Grace Church and Grace House residents get to know each other

By Beth Reed, Priest-in-Charge, Grace, Allentown

Yesterday [Sunday, August 14] was a joy at Fifth and Linden in downtown Allentown. We welcomed three of our six new neighbors from Grace House at coffee hour, and then our neighbors showed us their home. At least 20 parishioners took the opportunity to see the first floor of Grace House, with its common kitchen and living room, and two residents very graciously showed us their bedrooms. We took a solid next step in our relationship with our neighbors, and I look forward to how our relationships will develop.
 
Grace House is a partnership of New Bethany Ministries, the Lehigh County Conference of Churches, and Grace Episcopal Church. Six previously chronically homeless men now live in a renovated building that formerly housed the Grace Church Sunday school and the parish’s AIDS Outreach ministry.