Spreading Hope
Summer 2020
Women are change-makers. Let’s link arms and watch a wave of hope spread through our homes and neighborhoods this summer! Join us as we strategize together about how we can actively share the hope we have with those who need it most. Follow us on social media to hear encouragement from our very own Willamette Women and to share your personal stories of spreading hope. You can also participate by signing up to join other women who will be spreading hope through two of our favorite ministry partners, Know Me Now and Shepherd’s Door (see details below).
Shepherd’s Door:
Shepherd’s Door is a faith-based women’s recovery home operated by Portland Rescue Mission. In this retreat-like setting, women find a peaceful sanctuary, as well as the security and stability they need to make lasting changes and develop a healthy lifestyle for themselves and their children. Join us in providing spiritual support and encouragement, as well as meeting some practical needs for this special community.
- Prayer team: Pray regularly for specific residents by name while she moves through the program.
- Write a letter: Send notes of encouragement and affirmation to residents, reminding them of God’s love for them.
- Staff encouragement: help develop and execute some special encouragement for the hard-working staff team at Shepherd’s Door during this especially challenging season.
- Help coordinate and/or contribute to a resource drive (i.e. women’s clothing and/or specified supplies for child residents – Specifics will be based on needs indicated by Shepherd’s Door)
- Help develop and execute site service project for their property (details TBD)
- Prep and organize materials for bible study and special activities
- Help coordinate meals for one of our on-site visits (August 1 & 29, September 5, or October 31)
- Participate in one of our Saturday Breakfast & Bible Study mornings at Shepherd’s Door (August 1 & 29, September 5, or October 31 – note: space is extremely limited due to Covid restrictions, must be 18 years of age or older)
- Become a spiritual mentor for a resident (application through PRM required): provide personal spiritual encouragement and support to a resident through weekly contact.
- Other: We are open to and always working with Shepherd’s Door for creative ways we can care for this community. Have an idea? We’d love to hear it!
Know Me Now:
Know Me Now aims to reduce prison-return rates by building family-centric support systems. Join us in making a real and lasting impact on individuals, families and neighborhoods by encouraging healthy reunification between children and their parents within prison walls, and providing hospitality to Department of Correction employees.
- Write a letter: Send an encouraging note to an Adult in Custody or thank you to the Department of Corrections Staff.
- Build a Connect Kit: When a child visits their parent in custody they are unable to bring any items with them. These connect kits help facilitate a good visit between a child and their parent, and make a potentially unsettling experience a more positive one.
- Build a New Beginning Bag: Help provide some of life’s basic necessities to those leaving custody allowing encouragement as they reenter our community.
- Join a crew! Circle up with like-minded people who are committed to providing wraparound care for those leaving incarceration. Crews will be trained on how to network within existing systems to help individuals find housing, food, clothes, jobs, parenting resources, and healthy communities to thrive in.
Africa New Life Sewing Program
Africa New Life’s Sewing Program prepares women with a marketable skill, giving them the ability to provide reliable income for their families. A scholarship of $150/month, for a total of $1800 for each student, provides training, spiritual nurturing, and daycare. Join us as we support and pray for these hard-working ladies!
Uwimana Zoad
Justine Iragena
Josiane Niragire
Dative Mishyimimana
Grace Murekatete
Annet Mukandayisenga
Kezia Niyomukiza
Marie Claire Mukamfizi
About Women’s Community at Willamette
Women’s Community at Willamette is a great place to begin building relationships with other women who want to know Jesus better, and to find practical, biblical direction for our daily lives. Join us as we learn to engage with and follow Jesus together.