— Section 02
Three works, held together. Each modest. Each continuous.
Our pantry has operated continuously since March 1997. We distribute a standard allotment of shelf-stable staples — rice, beans, pasta, canned vegetables, cereal, peanut butter — alongside seasonal fresh produce donated by regional growers and gleaned from post-market surplus. Protein and dairy are included when refrigeration capacity permits.
Distribution occurs twice weekly. No documentation is required of recipients; we ask only for a household count and a brief conversation with an intake volunteer. Repeat visits are welcome and expected.
Partner growers and congregations contribute the majority of our inventory. Financial gifts are directed principally to cold storage maintenance, fuel for our delivery route to homebound households, and the purchase of culturally appropriate staples not commonly donated.
Established in 2006, the fellowship maintains four residential homes in cooperation with partner congregations. The homes accommodate between three and five residents each, typically for stays of sixty to one hundred twenty days. Residence follows referral from a vetted partner program — principally regional recovery ministries, reentry services, and domestic safety agencies.
The fellowship is not a treatment program. It is a bridge of ordinary life: rent-free shelter, a shared table, weekly house meetings, and the steady companionship of trained peer residents. Expectations are plain and few. Sobriety, participation in weekly household meeting, and respect for housemates.
Admission is never self-referred. Agencies and congregations with active relationships to the ministry submit candidates for review by the housing committee.
The prayer fellowship has met on Wednesday evenings, without interruption, since the autumn of 1995. The gathering is ecumenical and unhurried: a reading from the common lectionary, a period of silence, intercessions offered aloud or in silence, and a closing blessing. Coffee and plain cake follow.
There is no sign-in, no membership, no expectation of return. Visitors from all traditions — and from none — are welcome. The fellowship is not a substitute for parish worship but a supplement to it.
Held in the chapel room of the grange hall that serves as the ministry's headquarters. Held regardless of weather, attendance, or season.
We cooperate with a small number of regional partners whose work complements our own. Our partnerships are defined by long relationship rather than formal agreement.