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Interfaith Community Gathers to Remember the Homeless Neighbors we have Lost On December 20. 2018, at 7:00 p.m., a group of non-profit agencies and interfaith congregations gathered at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church in Plainfield for the third annual Homeless Persons’ Memorial Vigil. This event, which is open to the public, is held on the eve of the day with the least amount of daylight and the longest night, December 21. This day has been chosen as a time to remember all homeless people who died on the cold streets or living in dangerous abandoned buildings during the past year due to their lack of shelter or care. The Vigil in Union County comes on the heels of a successful third annual Homeless Sabbath Weekend held across Union County held December 14-16, 2018. Speakers at the Vigil included. Father Angelo Wildgoose, St. Mark’s Episcopal Church, Plainfield Father Anthony Randazzo, Holy Trinity Roman Catholic Church, Westfield Rabbi Joel Abraham, Temple Sholom, Scotch Plains Rev. Dr. Leanora Colley, New Covenant Church, Plainfield Ghana Khan, American Muslims for Hunger Relief Simeria DeWalt, Family Promise Donna Alexander, Urban League of Union County Laverne Williams, MHANJ Linda Flores-Tober, Elizabeth Coalition to House the Homeless Amy Jones, Family Promise Rev. Ann Marie Alderman, First Unitarian Society of Plainfield “More often or not, most of us have the opportunity to say good-bye to friends and family on or after our passing and have closure,” said Pastor Angelo Wildgoose of St. Mark’s Episcopal Church in Plainfield. “The annual Homeless Vigil offers the opportunity to remember those who pass on the streets. St. Mark’s Parish embraces the opportunity to have a hand in helping God’s children in any way we can.” https://youtu.be/Nrm03n-t8HI Tapinto Plainfield Video Tapinto Plainfield provided coverage of the Vigil including this video and photos. "Tonight is the darkest night, cold and wet. How fitting that we remember those who died and lived in the dark night, shunned by the cold shoulder of society, wet with the tears of voices unheard. And so we pray for them and the others to come, not with pious sadness, but with the hope built on our commitment to bring an end to homelessness. Let them not die in vain; with each candle we light, we call on them to be present to us. With each candle, we light the darkness and call on hope." said Linda Flores-Tober, of the Elizabeth Coalition to House the Homeless. On the night of January 23, 2018, 459 people, including 41 people without shelter, experienced homelessness in Union County, according to NJ Counts 2018, the Point-In-Time count. The Homeless Sabbath Weekend organizers believe that no one should be homeless for the holidays or at any time of the year. “The housing crisis is a humanitarian issue that we cannot ignore,” says Geleen Donovan, Executive Director, Family Promise of Union County. “Those of us providing homeless shelter and services witness the onslaught of desperation in numbers that are rising on a daily basis.” The Vigil was organized by caring people from non-profit agencies and interfaith congregations. Read the full article

Homeless Sabbath is a Multi-Faith Call to Action in Union County; Homeless Providers Seeing Crisis with the Lack of Shelter Beds During the weekend of December 14-16, 2018, multi-faith congregations in Union County, New Jersey will participate in the Third Annual Homeless Sabbath Weekend. This weekend is a “call to action” for multi-faith communities. The weekend offers congregations the opportunity to show faith in action by bringing attention to their neighbors experiencing homelessness. To date, sixteen multi-faith congregations have registered to participate in the weekend: Central Presbyterian, Summit Congregation Beth Israel, Scotch Plains First Presbyterian Church, Cranford First Unitarian Society, Plainfield Holy Cross Lutheran, Springfield Immaculate Heart of Mary Parish, Scotch Plains Islamic Center of Union County “ICUC”, Union New Covenant Church, Plainfield St. Mark’s Episcopal Church, Plainfield St. Michael’s Roman Catholic Church, Cranford Temple Sha’arey Shalom, SpringfieldTemple Sholom, Scotch PlainsUnion Baptist, ElizabethZion Evangelical Lutheran Church, RahwayTownley Presbyterian Church, Union Holy Trinity Roman Catholic Church, Westfield Are you a leader or member of a congregation in Union County that has not yet registered but would like to register for the Homeless Sabbath Weekend. If so, it is not too late, you can use this registration link to sign up for the Homeless Sabbath Weekend. During Homeless Sabbath Weekend, congregations will collectively pray for all people experiencing homelessness and for the commitment to end homelessness in our community.Participation means sharing a prepared prayer or reading as part of a service, holding a drive for hats, mittens, and scarves or other necessities, performing a short play or incorporating the theme of homelessness into a holiday display or live scene.Registered congregations will receive materials to help make their participation as simple as possible during this busy holiday season. Community Access Unlimited, Elizabeth Coalition to House the Homeless, Family Promise of Union County, Gateway Family YMCA, HomeFirst, Iris House, the Urban League of Union County, the Union County interfaith Coordinating Council and Monarch Housing are organizing this year’s Homeless