Five Churches Come Together To Serve the Unhoused

What happens when five churches with a heart to help those who are houseless come together for a God’s Work Our Hands October event?  Smiles, full bellies, camaraderie and warm clothes! 

Five ELCA churches hosted a meal and a pop-up River of Hope Clothes Closet on October 18 for the Wausau Marty Bus (part of the Marathon County Community Outreach Task Force serving the unhoused). The churches hosting were St. Stephen and Good Shepherd in Wausau, and the three River of Hope churches–Bethlehem in Kronenwetter; Mt. Calvary in Rothschild; and St. John in Mosinee.

Although normally GWOH is observed in September we pushed back the date to October to better accommodate the seasonal change in weather (it’s too hard to carry hoodies and winter gear beginning in September).  For the clothes closet we brought shirts, jeans, hoodies, coats, socks, shoes, gloves, hats, new underwear, backpacks, sleeping bags, hygiene items and laundry soap. Hoss Ostrowski from Bethlehem entertained us with music while we served a meal of brats, hot dogs, beans and potato salad.  Generous donations and many volunteers were able to make this meaningful event happen.

Sherry Johnson who oversees the clothes closet commented: “It is so wonderful to  volunteer with other Christians to "Do God's  Work".  We so enjoyed spending the day together.  The fellowship between all the volunteers is amazing! And we so enjoyed Hoss playing his guitar for us as we were packing up. Music makes the work easier to do.”

Did we have an impact?  This volunteer was moved to watch the joy for a pair of socks, a humble ask for a sleeping bag, a quick delighted change into a new shirt and a client thankful for the chance to volunteer with us. 

By the numbers:

67 unhoused people served

5 participating ELCA churches

25 church volunteers

12 Marty Bus volunteers

1,322 items received by the unhoused

221 additional items donated to Marty Bus and Bridge Street Mission