Thanks to all of our members who were able to contribute time and money to help make the Christmas of a family of three (a mother and two daughters) a little merrier. Items purchased with your funds included a mountain bike, a Samsung tablet, a set of dishes, pots and pans, curling iron, clothes, makeup, jewelry, and toys.
We hope all of the folks that work and make their temporary home at Bethany House have a very, Merry Christmas!
Bethany House sign at their new location in the Bond Hill neighborhood of Cincinnati Staff from Bethany House with boxes of goodies and a bike from the New Church of MontgomerySome of the clothes and gifts for our youngest recipient whose favorite color is pink
The New Church of Montgomery is glad to be one of the many organizations and individuals donating to Bethany House Services, a shelter for families in Cincinnati.
Construction is underway for a their brand new shelter opening in 2022. They hope to provide increased programming, equitable access and improved outcomes for families that need these priceless things.
On November 1st, we will be providing a dinner meal for 12 families experiencing homelessness. These families are housed in hotels through Bethany House Services.
If you are interested in providing something, we are asked to provide 48 servings divided into 12 paper grocery bags of four servings in each, containing the following:
Entree
Fruit
Vegetable
Dessert
Paper plates, napkins and plastic cutlery
Drinks, optional
Thank you to our members who have provided financial assistance toward the meal. If you would like to help out with this meal, please contact Maggie through the church at newchurchofmontgomery@gmail.com
You know that feeling when you are into a book and nothing else matters in the world. Well, you can help give a child that same care-free feeling when you buy a book from Blue Manatee Literacy Project.
Don’t have time to pick out a book? $12 buys one book and Blue Manatee will pick it out for you. Finding ways to be useful can be tricky some days. This is one idea where you can combine love with wisdom.
Thank you to all the artists, artisans, donors, volunteers and customers who made this year’s Something Wonderful Art Show & Sale at the Glendale New Church a success. We raised over $700 to assist the work that Bethany House Services does to help Cincinnati families experiencing homelessness get the assistance and skills they need to get “one step closer to home.”
During the pandemic, it has been easy to see the need all around us. We at the New Church Of Montgomery have been fortunate enough to be able to take some of the opportunities to help that are in our community.
Bethany House Services, for whom we have done our ToySwap, the Something Wonderful art show, and brunches and dinners, continues to have the need of feeding unhoused families in the Cincinnati area.
If you would like to help provide a dinner for this community helper, please contact bethanyhouseservices.org.
Here is the dinner we provided for half of the families housed at a local hotel since shelters cannot adequately provide enough spacing during Covid-19.
Dinner for 48 of our neighbors: Smoked beef sausage, sautéed tri color bell peppers with onions, rice, applesauce, dinner roll, and chocolate chip cookies.
Peppers and onionsRice, applesauce, buns, peppers & onions, cookies Bags of dinnersDescription of dinner bag contents
Our latest outreach project, Books for Bethany House yielded a donation of 45 books to Bethany House Services, a family shelter in Cincinnati, OH. Through book purchases and monetary donations, Blue Manatee Literacy Project and Bookstore will supply books that will be given to children experiencing homelessness. Their mission to
(partner) with local schools, educators, volunteers and staff, (donate) books help build classroom and home libraries, with books in varying reading levels and written by own-voices authors and
to spread the love of reading to all children across Cincinnati—in the hopes that we will watch them grow and flourish, and continue to spread that love of reading throughout their life.
New Church of Montgomery Board Member, Gloria Shepherd took time out of her Saturday to share a special skill: Crocheting sleeping mats made of plastic bags!
These mats require some basic materials:
About 800 plastic bags! (collect them from your friends, collect from the Kroger plastic bag recycling bin or purchase them online)
Sharp scissors
Size 8/9/10 (approx) Crochet hook
Patience!
You will begin by gathering clean, un-ripped plastic shopping bags. Flatten them, making sure the rounded sides are tucked in. Stack them by threes. Flatten again and cut off the handle end and bottoms of the bags, making straight cuts.
Fold them in half lengthwise twice. Then, cut them into 2″ strips, discarding any that are jagged or not strong enough.
Next tie the strips together with knots (see video 1) and continue making a chain. Eventually you will have a ball. This project will use multiple “yarn” balls.
Make a side knot for your crochet hook, to begin your first chain (see video 2.)
To discover how to make a crochet chain stitch, see video 3:. Make about 75 chains to create your beginning row. It should be approximately 36″ (3 feet long).
Begin your next line of crocheting by hooking into the last hole of the line you just created. You will then make a double chain, which you will pull the “yarn” through. Continue along that line in the same fashion. When you reach the end you will make a single chain stitch and start the third line! Make an extra crochet chain stitch at the end of each subsequent line to create room to line up with your previous line.
When your mat is done, the dimensions should be 3′ x 6′, and you can donate to Matthew 25 Ministries or give them to a person experiencing homelessness!
Cutting into your folded bags: 2″ strips
Plastic strips, still folded up
Plastic strips, unfolded
Beginning “yarn” creation
plastic “Yarn” ball
Loop for your crochet hook to fit into
Stay tuned in the months ahead to see the finished product! Learn more about basic crocheting here!
Organizations in our city that help the large population of un-housed people.
Yesterday, members of the New Church of Montgomery helped serve breakfast to the guests of Bethany House Services. Pancakes, chicken sausage, and orange juice were brought to share with the moms and kids who make their temporary home at Bethany House. (Eggs have been requested for next time!) It is a small thing to do to be in community with women at a time in their lives when they are experiencing homelessness.
Other services are provided to the women who live at Bethany, including money management classes, nutrition classes and yoga, among others. The women attend classes at the house in the evening, and childcare is provided during the sessions.
In the fall, The New Church of Montgomery will be holding its Fourth Annual Toy Swap and Bake Sale to provide toys and money to the women and children of Bethany House. Please subscribe to our website via the Follow Button at the lower right hand corner of our site to be notified of the TBA date of the Toy Swap and of other exciting programs being offered by our church and the Glendale New Church, whose home we share.
Yesterday, members of the New Church of Montgomery helped serve breakfast to the guests of Bethany House Services. Pancakes, chicken sausage, and orange juice were brought to share with the moms and kids who make their temporary home at Bethany House. (Eggs have been requested for next time!) It is a small thing to do to be in community with women at a time in their lives when they are experiencing homelessness.
New Church of Montgomery, in Glendale 