Interfaith Winter Shelter Update and Thanks

Thank you to St. Thomas members and friends for the budget support given to the Interfaith Winter Shelter(IWS). This is a truly ecumenical community effort to provide shelter in Bloomington. Please read the excerpt from the IWS website below for more background on the important work this organization provides. Thank you to Charlene on the Mission Committee for her initiative and effort to provide evening food to the folks in the IWS and for recruiting many St. Thomas congregants to provide delicious, warm soup. "God's Work, Our Hands." ~ELCA

From the IWS website:

The Interfaith Winter Shelter began in the late spring of 2009 when clergy and lay leaders from many faith communities came together to consider ways to respond to concerns for the health, safety, and well-being of men and women who are homeless. The project quickly “snowballed” and today involves over 20 faith communities, over 450 volunteers, and a number of public, private, and governmental entities working together to provide emergency winter shelter to Monroe County’s homeless individuals.

IWS models its program after PADS, a similar program in Chicago that has been in operation for over 20 years. In this multi-site model, several different faith communities host the shelter for one or two nights per week on a rotating basis, using volunteers, financial resources, and in-kind donations from each hosting site and the community at large.

The IWS operates as a “low barrier” shelter during the winter months. It was designed to offer a safe and warm place to sleep for men and women who—for whatever reason— have no other alternative but the streets. The primary criteria for admission into the shelter is respectful behavior, regardless of whether or not a guest is under the influence of alcohol or illegal substance. Experience has taught us incidents of inappropriate behavior are rare. Guests simply appreciate a warm place to sleep.

Participating sites and volunteers agree to follow a set of guidelines that allows for the safety and well being of guests and volunteers alike, including no drugs, alcohol, or weapons on the premise.

Meet Our New ELCA IK Synod Missionary

ELCA Missionary Profile
Karen L. Anderson
Chile

Karen Anderson served as a missionary with the ELCA in Chile from 1982–2000. She has returned to help the EPES staff design, launch and direct EPES’ International Training Course on Popular Education in Health which, among other important tasks, explores the role of the church in the struggle for health and human rights. EPES works to build a sustainable health care organization dedicated to promoting the health, dignity and rights of the poor in Chile. To see pictures from EPES, visit www.imageevent.com/elcahunger/epes.

Education
B.S. Nursing
St. Olaf College
(Northfield, MN)

M.Ed. International Education
University of Massachusetts
(Amherst, MA)

M.P.A. International Health
Harvard University
(Cambridge, MA)

Contact
Karen L. Anderson
c/o EPES
Casilla 100, Correo 14,
La Cisterna
Santiago, Chile

Email
Karen.anderson73@gmail.com

Websites
www.epes.cl
www.actionforhealth.org

St. Thomas Kiva Lenders

Thank you, St. Thomas Lenders, for making 178 loans via Kiva for a total of $5,600. Please consider inviting your friends at St. Thomas to join the lending group and participate - a $25 loan goes a long way!

Also, note that Jessica Jackley, co-founder of Kiva, will be speaking at the Neal Marshall Center on the IU campus on March 19 at 7 p.m. Please contact Dawn or the church office for more information if you wish to go as a group or need a ride.

Labyrinth at St. Thomas

We’re bringing an indoor labyrinth to Heritage Hall for a few days during Lent. Labyrinths have been part of Christian tradition for a thousand years. It’s not a maze, so there’s nothing to figure out. Anyone can walk a labyrinth – old walkers and young walkers, sorrowing walkers and joyful walkers, fast walkers, slow walkers, and wheelchairs. Come and take a walk!

Sunday, Feb. 17 - Adult Forum offered by Sharon Wailes, who’ll tell us about the ancient origins of labyrinths and how walking a labyrinth can be part of our spiritual growth.

Wednesday, February 27 through Sunday, March 3 – Walk a labyrinth at Saint Thomas. Before and after worship on Wednesday and Sunday, one of us will be there to greet you and hold your walk in silent prayer. You can also drop in any time the church is open to walk the labyrinth.

It may not be immediately obvious how walking around in a set pattern connects up to living the life of faith. An article in The Lutheran explains, Christians adopted the labyrinth in the 12th century when the Crusades made pilgrimages to Jerusalem difficult. Labyrinths were placed in cathedral floors throughout Europe so the faithful could pray and spiritually attend to their journey as if they were on a physical pilgrimage to the holy city... Unlike a maze, a labyrinth has no tricky dead-ends. It has one path — a pattern of U-turns — that leads to the center and then out again. The twisting path becomes a metaphor for the faith journey, a mirror for what is happening in one's life... For Christians, the path also is a reminder of Christ's journey to the cross. [The Lutheran, January 1999]
An interesting observation - Neolithic labyrinths are found throughout Scandinavia and the Baltic coast. Apparently Lutherans have been walking labyrinths since before there were Lutherans!

Thanks to Pamela from the Iona Spiritual Growth Group for writing this article for the newsletter.

Malaria Nets

The Mission Committee is supporting our Sunday School's efffort to raise funds for the ELCA Malaria Campaign. We have invited Jessica Nipp Hacker, the ELCA Coordinator of the Malaria Campaign to visit us as St. Thomas on Sunday, February 24. She will be with us in both church services that day, sharing information about the campaign and how we can help. Please join us for a forum led by Jessica Nipp Hacker from 9:45-10:45 am in the conference room.

World AIDS Day

Watching the facebook posts from people around the world who see the presence of World AIDS Day so much more visibly than we do here in Indiana, I am thankful for the support of St. Thomas for the Women of Hope sale and our litany marking the day. http://womenofhopecreations.blogspot.com/

Sister Parish Solidarity Walk

Thank you to all the people who supported the Sister Parish Board of Directors visit to Bloomington! Thanks to those who provided a home stay, transportation, food and more. The Solidarity Walk is an annual event to raise funds for the Sister Parish organization. Please consider contributing if you are able. Contact the church office for more information. Sister Parish board members will be doing Temple Talks and the Adult Forum at church on November 11th, so please attend if you are able. The Mission Committee is hosting a Craft Sale on Nov. 11th to fund several of our mission partners. Please stop by and shop and make an extra donation if you are able. Thank you!