I want to say thank you to the church and to everyone who has engaged with HomePlate so far. We had over 20 people trained from our congregation to help with Home Plate, again, that is amazing! It says to me, God is in this!
We had our trial night on November 14. We had a great meal planned with baked potatoes and two kinds of chili and all other kinds of toppings and a salad and brownies. Through our tent ministry that Amy Fiederowicz runs, we had a ton of stuff that they could take with them for food later. Thank you Amy!
This first trial night we had four kids show up. They needed to be there. We enjoyed a movie, eating and some brief conversations. It was the start!
December 5th there will be a vision team meeting at HomePlate regarding what the kids might want for their Wednesday night gathering. After this we will know whether or not they would like to continue with Wednesday nights at Westside! Once we know this, and if we begin a weekly outreach to them, then everyone who signed up to be trained, and those of you have not yet been trained, will all have a place to serve!
Last week I was speaking with Tom Perez who founded EPIK and he said we are now on the front lines to stop trafficking. More than 80% of the youth who are trafficked are either homeless or in the foster care system.
What happens is someone offering what looks like a real relationship, a real friendship, comes into their lives but is actually presenting a front with which to traffic them. Tom told me a real relationship has such power to keep such kids from falling prey to traffickers.
In addition, I’m reading a recent Brené Brown book on leadership and she writes, "If people have even one place in their lives where they can take off their armor and be themselves, it can change the trajectory for their lives." Again - HomePlate is where we have the opportunity of creating a place of belonging for these youth to do just that. Two of the youth who came on Wednesday night took a nap — so they felt safe for certain.
Thank you for supporting this outreach. There are ways to contribute to the Christmas store if you’re able. You can find a wishlist on the table in the lobby.
—Pastor Brian