Dear Inner Circle,
Recently Lisa and I experienced the delight of welcoming a “grand-nephew” into our lives. Our kids told us that this is closest we will get to a grand-child, so we better make the most of it – unless we consider grand-puppies kinsfolk. We have been granted babysitting privileges, and we enjoy lifting him high in the air, risking drool and worse, to see him giggle in delight as we call him by his name, the one that came from the deepest love of his doting parents.
This Saturday, as I stand beneath a winter solstice sky that darkens far too early, I’ll gather with others at the Annual Homeless Persons Memorial Service – held on the longest night of the year – to remember those whose lives have ended far too soon. We’ll speak aloud the names of those we have loved and lost and listen to the somber echo of “Anonymous” for those we don’t know but love all the same. We’ll light candles. Together we will mourn them, those who once had names, who perhaps were held aloft as babies and pause to remember just how fragile hopes and dreams can be.
There are only a few times a year I write to you in this note with a direct request for help. This is one of them. The Inner Circle is a community, and today I’m asking this community for support by donating to help Wayside be there for all who need us this winter.
This is the most dangerous time of year for people sleeping rough. Damp shoes. Soaked socks. Bones that never warm up. Hearts that haven’t felt held in years. It’s not just the cold that bites – it’s the loneliness, the long nights with no safety, no warm place to land, no one checking if you’re okay, living on the scraps of generosity and kindness that occasionally come your way.
If you’re able to give, please help us keep showing up for those who need us this winter by making a donation today.
People don’t just come to Wayside for a hot meal or a warm shower. They come to be seen and to be remember themselves – that they are a member of a much larger family, the family of humanity, a phrase our fearless founder coined when our doors first opened 60 years ago.
Thank you for being part of the Inner Circle,
Jon
Rev. Jon Owen
CEO & Pastor
Wayside Chapel
