Old Harbour church reaches out to shut-ins, homeless

Shut-ins and the homeless in and around the communities of Old Harbour in St Catherine, as well as Church Pen and Sandy Bay in Clarendon, were treated to a warm meal and care packages on Thursday, courtesy of the Women’s Ministry of the Church of Our Lord Jesus Christ of the Apostolic Faith (Refuge Temple).

The ladies took to the streets and to the homes of the fellow missionaries who are now unable to make the trek to church.

Commenting on the initiative, Rosalind McKenzie, said that initially the plan was to focus on the shut-ins from the church, but then they started thinking about the homeless and the street persons and decided to extend the outreach.

“It has been a challenging year for everyone, but it is even more so for the vulnerable who many shun on the streets. We don’t know their stories and we are not here to judge, and honestly, it felt good just feeding them and seeing the looks of gratitude on their faces,” she shared with The Gleaner.

According to McKenzie, programmes like those from the church, which is pastored by Bishop Neville Currie, are not new, as over the years, they have carried out many outreach projects.

However, she said that this year has been the hardest with some of their usual sponsors unable to assist, but the women hosted several fundraising ventures and dug into their own pockets to successfully pull it off.

On Thursday, numerous shut-ins received bags of groceries and toiletries.

Volunteer drivers eagerly delivered warm meals and packages to them.

“In addition to feeding the street persons and the mentally ill, we extended the outreach to some people who were just in need of a hot meal,” said McKenzie.

She said that although there was satisfaction all around, there was no shaking the feeling of sadness as one shut-in on their list had died the night before.

To McKenzie, the day’s activities also revealed just how lonely many of them were as when they turned up at some of the homes, some of the members cried tears of joy, while others asked them to stay a little longer.

If there is one regret, McKenzie said it is the fact that they cannot do it more often.

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