Grants & Gifts
Thank to you the following foundations and
organizationsthat supported the Welcome
Ministry in 2006:
*Acquerello Restaurant
*Anna Selegean Memorial Fund
*East Coast West Deli
*The Eldorado Foundation
*The Episcopal Deanery of San Francisco
*Christ Church Lutheran
*First Congregational Church
*Just Remnants
*Northern California Nevada Conference
Neighbors in Need Grant (UCC)
*Lutheran Lesbian and Gay Ministries
*Old First Presbyterian Church
*The Presbytery of San Francisco
*Sandbox Studios
*The St. Francis Foundation
*St. Luke’s Episcopal Church
*The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence
*Van Loben Sels/RembeRock
We also give thanks for all of the individual
support from donors like you!
Welcome Ministry Endowment Drive
The Welcome Ministry was able to exceed
its goal of $10,000 for its endowment fund
this year with the generous support of
the Anna Selegean Fund, The Eldorado
Foundation and the generous support of
donors like you. Supporting this fund will
enable the Welcome Ministry to spend less
time fundraising and more time helping
our homeless and hungry friends improve
their quality of life.
Welcome Support
At a time when other non-pro ts that work with the homeless
in San Francisco are closing, the Welcome Ministry has been
blessed with increased support and has been able to expand
its ability to serve the homeless and hungry this year.
Director's Call Recognized by Local Church
Megan Rohrer has been the
director of the Welcome
Ministry since June of 2002.
This year, when Megan's
approval for call by the
Extraordinary Candidacy
Project was fast approaching,
the Welcome Ministry's
board of directors agreed to
make the director a called
position. The board recognized
Megan's pastoral gifts,
demonstrated each day in
working with the homeless
community.
Several congregations are
in the process of approving
this call along with Ebenezer
Lutheran Church. This
vibrant parish in the heart
of San Francisco is known
for its cutting edge ministry
and "re-imaging" what it
means to be church. With
its focus on feminism and
gender, this congregation
is an excellent match for
Megan theologically.
Megan explains, "I am very
excited to be able to tell
both the homeless and the
homeblessed that this is
not a second-class job that
I take until a real pastor job
comes along. Rather, this is
vital life giving work, a real
sacramental ministry that
shares the living word to
those who are often seen as
the least. This is what I am
called to do."
Megan continues, "The Welcome
Ministry does the work of the church in the world
that is the continuation of
our Eucharistic feast - this is
why our logo is communion
elements. The reality of
contemporary churches
(ELCA and beyond) is that
congregations without
the funds from either their
current rolls or the endowed
wealth of their saints have
to close their doors or exist
without ordained leadership.
My ordination is a radical
evangelistic move that tells
the homeless and hungry
that they deserve a pastor,
even though they cannot
a ord one.
"I am thankful that Ebenezer
has recognized my call to
the homeless and hungry
in San Francisco and the
Welcome Ministry, and that
other congregations are
working to recognize this
call. The Welcome Ministry is
not a church. The Welcome
Ministry ministers with a
longing to see the day when
pain, su ffering, and poverty
will end. We even hope that
we are ushering in that kindom."
At its board meeting in
September, LLGM approved
a mission partner grant in
the amount of $15,600 to
support Megan and the
Welcome Ministry. Please
plan to attend this powerful
ordination.
Welcome Ministry
Gala: Celebrating
10 Years
Following the ordination,
there will be Gala in honor
of the Welcome Ministry
hosted at Christ Church
Lutheran (20th & Quintara).
This dinner and silent
auction will feature the
jazz stylings of the Grammy
nominated Don Pender
and his Quartet. Matching
funds for the event will be
provided by Thrivent Financial
for Lutherans.
Please order your tickets by
November 10th: $75/plate
or $500 for a table of seven.
Silent Auction opens:
6:30pm; Dinner 7:00 pm.
You can learn more about
the ordination and gala
by visiting our website:
www.welcomeministry.org.
Food for Thought & Success Stories
By Megan Rohrer
In the October 29th San
Francisco Chronicle article by
Kevin Fagan and Brant Ward
entitled “THE CITY'S COST
OF A LIFE REDEEMED,” the authors
wrote that the “rejection
of help is a key reason there
are so many homeless people
on the nation's streets.”
They believe that it is the
homeless who refuse to
receive help. However, as
a minister who listens to
the stories of the homeless
everyday, lives on the streets
regularly to see what it is
really like for the homeless,
and has served the homeless
for more than four years as
the director of the Welcome
Ministry, I have seen that it is
more often hospitals, social
service agencies and the government
that refuse services
to the homeless.
In fact, if Project Homeless
Connect would release their
numbers, they would have
to admit that of the more
than 1500 people that come
begging for help, only 3 individuals
are given the chance
to work with the Homeless
Outreach Team that doles out
the housing services. Despite
these low odds, the homeless
camp out in front of the doors
of the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium
for more than three
days for the opportunity to
get into the SRO’s leased by
the city (that according to
federal standards still makes
them considered homeless).
Why is what happens at
Project Homeless Connect
so important? Currently
all of the city’s services are
funneled through project
homeless connect. When the
city switched to the “Care
Not Cash” program with the
Newsom administration, all
of the “care” of this program
is doled out by the Homeless
Outreach Team at project
connect.
