Shenkel United Church of Christ
1580 Shenkel Road Pottstown PA 19465
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  Where would you go if you suddenly found yourself homeless?

"Rev. Kork Moyer, of Ministries at Main Street, a ministry to and with local homeless folks, personally

 knows twenty people in North Coventry Township – not in Pottstown Borough –

who this weekend, did not have a safe, warm, place to sleep."  

Homeless Ministry Update

4/30/2009

      This morning, a lawsuit was filed on our behalf in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania asking for an injunction prohibiting North Coventry Township from "preventing or interfering with Shenkel UCC's use of its church facilities as a temporary emergency shelter for the homeless during the winter months."  The full text of the complaint is available at this link.

      Pastor Bonnie explains:  "Providing temporary, emergency shelter for people in need of a warm, safe place to sleep is one of the ways Shenkel UCC has sought to be faithful to Jesus’ commandment that we love our neighbors.  It is with regret, and only as a last resort, that we are filing this lawsuit as we seek to be the church we believe God is calling us to be – a church that is faithful to the Biblical mandates of justice and love."

      We appreciate the support the community has offered us over the past year and a half, and hope this issue will now finally be resolved.


Your prayers and/or presence will be appreciated - please spread the word!

Pastor Rev. Bonnie L. Moore spoke about the church's ministry on Sunday, October 26, 2008.  If you are interested in reading more, please click here.

 "The Heart of the Gospel"

"On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets." - Matthew 22:40

 

 

 

Homeless Ministry Points

 

Shenkel United Church of Christ

1580 Shenkel Road, Pottstown, PA  19465  610-326-3535

 

·        There is a need for safe, warm, temporary emergency shelter right now in North Coventry Township.  There are few local options for people who are homeless.

 

·        Shenkel UCC participated for three years in Montgomery County’s “One Night at a Time” program, providing temporary emergency shelter for homeless guests for one month during the winters of 2002-02, 02-03 and 03-04.  This program ended with the opening of a shelter at Norristown State Hospital which has a waiting list, and is a long way for homeless folks from our community to have to travel.

 

·        Addressing this need, Ministries at Main Street (www.ministriesatmainstreet.org) coordinated a rotating shelter program last winter, where churches provided, for one month per location, a safe, warm sleeping space for people in need.  Zion’s UCC, St. John’s UCC, and St. Paul’s UCC were among the churches in Pottstown who participated in this ministry during the winter of 2007-08.  (They will be participating again this year.)  In this program, guests were transported to and from the host churches, remained in the building between the hours of 10:00 PM and 7:00 AM, and were supervised by two adults who remained awake throughout the night.

 

·        North Coventry Township would not allow Shenkel UCC to participate in this ministry, claiming that doing so would violate zoning law.  Shenkel’s position is that providing temporary, emergency shelter for people in need is not a residential use of church property, but is part of the ministry of our congregation as we seek to be faithful to Jesus’ commandment that we “love our neighbor as ourselves.”  Churches throughout the state of Pennsylvania and across the country have been participating in similar ministries for decades.

 

·        Shenkel UCC is appealing North Coventry Township’s ruling.  In the meantime, it is going to be long, cold winter for many of our neighbors.

 

Where would you go if you suddenly found yourself homeless?

 

Please support the desire of the congregation of Shenkel United Church of Christ to offer their church building as a temporary emergency shelter for people in need of a warm, safe place to sleep.  Thank you.

 

click here for a printable version