"I’m not in favor of this project, but the church decided to do it, so I am here to do my part,” commented a Warren Church volunteer helping in the Macomb County Rotating Emergency Shelter Team (MCREST) program that the church participated in this past July.

MCREST is a group of participating congregations that have agreed to open their facilities and their hearts to the homeless community. MCREST seeks to provide temporary emergency shelter for homeless people, while helping them find permanent solutions to their situations.

The church board discussed many concerns—insurance, criminal activity, safety of the Warren Church children, supervision, etc. But with guidance from the MCREST staff, and after looking at the history of other churches in the area that have been a part of the program since 1985, it was voted to move ahead in faith.

Mattresses, linens, towels, and a portable shower were made available by MCREST. It was our responsibility to pick up the persons from the previous church site and set up our shelter in the gymnasium of the Warren Adventist Junior Academy.

By Sunday evening, everything was in place for the arrival of 25 guests. Each evening during the check-in procedure, guests were screened for alcohol, illegal drugs, and medications. This was done by church volunteers, under the supervision of a MCREST staff member. The guests would then sign up for showers, transportation needs, and sack lunches for the next day.

Each church provided three meals a day (one being a sack lunch), laundry service twice a week for the guests’ personal items, and washed the linens and towels for the next church. Medications were dispensed each evening and morning as needed. Transportation was provided by the church in the form of bus tickets, gas vouchers, and volunteer drivers who drove guests to jobs not on the bus route.

During the evening, guests were able to take advantage of a game room where they could relax, play games, watch TV, or just visit with each other or the church volunteers. Free hair cuts, dental hygiene, and consultations with visiting nurses and a counselor were made available.

Bible study classes were offered, and about a half dozen participated each evening. The guests were invited to attend Sabbath school and church, and we had several join us for worship and fellowship dinner at the park following services. It was encouraging to see some of the guests taking an interest in the spiritual life of the church family and expressing a desire to learn more of God's will for their lives.

At the end of the week, we lost contact with most of the men as they moved on to the next location. One gentleman now has a job and an apartment of his own. He has been attending church every Sabbath.

This was no small undertaking for the Warren Church, but with the support of about 75 volunteers throughout the week it was a blessing to the guests and to the church family.

At the end of the week the member who had reservations about the program could be heard saying, “I would do it again.”

We are on the schedule for another week in July 2004.

Nancy Larsen is the Warren Church Bible worker.