Our November week program with Family Promise
Q: How many Saint Barnabans does it take to host Family Promise families for a week?
A: As many as would like to participate!
Over the week of Sunday, November 17, to Sunday, November 24, more than 70 parishioners offered a “boundless Welcome”—food, fellowship, and shelter—to five families from the Family Promise Glendale location. On November 20, the Saint Barnabas Wednesday Night, and on Saturday, November 23, 8 members of the Union of Black Episcopalians joined us in service to our guest families. The week was incredibly fun and fulfilling for the guest families and volunteers alike.
For more than 20 years, Saint Barnabas has partnered with Family Promise of Greater Phoenix in support of their mission: “To provide emergency shelter and social services to help families move from homelessness to employment, permanent house, and self-sufficiency.” (Learn more at familypromiseaz.org).
Saint Barnabas is privileged to host families 3-4 times a year, and this week, in particular, was filled with lots of excitement and opportunities for connection as we welcomed five parents and seven children, who ranged in age from 1 to 17!
Over the week, volunteer teams provided a loving, uplifting experience for our guest families who are working so hard to better their situation through the Family Promise program:
- Chef Teams brought or made delicious main courses, sides, and desserts, which they served and enjoyed with the families and volunteers. They cleaned up and left our beautiful kitchen ready for whatever might happen in busy Hutton Hall the following day.
- The Host Teams met the Family Promise van and welcomed our guests back to the Learning Center each evening. During dinner, they had wonderful conversations with the families and fellow volunteers, engaged the children in activities afterward, and helped with clean-up.
- Floater Chefs and Floater Hosts helped as needed throughout the evening, allowing experienced volunteers to add invaluable assistance and for new volunteers to learn about all the different facets of a Family Promise evening. Some parishioners even volunteered to be on Standby, ready to be called into service as they were able should they be needed.
- Overnight Teams offered our guest families the comfort and security of knowing there was a Saint Barnabas parishioner also sleeping there on site in the Learning Center, available in case they had any questions or concerns during the night and made sure everyone was up and ready to meet the Family Promise van at pick-up time in the morning.
- Set Up Team and Take Down/Laundry Team worked on the two Sunday mornings, respectively, to ensure that our guest families would be comfortable in their rooms in the Learning Center while they were with us and that those rooms were clean and ready to go for our Sunday morning programs after they’d left. With the help of our Saint Barnabas Youth, air mattresses were inflated, toiletry and gift bags were prepared, and welcome signs for each family were put on their door. Beds were made and unmade; linens and towels laid out and laundered; and nightlights and reading lamps plugged and unplugged.
- Throughout, the Leadership Team orchestrated the comings and goings, working to try to fill Deacon Susie Parker’s shoes while she is on sabbatical (an impossible task!) and seeking to carry forward the beautiful legacy Jane Gharibian left for us when she moved out of state last month after decades of leadership and service to Family Promise at Saint Barnabas.
THANK YOU to all the Saint Barnabas clergy, staff, and incredible volunteers! Mark your calendars and watch for information about opportunities to share God’s love and offer a “boundless Welcome” to our next group of Family Promise guests from February 9 to 16, 2025!
Check out the gallery of our volunteers who are in action, making this possible!
The Leadership Team would like to offer special thanks to Phyllis Rector and Judee Morrison, who, for many years, including this one, have supported Family Promise behind the scenes, providing food and drinks to the Family Promise Day Center, where our guest families spend their days before coming to us in the evenings.
Chef Teams
Ginny Agar, Christina Bauer, Rev. Pam Bell (Deacon), Rebecca Brookson, Grace Chen, Karen Easton, Rebecca Evans, Dan Galloway, Marian Green, Judy Hofrichter, Laurel Kimball, Janet Kolstad, Lee Kolstad, Laura Levine, Mary Lou Luvisa, Susan Pietzsch, Debby Sedwick, Jack Sedwick, Pete Sinclair, Cynthia Statham, Scott Statham, Nancy Weaver, and Scott Weaver. Additionally, the Host Teams consist of Lou and Pat Comus, Ellen Gilbert, Danielle, Naomi, and Gilmore, Dottie Henshaw, Peggy Iacobelli, Alden and Ruthanne Kamau, Emily Schneider Krob, Elizabeth Lyon, Sharon Meyer, and Amy Otto.
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Sarah Petersen, Dana Smith, Cameron Starostecki, Kristin Weldy, Ann Wood, Bob Wood, and Lindsey Yunker. The Overnight Teams feature Pat and Suzy Dodds, Joseph Hamilton, Anne Lorimor, Sarah Lund, Wynn Maxwell, David and Kim McClintic, Michael Sackett, Tom Timmer, Mary Beth Volberding, Nancy Weaver, and Scott Weaver. The Set Up and Take Down Teams include Andy Bagnato, Ellen Gilbert, Joseph Hamilton, Elizabeth Jamison, Paula and Richard Nelson, Hank Parker, Celeste, Eric, and Henry Silvernail, Carol Stewart, Mary Beth Volberding, and the Saint Barnabas Facilities Team, particularly Rueben Wayas. They are supported by Saint Barnabas Youth and the Wednesday Night Dinner Group Team, which consists of Nick Bratcher, Cam DeCaussin, Kate Fimbres, Mark and Susan Gardner, Ellen Gilbert, and Laura Levine, and Wednesdays at Saint Barnabas Families. Additionally, the Union of Black Episcopalians Karl and Virginia Washington Arizona Chapter (“UBE Arizona”) Team contributes to these efforts.
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Paula Aguayo, Janet Beason, Kathryn Elliott-Hudson, Br. Lee Hughes, Sylvia Scott, Marg Schmidt, Joy Triche, and Susan Tuttle. The Leadership Team comprises Tracy Cruikshank, Kate Fimbres, Mossie Lierle, Paula Nelson, Rev. Susie Parker (Deacon), Sheila Shervey, Susan Tuttle, and Nancy Weaver.
Blog post author: Susan Tuttle.
