Dear Wonderful Volunteers,
We have reached the 22nd day of shelter provided to asylum-seeker families by Faithful Hospitality (FH) at St Matthews Episcopal Church in St Anthony Park. Tonight we begin to work with SAP Lutheran volunteers, having completed partnerships with 4 other neighborhood congregations. I’ve had the pleasure of supporting the work of 27 of you so far.
We have slowly modified the FH model as the month has progressed. For example, guests enter at very different times during the evening, starting at 7pm. Some can arrive as early as 6:20 or so, and wait to be let in. We now request that all volunteers arrive at 6:45pm to get their bedding into their cubicles, and get 5 minutes’ orientation before admitting the guests. One of the volunteers is charged with checking off on a spread-sheet the time that each guest enters throughout the evening. Guests should have name-tags on to facilitate the process, but they don’t always remember, so this job requires friendly persistence and awareness.
We turn off the lights and close & lock our door at 9pm on weekdays; guests with jobs or classes arriving after 9 will phone or text family members or friends to be let in. As they come in, we ask them to notify volunteers in their cubicles. Usually all but one are in by 9:15 or so. If volunteers get up at all during the night, we appreciate it if they check the door to be sure it stays locked and closed.
We wake our guests at 6:00am (not 5:30 as FH instructions say). Lights slowly turn brighter until they are fully on by 6:30. Volunteers have coffee or tea, chat, and do dish-washing duties while guests wake up. Guests depart at times ranging from 5:50am to 7:10am or so. It helps if volunteers stay for 15 minutes after guests leave to help clean the bathrooms.
What are the evenings between 7 and 9 like? There is an ongoing UNO card game which involves a lot of ongoing cheerful but vigorous debate about the rules, which seem to constantly change. The children like art projects, puzzles, and table games. Everyone really appreciates the variety of fresh fruits (bananas, cherries, strawberries, grapes, mangos, etc) and quick breads that Rosa Uy provides nightly with support from Karen Gertz. Chamomile tea, coffee and cold water are in demand. On weekends (F, Sa), the hours shift, with 10:00pm lights out/door lock and 7am rise and 8am departure.
On occasion, our sequence of volunteers has shifted due to unexpected contingencies (partner COVID, last week’s air travel snafu), with people subbing or switching places in the lineup to cover for missing volunteers. People have been good about letting me know with time to work out solutions. Be aware though that as we reach the 22nd day of the month, there are fewer and fewer folks to swap with, and less lead time to organize.
I have really enjoyed getting to know you, some for the first time and some more deeply than before, and I look forward to the rest of the month. God is doing wonderful things through you. Thank you.
Elaine Tarone, Faithful Hospitality coordinator
July 22, 2024
