Posted 11:32 pm Saturday, February 02, 2013
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Ministry provides clothes and help for homeless
By REBECCA HOEFFNER
rhoeffner@tylerpaper.com
Donna Skorheim chuckled as she recalled one of her favorite stories — a story about a pair of gloves.
rhoeffner@tylerpaper.com
Donna Skorheim chuckled as she recalled one of her favorite stories — a story about a pair of gloves.
“We had been giving away gloves to the homeless under the bridge all day, and we had just run out,” she said. “A man came up and asked if we had any more gloves, so my friend gave him her purple ones. He came back the next week and said they had been stolen while he was taking a shower at Gateway to Hope (a day-facility for the homeless). We gave him a pair of nice new leather ones. Well, he ran into the man who stole them, and asked if he could trade with him to get them back.”
The story is one of many that comes out of Jesus’ Closet — a year-old initiative to provide clothes and toiletries and build relationships with those who are homeless and in poverty. Organizers estimate they have provided services to hundreds over the last year.
“We started in a little closet with two shelves,” said Mark Skorheim, Mrs. Skorheim’s husband, pastor of Faith Community Church in Tyler, where the clothes and toiletries for Jesus’ Closet are stored. He gestures to the crowded 8x12 and 12x20 rooms, and adds that they have a storage unit full of summer clothes. “As you can see, we’ve grown. We could use more space, but we’re making due.”
Volunteers meet under an overpass in North Tyler every Saturday morning in conjunction with another ministry that provides food, Hunger for Love.
While Skorheim views the project as an interdenominational endeavor involving several other churches, volunteers and donors, the idea was started at Faith Community.
“We were just looking for a way to help those who need a little encouragement,” he said.
He approached the organizers of Hunger for Love to ask how they could partner with the ministry and took their suggestion to provide necessities other than food.
Jesus’ Closet takes their inspiration from a Scripture in Matthew 25, “I needed clothes and you clothed me … Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’”
The ministry accepts donations of clothes (organizers say they’re in need of men’s shoes), toiletries (many people have started bringing back shampoo and soaps from hotel stays), and monetary donations. The budget is run by the church and kept in a separate account, Skorheim said.
“Every week, we say, ‘Jesus wants you to have this, this is coming to you from Jesus,” Mrs. Skorheim said. “We just want it to be done in Jesus’ name.”
Volunteers meet under an overpass in North Tyler every Saturday morning in conjunction with another ministry that provides food, Hunger for Love.
While Skorheim views the project as an interdenominational endeavor involving several other churches, volunteers and donors, the idea was started at Faith Community.
“We were just looking for a way to help those who need a little encouragement,” he said.
He approached the organizers of Hunger for Love to ask how they could partner with the ministry and took their suggestion to provide necessities other than food.
Jesus’ Closet takes their inspiration from a Scripture in Matthew 25, “I needed clothes and you clothed me … Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’”
The ministry accepts donations of clothes (organizers say they’re in need of men’s shoes), toiletries (many people have started bringing back shampoo and soaps from hotel stays), and monetary donations. The budget is run by the church and kept in a separate account, Skorheim said.
“Every week, we say, ‘Jesus wants you to have this, this is coming to you from Jesus,” Mrs. Skorheim said. “We just want it to be done in Jesus’ name.”
The group even takes special orders from those in need, Mrs. Skorheim said. Volunteers have developed relationships with several of the clients, and Mrs. Skorheim said she could only recall two times when they felt the services were taken advantage of. The policy is to give out one coat per person per season, she said, and she confronted a woman who had tried to hide another coat.
“I just walked up to her and was crying,” she said. “I said, ‘This is from Jesus, why would you try to take that?’”
But, for the most part, the volunteers enjoy the help they can give.
“They’re so grateful and excited,” Mrs. Skorheim said. “When was the last time you were happy about a pair of gloves?”
“I just walked up to her and was crying,” she said. “I said, ‘This is from Jesus, why would you try to take that?’”
But, for the most part, the volunteers enjoy the help they can give.
“They’re so grateful and excited,” Mrs. Skorheim said. “When was the last time you were happy about a pair of gloves?”
