For more than 20 years, Epworth’s support of Good Works has included youth and adult mission trips, family weekends, and financial support. Good Works focuses on helping people overcome issues of isolation, hunger, and poverty with funding help from more than 80 churches and many individuals. During the last four years, Epworth has sent an adult team to help individuals with home repairs and maintenance, as well as share a nutritious Friday night meal with 125 people. Good Works founder Keith Wasserman recently came to Epworth to share the importance of partnership in making the world a better place by doing what Jesus taught us: love your neighbor.
According to the Homeless Action Network, there are about 20,000 homeless people in Detroit, Hamtramck, and Highland Park, Michigan. Epworth partners with Cass to help care for these people and change their lives. We provide day and weekend work teams for various projects at Cass, as well as financial support. At Thanksgiving, Epworth members help distribute turkeys and side dishes to families, as well as cook a meal at the community center on Thanksgiving Day. Cass Green Industries collects abandoned tires and recycles them into rubber door mats, providing training and jobs for the homeless. Sandals will soon be added as part of the tire reclamation project, with design assistance from the University of Michigan. Epworth plans to continue assisting Cass Community Center with work teams and financial support, as well as by creating awareness of the work they do in the greater Detroit area.
Epworth is actively growing an Emergency Response Team (ERT) to assist with natural disasters in the West Ohio Conference and throughout the country. Epworth volunteers received special training through UMCOR and UMVIM, and had background checks, to become “second responders” in disaster situations. Once police, fire, and other first response personnel have secured an area affected by floods, fire, or tornados, trained and equipped ERTs enter the area to help assess damage, assist survivors, and prevent damage from becoming worse by boarding windows, securing tarps, and clearing debris. But the most important service ERTs provide is compassion for disaster survivors and bringing hope and healing to a community.