A new faith-based charity in Boca Raton is providing showers and laundry assistance
for the city’s chronically homeless population.
Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star
Every large city, even Boca Raton, has its homeless people. People of faith, committed to loving their neighbors, are compelled to respond.
The response in downtown Boca Raton has four churches and a synagogue quietly feeding the homeless. A new charity called the Love Boca Outreach Ministry has been created.
And the most unusual love comes from First United Methodist Church, where the chronically homeless can take a shower and wash their laundry.
The Rev. Tom Tift estimates that 40 men are served in the congregation’s Showers and Laundry Ministry. Attempts are made to connect the homeless to social service agencies. But these are the chronically homeless, often suffering from mental illness.
“They are so chronic that they don’t fit the criteria to get help,” Tift said. “But they are just as deserving as the ones we can help off the streets.”
The men line up for their weekly shower after church services on Sunday morning. A men’s Bible study group at the church, called Men on a Mission, was looking for a mission in January 2013. They chose to help the homeless men with their laundry.
“Put quarters in a washing machine? I said I could do that,” Skip Poulsen said. The weekly laundry event is their opportunity to minister to lost souls. About 15 homeless men now regularly attend Sunday services at First Methodist.
Another church member, Anne Cann, told her pastor in late 2013 that she wanted to help the homeless as a social worker. Read more about what became her Love Boca Outreach Ministry at lbom.org.
Another charity, Boca Helping Hands, serves lunch to the homeless six days a week.
But they can also receive a sandwich after their shower at First Methodist on Sunday, or a bag lunch from B’nai Israel that they eat in a park.
St. Gregory’s Episcopal Church, Connected Life Church and Ebenezer Missionary Baptist Church also serve meals to the chronically homeless.
Another example where people of different faiths work together for a good purpose in Boca Raton is Shared Care, which provides respite for caregivers of the frail and elderly.
Volunteers from Temple Beth El, First Presbyterian Church and St. Joan of Arc Catholic Church share their love for five hours every Wednesday at Temple Beth El.
The respite includes sing-alongs, chair exercises, arts and crafts, birthday celebrations and lunch. Christian and Jewish holidays are celebrated together ever since Rabbi Merle Singer of Temple Beth El and the Rev. Arthur Stephenson of First Presbyterian started Shared Care 31 years ago.
The love between the volunteers and those who receive their care is the greatest joy, according to Ginny Bond, a volunteer since the beginning. “We all really care about each other,” she said.
The Joe-Paddy Festival on March 19 is a rare opportunity to mingle with the enthusiastic Catholic seminarians at St. Vincent de Paul Seminary.
The live music is a mix of Irish and Italian with the bands Echoes of Erin and the Rat Pack Now. Seminarians and one of their professors also will perform. The Tierne Green Dancers from St. Vincent Ferrer Church will provide Irish dancing.
The annual event, now in its sixth year, celebrates the feasts of St. Joseph and St. Patrick.
But the 6-9 p.m. event also gives the public a glimpse inside the thriving Boynton Beach seminary. The 92 men in study to become Catholic priests are the largest enrollment since the seminary opened in 1963, requiring a $11.5 million expansion.
The seminary receives a little income from the silent and live auction at the Joe-Paddy Festival, but the $50 ticket price only covers the price of the bands.
“It’s a casual outdoor event under a big tent that’s more of a friend-raiser than a fundraiser,” seminary spokeswoman Daniella Coy said.
Call 732-4424 or see svdp.edu for tickets.
Raising money for good causes can be fun, as demonstrated by the Methodists in Boca Raton who raised $4,800 in 48 hours to buy mattresses and mosquito nets for 48 orphans in Haiti last month.
The public was invited to pancake breakfasts first at the west campus of First United Methodist Church on a Saturday morning and then at the east campus on Sunday.
Families enjoyed a festival with live music and games for children on Saturday afternoon before church members camped overnight on the east campus near Mizner Park.
The national Methodist church works to prevent malaria in both Haiti and Africa.
Grace Hood
The new director of Children and Family ministries at First Presbyterian in Delray Beach is the minister’s wife.
Grace Hood, whose husband, Douglas, became senior pastor in 2012, has extensive experience in Christian education. She also was a missionary in the Congo and Brazil.
“I have seen how important the children of our faith family are everywhere I have lived,” she said, pledging to work closely with First Presbyterian parents “to bring all of our children to a greater understanding of a loving God.”
Tim Pallesen writes about people of faith, their congregations, causes and community events. Email him at tcpallesen@aol.com.
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