This post was originally published on this site
An informative and inspiring new article just added to Saint Herman House of Hospitality, which became an an active site of FOCUS Cleveland in January 2013.
Priest Jonathan Lincoln, Associate Pastor at Saint Joseph Church, Wheaton, IL, is the author of the article, titled “Gateway Ministries and the Garment of Salvation—An Interview with Paul Finley”. Mr. Finley serves as Director of Saint Herman House.
As the article’s title reveals, Saint Herman House provides a broad scope of ministries to meet the “gateway” material needs of food, shelter and clothing, as well as the spiritual needs of homeless and troubled men in its community. It is a place where those in need are afforded an opportunity to live and work in a community setting.
“We do the best we can for the broken people who come here for help, but we do try to make people feel that they have value, worth, dignity, that they’re important in the eyes of God,” Mr. Finley explains. “And if they remember that they were treated that way by somebody who is an Orthodox Christian, it may be an opportunity for them someday to look more deeply into our faith.
“People voluntarily come here for food, and they voluntarily come here for spiritual food,” he continued. “We don’t make anybody come to the services. But there are always men at the services who are seeking something more.”
Read about this three-decades-old Orthodox Christian outreach program and share the information with others. A video about Saint Herman’s is also available online.
Comments and questions may be directed to Donna Karabin, who chairs the Orthodox Church in America’s Department of Christian Service and Humanitarian Aid [CSHA], and/or Arlene Kallaur, Parish Ministry Resource Coordinator, at csha@oca.org.
OCA parishes, communities and related organizations that wish to submit articles on successful charitable or outreach ministry are invited to contact CSHA.
