PHILADELPHIA (ELCA) -- Forty-five women attending the Fifth Triennial gathering of Women of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) took time to learn about Project H.O.M.E., a community program in the North Philadelphia area.
Women of the ELCA's Triennial Gathering is meeting here July 8-14. The organization's three-year theme, "Listen, God is Calling," is being unveiled at the convention amid Bible study, keynote addresses, workshops, field trips, business sessions and elections. More than 3,200 women from across the United States and around the world are participating.
Project H.O.M.E. is a community service agency that empowers people to break the cycle of homelessness and poverty by addressing the structural causes of poverty. H.O.M.E. stands for housing, opportunity, medical care and education.
Started in 1989, Project H.O.M.E. currently consist of 12 residential facilities and 140 full-time staff. The program assists women and men with transitional and permanent housing, chronic mental illness, alcohol and substance abuse issues and education programs. H.O.M.E. has a dispatch team that goes into the community to offer services to people who are homeless. They offer after-school programs for youth, including an awarding-winning drill team, and community gardens.
Some H.O.M.E. residents find employment at the Back Home Cafe and Our Daily Thread thrift store operated by the program.
One H.O.M.E. facility, "Women of Change" is a transitional 'safe haven' for chronically homeless, mentally ill women. Services are provided on a 24-hour basis, including case management, supportive services and on-site medical care. Another facility, Rowan Homes, is a permanent, supportive housing program for 75 families with 'special needs.'
One Women of the ELCA participant said she was interested in Project H.O.M.E. because her home congregation has existing outreach programs and it is seeking ways to make its programs better. Another participant said her congregation wishes to start some type of community outreach.
"Find out the needs of the community before you set up an organization or program," Jennine Miller, Project HOME associate director of education and advocacy, told participants.
There are 20 Convention Without Walls experiences designed for women to move beyond the Pennsylvania Convention Center into the surrounding Philadelphia community. Convention Without Walls is offered in three tracks: "Hearing God's Call: Growing in faith and wisdom," "Experiencing God's Call: Learning how to build healthy families and communities," and "Living God's Call: Using gifts and skills in service to neighbor."
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Editors: Photographs from Women of the ELCA's Triennial Gathering are
maintained at http://www.elca.org/wo/events/tg/tg02/connect/photos.html
on the Web.
News releases and other information about the gathering are maintained
at http://www.elca.org/wo/events/tg/tg02/connect/news.html on the Web.
For information, contact: Melissa Ramirez, newsroom manager, (215) 418-
2045 or mramirez@elca.org
For information contact:
John Brooks, Director (773) 380-2958 or NEWS@ELCA.ORG
http://listserv.elca.org/archives/elcanews.html
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About the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America:
The ELCA is one of the largest Christian denominations in the United States, with 2.8 million members in more than 8,500 worshiping communities across the 50 states and in the Caribbean region. Known as the church of "God's work. Our hands.," the ELCA emphasizes the saving grace of God through faith in Jesus Christ, unity among Christians and service in the world. The ELCA's roots are in the writings of the German church reformer Martin Luther.
For information contact:
Candice Hill Buchbinder
Public Relations Manager
Candice.HillBuchbinder@ELCA.org
