Church Family,

Over the years, so many of you have at one time or another, been a part of the faithful team who have invested in, loved on, and worked to build authentic relationship with our neighbors at Pearl Court Apartments. It is so hard to believe that it has been 9 months since we were able to physically hold a pantry or dinner. But despite the building being closed and our volunteers not being allowed in the building, we have continued to support our neighbors physically, spiritually, and relationally.

We opened access to our pantry three times in order for a few faithful neighbors to deliver much needed toiletries and canned goods to those in need. We've directed our monthly allocated budget to Lift UP, a local food pantry who has continued to deliver food boxes and pantry supplies throughout the COVID lockdown. We are happy to report that Pearl Court's Emergency Pantry is now fully stocked!

In September, we purchased a refrigerator for Pearl Court Apartments. With the fridge, Lift UP is now using our monthly donation to provide fresh food items for the residents. This is something our residents have been longing for but we never had a way to store.

This month, in coordination with Regina Rozier, Pearl Court's Community Service Coordinator, we helped to provide Thanksgiving meals catered by Elephants Deli. Two years ago, we started the tradition of cooking and serving a Thanksgiving dinner to our neighbors. Since COVID prevented our ability to do so this year, we were able to provide extra funds this month that we had yet to use towards our monthly Pearl Court Dinners to help purchase 70 dinners. Meal sign-up and delivery was possible only through the amazing assistance of four of Pearl Courts residents: Nancy, Jason, Sean, and Chyna.

While the COVID-19 pandemic has caused us to pause so much of what our lives used to look like, our work in being good neighbors has not stopped. We find peace and joy knowing that we are still able to have an impact. As we enter the Christmas Season, we will continue our efforts to intentionally maintain relationship in new and creative ways. Thank you Pearl Church family for your continued support of this important work.

Leslie Barnes
Neighbors Ministry