new season upon us!

Script:

Hello All, friends and supporters of the Refuge Homeless Shelter of Lapeer.
My name is Andrew Terry, and I am here to talk to you about The Refuge.
 
First, let me say thank you for being a supporter of The Refuge for these 16 years! We are now into our 17th season. We could not have done all that we have done without you.
Most of you may know our former director Kendra. She has been with The Refuge since the very beginning. When she turned in her resignation last spring the whole community was in shock.
 
Questions arose of who would be the next director? Will the board be able to handle the ministry without her? Will The Refuge have to close?
 
I am here to tell you The Refuge is not close. We have a good strong board. And we have new directors.
 
I believe the board of directors coming on this season is the strongest I've seen in four years. Each year it seems we get stronger, more determined, and passionate about this ministry.
 
Our board is:
Wade Jenkins – a great organizer, and director of our day center, The Gathering Place. He is the president of our Board of Directors.
Diane Jones – Is a lovely soul, and good with numbers. She is our treasurer.
Laurie Pagel – Volunteered to be our secretary, praise God. This is her first year on the Board. She is also a retired nurse.
Gloria Haynes – Pastor and chef, she will be a great asset to our Board, maybe not to our waist line.
Linda Hamilton – Retired nurse, compassionate and tender, she has been on the board for two years now, this is her third season. She keeps our guests healthy.
Bill Moroski – Passionate and caring, he also brings organization and wisdom to our Board.
 
One change this year, a first for The Refuge, is our new directors.
 
My wife Tabitha and I have been contracted by the Board of Directors to be the executive directors of The Refuge. The responsibilities and duties still need to be hashed out, but, we are to oversee the whole operation, and insure the goals and objectives of The Refuge, with guidance and instruction from the Board, are met. What this means is, you will be seeing a lot more of myself, and my wife, involved with The Refuge.
 
The Refuge is here, The Refuge is strong, and The Refuge is working to be the light of Jesus Christ in Lapeer County.
I want to read a passage from the Bible. Some say this passage is the very mission of Jesus on earth. Sense it is his mission, it has been passed down to us, his followers. The passage is found in Luke 4:16-19, one of my favorite passages.
16 And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up. And as was his custom, he went to the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and he stood up to read. 17 And the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written,
 
            18       “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
      because he has anointed me
      to proclaim good news to the poor.
                  He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives
      and recovering of sight to the blind,
      to set at liberty those who are oppressed,
            19       to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”
 
You see, caring for the poor, those oppressed, those who are in the bondage of addiction, caring for this people is at the heart of the gospel. Our gospel falls short if it only includes salvation from hell and eternity with God. Jesus promised life in the here and now. And he has us to be his hands and feet.
Everything The Refuge does is to proclaim this gospel, to see the kingdom of God come to Lapeer County, to see churches get involved with caring for those who are poor, held captive, blind, and oppressed. This was the mission of Jesus, it is the mission of The Refuge, it is your mission in this world.
 
Be sure to go to therefugelapeer.org to sign your church up to host a week for The Refuge. Also, our volunteer spots for check-in are open now. Go there and sign up for one day a week, or multiple days, whatever you feel led to do. There will be check-in training in November, so keep your eyes open here for updates.
 
Be looking for our newsletter to go out next month. Go to therefugelapeer.org to sign up to receive our newsletter in your email.
 
The question of the week is: If money were no issue, what would you do to help the homeless? Look for the post on our Facebook page and join the conversation.
 
This is Andrew, signing off – Seek justice, love mercy and walk humbly with your God.