Sabbath Weekend on behalf of all people who are homeless in Union County. On the night of January 23, 2018, 459 people, including 41 people without shelter, experienced homelessness in Union County, according to NJ Counts, the Point-In-Time Count. The Homeless Sabbath Weekend organizers believe that no one should be homeless for the holidays or at any time of the year. The lack of affordable housing in Union County has precipitated a crisis causing working families to become homeless. Due to cuts in state funding, shelter beds are being lost across the state and specifically in Union County. The loss of the Plainfield YMCA shelter and the closure of Salvation Army shelter beds in Perth Amboy and some shelter beds in Elizabeth forces families and individuals experiencing homelessness to live in their cars, in storage units and in abandoned buildings. These individuals and families are being abandoned and forced to live in places that we would all consider uninhabitable. The Homeless Sabbath Weekend event aligns with “Homeless Persons’ Memorial Day Vigil,” hosted this year held on December 20th at 7 PM at at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church, 1430 Park Avenue, Plainfield. The Vigil will take place the night before December 21 is the longest night of the year and is a time to remember all people experiencing homelessness who died in the past year due to their lack of shelter or care. We are encouraging all who will be attending the vigil to bring donations of new mittens, scarves and hats for families and children. Register for Homeless Sabbath Homeless Sabbath Home Page Read the full article

Homeless Sabbath is a Multi-Faith Call to Action in Union County; Homeless Providers Seeing Crisis with the Lack of Shelter Beds During the weekend of December 14-16, 2018, multi-faith congregations in Union County, New Jersey will participate in the Third Annual Homeless Sabbath Weekend. This weekend is a “call to action” for multi-faith communities. The weekend offers congregations the opportunity to show faith in action by bringing attention to their neighbors experiencing homelessness. To date, fourteen multi-faith congregations have registered to participate in the weekend: Central Presbyterian, Summit Congregation Beth Israel, Scotch Plains First Presbyterian Church, Cranford First Unitarian Society, Plainfield Holy Cross Lutheran, Springfield Immaculate Heart of Mary Parish Scotch Plains Islamic Center of Union County “ICUC”, Union New Covenant Church, Plainfield St. Mark’s Episcopal Church, Plainfield St. Michael’s Roman Catholic Church, Cranford Temple Sha’arey Shalom, Springfield Temple Sholom, Scotch Plains Union Baptist, Elizabeth Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church, Rahway Are you a leader or member of a congregation in Union County that has not yet registered but would like to register for the Homeless Sabbath Weekend. If so, it is not too late, you can use this registration link to sign up for the Homeless Sabbath Weekend. During Homeless Sabbath Weekend, congregations will collectively pray for all people experiencing homelessness and for the commitment to end homelessness in our community.Participation means sharing a prepared prayer or reading as part of a service, holding a drive for hats, mittens, and scarves or other necessities, performing a short play or incorporating the theme of homelessness into a holiday display or live scene.Registered congregations will receive materials to help make their participation as simple as possible during this busy holiday season. Community Access Unlimited, Elizabeth Coalition to House the Homeless, Family Promise of Union County, Gateway Family YMCA, HomeFirst, Iris House, the Urban League of Union County, the Union County interfaith Coordinating Council and Monarch Housing are organizing this year’s Homeless Sabbath Weekend on behalf of all people who are homeless in Union County. On the night of January 23, 2018, 459 people, including 41 people without shelter, experienced homelessness in Union County, according to NJ Counts, the Point-In-Time Count. The Homeless Sabbath Weekend organizers believe that no one should be homeless for the holidays or at any time of the year. The lack of affordable housing in Union County has precipitated a crisis causing working families to become homeless. Due to cuts in state funding, shelter beds are being lost across the state and specifically in Union County. The loss of the Plainfield YMCA shelter and the closure of Salvation Army shelter beds in Perth Amboy and some shelter beds in Elizabeth forces families and individuals experiencing homelessness to live in their cars, in storage units and in abandoned buildings. These individuals and families are being abandoned and forced to live in places that we would all consider uninhabitable. The Homeless Sabbath Weekend event aligns with “Homeless Persons’ Memorial Day Vigil,” hosted this year held on December 20th at 7 PM at at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church, 1430 Park Avenue, Plainfield. The Vigil will take place the night before December 21 is the longest night of the year and is a time to remember all people experiencing homelessness who died in the past year due to their lack of shelter or care. We are encouraging all who will be attending the vigil to bring donations of new mittens, scarves and hats for families and children. Register for Homeless Sabbath Homeless Sabbath Home Page Read the full article