CR OS S R O AD S
August 25, 2010
On the first Sunday of every month, members of Bell Street Chapel make bag lunches for the clients of Crossroads Rhode Island, a shelter for our homeless and needy fellow citizens. We gather in Eddy Hall immediately after the service and share fellowship and fun while we make 100 bag lunches, which a member of the Peace and Social Justice Committee delivers. We have been doing this for over a decade. We hear fromthe staff at Crossroads that our reliability and the quality of the lunches we provide are very much appreciated by the clients. We try to make the lunches as nutritious as possible within our budget.Crossroads Rhode Island is the largest provider of services to the homeless in the state. It depends on volunteers to provide lunches on weekends. Anyone who delivers the lunches cannot fail to be saddened by the large number of souls who gather at the facility for lunch. It reminds us to work not only for the immediate needs of the homeless, but also for their long-term needs, which can only be met by policy and legislative changes. Many hardworking and responsible individuals and families become homeless because of the acute shortage of affordable housing in RI. Other homeless individuals are mentally ill or addicted and have not been able to get the help they need.
This is a safe way for children to work for social justice. If at least eight volunteers participate, we are finished within an hour or so. If you are unable to join us in making lunches, you can participate by bringing juice boxes, cookies, or large cans of solid white tuna to church each Sunday. We also need lunch bags, baggies, napkins, and mayonnaise.
Let’s let our homeless and hungry fellow citizens know that we at Bell Street Chapel do care about them. Clara Hardy heads up this project, which is sponsored by the Peace and Social Justice Committee.