, overnight hosts! And remember, friends and family are also welcome to volunteer.

We all want to get back to normal. RITI is back on track this winter and we are stepping up to the plate to serve. Be a part of this mission to serve God in the world and to show our love for others as God, through the saving life of his son, Jesus Christ, has steadfastly loved us. Thank-you.

(*Meal preparers can submit their food receipts for reimbursement.)

Click on the link to sign-up. Thank you!

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/20f044eaeab2da1fe3-room1

Room In The Inn has been an Avondale ministry for over 20 years.