Poured Out in Mission

A few weeks ago the Northwest Region of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) held its regional assembly. The theme this year was "poured out in mission."  It was my first regional assembly here in the Northwest and it was such a pleasure to be present with the many Disciples churches in our area.  Our fellow Disciples churches are doing incredible things; they are giving of their time and their resources in countess ways.  During our time at Regional Assembly Sarah and I had the opportunity to "pour" ourselves out in mission for just a little while with fellow Disciples.  Led by Edie Rice-Sauer, a Disciples minister currently serving a non-profit organization in Spokane, a group of us gathered at Hope House in Downtown Spokane. Hope House offers shelter to women regardless of mental health status, chemical dependency issues or lifestyle.  There are 34 beds available at Hope House and while they could never meet all the needs of women without shelter in Spokane they do provide food, a hot shower, clothing, hygiene items, a warm place to sleep, onsite case management, resource information, and referrals to other community resources to the women who walk through their doors.

Some of our fellow church folk who gathered with us at Hope House gave the place a good cleaning--they got their hands dirty scrubbing floors, vacuuming carpets, cleaning baseboards, and polishing the Hope House kitchen from top to bottom.  Sarah and I had the opportunity to organize and unpack donated clothes in the Hope House closet.  

There were many highlights to Regional Assembly this year---the worship, the workshops, the key note speakers, and the fellowship but for me, the best part of my time in Spokane was getting my hands dirty with fellow church members from across our region as we poured ourselves out in mission!

Here is a picture of Sarah and I at Hope House with the Hope House Executive Director.

For more pictures from Regional Assembly, click here: http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/sredir?uname=101387325944355972821&target=ALBUM&id=5478653593710692753&authkey=Gv1sRgCLSs-tmv7dOCmAE&feat=email