One of our guidelines for ministry here at St. Francis Inn Ministries is that “We seek to involve others in our ministry.” We typically have people calling, emailing, knocking on the door, sending text messages, asking if they can help, and often the requests far exceed the need. You wouldn’t think that to be the case with the ghost town that was Hagert Street this week!

Not only did we not have a week-long high school group (as is customary throughout the summer), we also suffered the blows of the last week of summer, drawing all of our regular volunteers out of the city and, presumably, to the shore. Furthermore, our normal Team of eight permanent staff members dropped down to just five this week with coinciding retreats, vacations, and side jobs taking them away from us! We were, however, blessed to have been able to call former Franciscan Volunteers and other long-time veteran volunteers of the Inn to offer their hands and hearts to us and our guests this week.

We’re looking forward to having everyone back, training the new FVMs, and the beginning of the school year, meaning the revitalization of our daily high school and college groups that assist us with serving the evening meal!

New faces, new energy, and the fulfillment of one of our guidelines for ministry!