Time to Sign Up! 2017 Summer Respite Shelter
“Participating in this shelter program was a lesson in God’s love, Jesus’s love. It isn’t an accident that feasts and food feature so prominently in the Bible, are an aspect of so many divine miracles. … Feeding the hungry is always a moral exercise. A slice of bread is a moral fact. A clean bed is a concrete statement of how you value your fellow man.” ~Michael Bagnulo, 2016 Shelter Coordinator
The Old First Respite Shelter is entering its seventh summer of service and hospitality and we invite everyone to sign up as cooks, evening coordinators, and overnight hosts. This year’s shelter will run 9 weeks from July 3 to September 4.
For more information on what’s involved and how to sign up, please visit the 2017 Old First Respite Shelter Sign-Up Genius page.
Since 2011, Old First and our neighbor Congregation Beth Elohim — with support from other local churches and synagogues — have partnered with CAMBA’s Respite Shelter Program to operate a Summer shelter that hosts participants of CAMBA job training programs.
CAMBA is a Brooklyn social service agency that provides comprehensive social services to 35,000 low-income individuals and families each year. This includes programs helping people with chronic homelessness, HIV/AIDS, language barriers, domestic violence, and unemployment. The majority of CAMBA’s clients live work and/or attend school in Brooklyn.
Congregation Beth Elohim hosts the guests during May and June, and Old First hosts them during July and August. Local churches and synagogues help us staff the shelter by signing up for a week during which they cook the meals, welcome the guests, and stay overnight.
Thank you to our 2017 partners!
- Week 1: Mon 7/3 — Fri 7/7 ~ Old First Reformed Church
- Week 2: Mon 7/10 — Fri 7/14 ~ St. Francis Xavier
- Week 3: Mon 7/17 — Fri 7/21 ~ Old First Reformed Church
- Week 4: Mon 7/24 — Fri 7/28 ~ Park Slope United Methodist
- Week 5: Mon 7/31 — Fri 8/4 ~ Resurrection Park Slope
- Week 6: Mon 8/7 — Fri 8/11 ~ St. John’s Episcopal Church
- Week 7: Mon 8/14 — Fri 8/18 ~ Greenwood Baptist Church
- Week 8: Mon 8/21 — Fri 8/25 ~ St. John – St. Matthew – Emmanuel Lutheran
- Week 9: Mon 8/28 — Fri 9/1 ~ All Saints Episcopal Church
- Final day: Mon 9/4 ~ All Saints Episcopal Church
