The Mary Randall Center in Elkton will open its doors to the homeless on
a part-time basis sometime in early June and plans to gradually increase
its hours.
That information came to light on Sunday during a spiritual dedication
ceremony inside the center’s chapel, one of several rooms in the
two-story building, which fronts North Street and runs adjacent to
Stockton Street.
“It’s a privilege to count this place among God’s Kingdom,” said the
Rev. Bruce Reyes-Chow, the moderator for the national Presbyterian
Church U.S.A, which has more than 2.5 million members.
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Reyes-Chow, who holds the church’s highest elected office, flew
in from San Francisco to attend the ceremony, which drew a
standing-room-only crowd.
Reyes-Chow emphasized that churches need to reach out more
often, with the goal of meeting the community’s spiritual and
physical needs. He noted the Mary Randall Center gives a “sense
of visibility, validation and commitment.”
Meeting Ground, a religious nonprofit group that provides
emergency and transitional housing for the homeless through
support from several churches in area, has been trying to open
the Mary Randall Center, which it describes as a daytime
homeless shelter and worship center, on North Street for more
than two years...
After its original permit request was denied, the group – with
assistance from the American Civil Liberties Union – filed a lawsuit
against the town that ultimately forced Elkton to allow the shelter to
open.
Homeless people will be able to go to the center during the day to
receive an array of services aimed at helping them find jobs, secure
housing and deal with personal issues.
Volunteers will be there to teach life skills and give guidance in a
homeless person’s quest for employment, which will include use of the
center’s computers for job hunting.
A chapel also will be available so homeless people can worship, pray or
receive spiritual guidance.
The Rev. Carl Mazza, a co-founder and the president of Meeting Ground,
called the center an important model for the church because it’s
designed to help people who don’t necessarily attend church services.
The center is named after Mary Randall, who died from cancer in April
2006 at age 60.
Randall, who lived in this area for only a short time, volunteered at
Meeting Ground’s Clairvaux Farm family shelter in the early 1990s. There
she helped women learn to read and develop other life skills. She also
organized fundraisers for the organization.
“She would be proud to have her name associated with this center,” her
brother-in-law, Rig Mullin, of Earleville, told the crows during
Sunday’s ceremony.