Thankfully, the Welcome Ministry
through its partnership
with the Homeless Outreach
Team is able to work with
them directly to help some of
our most vulnerable homeless
individuals get the help they
are desperately begging
for. I have also been taking
individuals to their meetings
with some of the social service
agencies that often turn the
homeless away. The homeless
find it helpful to have an advocate
and someone to ll out
the paperwork for them (since
they often to not have the
proper eye glasses they would
need to ll out the forms on
their own).
Sometimes hospitals and
other social services agencies
have an easier time treating
the homeless like humans
when they are escorted by
someone wearing a clergy
collar. Sometimes they do not.
But, it is this individual care
that is helping our homeless
and hungry friends improve
their lives.
Here are the stories of a few
lives that have beni ted from
the Welcome Ministry:
Herman works two full time
jobs in order to try to pay
his rent and take care of
his disabled partner. With
medical bills mounting and
no hope of being able to pay
his rent for the upcoming
month, Herman came to the Welcome Ministry for help.
Our director counseled
Herman about the steps
that he can take to avoid
eviction and hooked him
up with a group that will
help Herman not only pay
his rent on time, but be
able to get ahead enough
to not have to worry about
eviction every month.
Freddy has decided that
he wants to turn his life
around. A long time drug
user, Freddy has decided
that he is ready to confront
his addiction issues and
lessen the symptoms of
his schizophrenia. Freddy
receives regular counseling
from the Welcome Ministry
director and has decided to fi ll his time with activities
to try and beat his addiction.
Volunteering at the
Welcome Ministry more
than 4 times a week has
helped Freddy to stay sober
for more than a month.
Sara’s New Year’s resolution
for the year was to stop
being a prostitute. The Welcome
Ministry has helped
Sara to keep this resolution
by: giving her an address
to have important mail
sent to; regular counseling
sessions; giving her a place
to volunteer and get to
the streets; helping her
find job opportunities and
work on her resume and by
encouraging her to improve
her life. Sara currently has
a full time job and was able
to move indoors.
* Names have been changed
to protect con dentiality.
Educating Local Students about Poverty, Addiction and Justice Issues:
This year community dinners have been hosted by
students from: art college students; Urban High School ;
the San Francisco Swedenborgian church sunday school;
youth groups from Oregon; softball players from UC Santa
Cruz; and college students on spring break from across
the country.
In addition to community dinners education, the Welcome
Ministry has been educating students across the city.
Megan recently visited the young adult group at the
Temple Or Shalom during their Sukkot celebrations. Megan
led the students on a simulation of what it feels like to be
homeless. This activity helps students take on the stigma,
physical weight and helplessness of being homeless.
This experiential activity has helped students across the
city learn about the politics of homelessness and excites
them to seek justice in their communities. Megan will be
leading the same activity with the youth of Beth Shalom
in November. Contact Megan if your group would like
to experience this creative educational program. It is
appropriate for learners of all ages.
Welcome Ministry Programs Thrive:
The Welcome Center hosts an average of 80 guests each
Tuesday 2 pm - 4 pm. The objective of the Welcome Center
is to extend basic hospitality to homeless men and women
and to start the process of building relationships of mutual
caring and trust with individual guests. The Center provides
a light lunch, conversation and an opportunity to develop
friendships with Welcome Center volunteers, as well as
access to clean rest rooms.
The Wednesday Evening Outreach Program, this program is
so sucessful that we have decided to double the number of
nights it is open. Now, we will be open both the second and
third Wednesday each month, o ereing a meal, counseling,
haircuts and access to employment opportunities via the Internet
in the newly our computer lab. The program also distributes
much needed items like socks, toiletries, clothing,
blankets, food, nutritional drinks, and bus tokens.
Saturday Community Dinners serve an average of 160
guests each month and educate more than 24 students a
month about homelessness and addiction issues. Di erent
church and community business groups host the community
dinners each month. Frequently guests at the Saturday dinners
subsequently come to the Welcome Center on Tuesdays
or the monthly Outreach Program on Thursday to get better
acquainted.
Counseling by the Director averages 30 one-on-one meetings
a month. Welcome Ministry Director Megan Rohrer
o ers counseling for homeless guests three days each
week. She helps them reconnect with their families, prevent
eviction, access appropriate health care, drug and alcohol
detoxi cation treatment and rehabilitation services, as well
as fi nd shelter and employment.
Facts about Homelessness from the Religious Witness:
Mayor Gavin Newsom has prioritized supportive housing
as the most basic solution to homelessness in our
community, has facilitated access to services for homeless
individuals through Project Homeless Connect, and
has continued San Francisco’s long history of extending
a wide variety of crucial services to homeless people.
During the fi rst 30 months of the Newsom Administration,
a staggering 31,230 “quality of life” citations
have been issued against homeless San Franciscans.
Thousands of homeless individuals are being cited, arrested,
dragged through the courts and jailed for such “crimes” as sleeping and camping on the sidewalks, in
the parks, and even in their own vehicles. Our brothers
and sisters are being criminalized because they are
desperate and poor.
The Newsom Administration has invested a staggering
$5.8 million of taxpayers’ money in this police
approach, in spite of the fact that it has been proven
consistently over the past 14 years in San Francisco to
be absolutely futile in reducing homelessness, scally
irresponsible, and basically inhumane.
Therefore, we religious leaders insist that until
adequate housing and critical services are readily
available to poor and homeless people, Mayor
Newsom must stop the enforcement of "quality of
life" ordinances against homeless members of our
community.
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