Dear Friends,

Don’t forget your gently used or new undies for our homeless guests! Please bring these important items for our sweet friends at Room in the Inn. There will be a suitcase in the Fellowship Hall to collect these items.

Emalie

Who invited you to church?  Whom do you invite inside?

William Wallace Brown, Jr., who died Oct. 17, 2004, at age 68, was given a permanent resting place in the burial garden at St. John’s Episcopal Church, across from the White House, according to The Washington Post. St. John’s is called the “church of presidents” since nearly every U.S. leader since James Madison has worshiped there. more…

Many thanks to our new innkeeper, Joe Gleaves.  He has all the qualities we need in an innkeeper.  He remains cheerful and helpful on very little sleep, and he listens to ridiculous stories with patience and calm.

Join us on the second Friday of the cold weather months as we welcome our homeless guests to Room In the Inn at Andrew Price UMC.  We need cooks, servers, dish washers, inn keepers, lunch makers, coffee makers (people who can make coffee, there is a coffee maker machine there, but it is not fool proof), and gentle listeners. Call Emalie or Judy if you would like more information. 615-403-8455.

There were cobwebs on the fellowship hall door the other week.  I’m sure there are cobwebs all the time.  I’ve just never seen them before, because someone usually removes them before I walk through the door.  Who usually does this?  Julia arrived, and made coffee.  I had never even wondered who made coffee.  I guess I believed that elves arrived early and made coffee. Julia Witt does it now.  Bob Mitchell made coffee for years, but now, Julia makes the coffee.  more…

Hickory Bend will be welcoming more homeless guests to Room In The Inn this season.  Our first evening is November 26th, the day after Thanksgiving.

We will need many of you to volunteer again, and we would love to have new volunteers!  Will you join us for any of these duties?

• serving supper
• bringing part of the meal
• making beds
• handing out lingerie
• making lunches
• doing laundry
• inkeeping
• making breakfast
• cleaning up more…

Our Council labored at the recent retreat to list and prioritize projects for our congregation to plan and execute.  We used three categories, dividing our projects into those that require mostly time, those we can do with the money we have, or we are close to having, and the last category labeled “Pie In The Sky” at least for now. more…

Please come to our rescheduled council meeting immediately after worship, on April 18.  Everyone is welcome, and we have many exciting projects in the pipeline.  Your input is very important.  Come and throw in your two cents.

Come help Hickory Bend make Room In The Inn!  We have a few more Room In The Inn events this season.

Come help us make beds, serve supper, pass out lingerie, or play games.

We need to train a few more innkeepers.  Have you considered spending the night with us?  We would like to expand our ministry to an additional week next season.  In order to do this we need a few more innkeepers.  Your primary responsibilities are to . . . well . . . to sleep!  Could you spend one night with our homeless guests?  If Hickory Bend could train a few more inkeepers, we could double the blessings.  If you have any questions about the responsibilities of an inkeeper, call Judy at 615-754-4482, or Emalie at 615-403-8455.

Only two more nights this season:
February 26, 2010
March 26, 2010

Once again, we are collecting new or gently used undergarments for our guests at Room In The Inn.  We always need mid-sized panties, sizes 5-8.  Pantyhose of all sizes are very popular. Pantyhose add warmth and keep pants from freezing to your legs when it is wet.  We can use almost any foundation garments.  In addition, our guests appreciate any bags with handles or rollers, ponchos, warm clothes, pajamas, slippers, and robes.  Hickory Bend is famous for the care we give our guests.  Your generosity keeps our guests warm from the inside out.

Emalie

Once again, we will join Andrew Price UMC hosting six homeless women on Friday nights.  Please consider spending a Friday night making beds, serving supper, visiting, or playing a musical instrument.  Maybe you would rather rise early on a Saturday to make breakfast or do laundry. You will be surprised at the blessing you will receive.

We are assigned the fourth Friday of the month, so our dates are:

November 27, 2009
December 25, 2009
January 22, 2010
February 26, 2010
March 26, 2010

We have an Undie Sunday planned for November 22nd.  Please begin collecting  new or gently used undies.  We need lots of underwear in the size 5-8 range.  We also needs other items of foundation garments like pajamas, robes, sweatsuits, slippers, and socks.  Pantyhose are very popular.  “They add a lot of warmth, and they keep your pants from freezing to your legs,” said one of our favorite guests.

If you would like to come visit one night, just to check us out, please come.  Call Judy, Ron, or Emalie.