Sean C. Morgan
The Sweet Home United Methodist Church is opening its doors to warm the homeless on freezing nights.
The administrative council decided a couple of years ago to provide a warming station at the church when the temperature dips below 32 degrees Fahrenheit, said volunteer Bob Hartsock.
One or two parishioners light the fireplace and keep the fellowship hall open overnight, he said.
The church opened its doors a couple times last week, and three different men stayed at different times.
Volunteers are needed to keep the warming station open, Hartsock said.
The church hosts the Sweet Home Emergency Ministries Manna program three nights a week, Hartsock said. Two nights a week are covered well, but he said volunteers would be helpful on Tuesdays.
The program offers meals to anyone who wants one 5 p.m. on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays, specifically targeting folks who are having a hard time stretching their budget, families or retirees on Social Security.
During October, the Manna program provided 1,006 meals, 230 more than any other month in the program’s history, to 184 different people, Hartsock said. Sixty of them were eating there for the first time.
Last month the program provided 770 meals.
The need is growing, Hartsock said.
SHEM couldn’t do it without the Cornerstone Fellowship, which handles the program on Wednesdays. Tuesdays and Fridays are staffed by members of the Lutheran, Catholic and Methodist churches.
Members of other churches also volunteer, he said. The volunteer level is good on Fridays, but although new volunteers have started on Tuesdays, the program could use more hands.
To volunteer for either program or for further information, call Hartsock at (541) 367-0280. For more information or to volunteer for the Manna program, people also may call the church at (541) 367-3073 and talk to Linda Rowton or Mary Brindle.