Tri-Cities church to open shelter Christmas Day. Pastor says there’s ‘just no place to go’
While some parishioners capped off a Thursday night Christmas dinner with Yuletide melodies and carols, others at All Saints’ Episcopal Church began decking the halls with sleeping pads and pillows.
All Saints’ Episcopal in Richland— located at 1322 Kimball Ave. — plans to operate a 24/7 shelter for the homeless and those in need this Christmas weekend. The church will shift to an overnight warming shelter (7 p.m. to 7 a.m.) starting Monday.
Senior Pastor Jane Schmoetzer says it happened “very spontaneously.”
As other Tri-City shelters and warming centers shutter for the holiday, the church will be among the only location for the region’s most vulnerable to seek refuge from the bitter weather.
Tri-City Union Gospel Mission, located across the river in Pasco, will also keep their men’s and women’s shelters open through the holiday. Only the men’s shelter is open at night.
“There’s just no place for people to go,” Schmoetzer told the Tri-City Herald. “These are our neighbors. How could we (close) now? So we are scrambling to line up volunteers to keep the church open and make some real simple meals.”
The Tri-Cities will see a chance of freezing rain or wintry mix on Christmas Day Sunday, with low temperatures dipping below freezing, according to the National Weather Service in Pendleton.
At least an inch or two of snow blanketed the region early Friday morning.
The Mid-Columbia Libraries, which also were offered as warming centers for the homeless, were closing at 3 p.m. Friday.
On Facebook, All Saints’ posted asking for volunteers to work 4-hour shifts to cook and keep the church open.
The response has been overwhelming, Schmoetzer said.
“Since then, it’s been a whirlwind... It sounds like there’s a lot of love that’s been looking for a place to go,” she said. “There are loving hearts that want to serve, and I’m glad they’re finding us.”
People have reached out to donate their time, money, sleeping bags and food.
All Saints’ Episcopal is still looking for overnight volunteers to help through next week, too.
The idea to open the church as a temporary 24/7 shelter came from parishioners, who, on Thursday night, were discussing the lack of warm places to go.
All Saints’ Episcopal was already providing beds for two men and a dog that night. One of them had found themselves stranded with the mountain passes closed, and couldn’t afford a motel.
Schmoetzer says they’re not sure how many may show up at their doorstep this weekend.
“People will come and we will do our best to care for them, in Jesus’ name,” she said.
