POWHATAN, Va. — Powhatan Community Church threw a birthday party for 130 people Aug. 31 — all of them homeless. It was held in Richmond’s Monroe Park with plenty of cake, ice cream and birthday gifts.
The event is one facet of the suburban church’s Fifth Saturdays mission outreach to the poor and homeless in the city center. Monroe Park, on the edge of downtown, is a popular location for church feeding programs and draws a number of people living in poverty. This is Powhatan’s third Fifth Saturdays event in the park this year. Earlier activities included a pizza party and a picnic.
Volunteers cut four large decorated cakes at the birthday party for the homeless.
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“This is the second birthday party that Powhatan Community has done,” said Wendy Blankenmeyer, a 5th Saturdays coordinator. “In the past we’ve sponsored a ‘Sock It to the Homeless’ drive and collected around 25,000 pairs of socks and distributed them not only to Monroe Park but to various other organizations in the Richmond and surrounding areas.”
The idea for the party came from church member Mel Cordle after her first visit to the park. A group from Powhatan Community had taken brown bag lunches with peanut and butter sandwiches, but Cordle said she felt that food was not the primary need of the homeless — especially on the weekends.
“Many churches rolled in and out providing meals, but I noticed that few actually went into the park and sat down with the poor and homeless and befriended them,” she said. “From there God put a burden on my heart to shift the focus from just providing a meal to more about being a friend, a listening ear, and to bring a little bit of humanity and dignity back into their lives.”
Cordle tried to remember times in her life when she felt loved and showered with affection and was reminded of her birthday. A birthday party would be a luxury for those in the park and an opportunity to remind them that they are loved and remembered.
The Power Jam Kids at Powhatan Community Church decorated gift bags for the birthday party which were given to the homeless.
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On Aug. 31 there were four large decorated birthday cakes, an assortment of ice cream treats and lemonade for all who came, said Blankenmeyer. Over 100 gift bags filled with toiletry items and a $5 gift card at McDonald’s or 7-Eleven were given away. There were balloons. Everyone received a T-shirt and there were decorated gift bags for children.
Before the cake was cut, there was a prayer and everyone sang “Happy Birthday,” accompanied by Blankenmeyer’s son on a trumpet. Volunteers from all of Powhatan Community Church’s campuses were on hand for the party.
“When we have events at the park, we encourage the volunteers to have conversations with people,” said Blankenmeyer. “We have regular volunteers that are great at helping new ones get comfortable doing this. One gentleman that Mel Cordle originally connected with has become a good friend of my family and he comes to church and visits our home, whenever possible.”
While most of the homeless found in the park are men, Blankenmeyer said lately they have begun to see more women — and women with children. Some have special needs and a few are in wheelchairs.
“There are so many stories of how these people came to be where they are today. Quite a few once had stable jobs and owned a home,” she said.
“When someone who volunteers finds this is a passion, you will often find them going to the park on their own giving out items — or just to visit,” said Blankenmeyer, who drives a trolley through Richmond on a history tour that passes Monroe Park and said she is known as the “trolley lady” by some of the homeless. “I tell everyone that when they see my trolley to wave and I will ding my bell at them. They get so excited when they see me and I give them a big smile, a ‘ding’ and a wave.
“I have found that when people start to explore becoming a fully devoted follower of Jesus Christ that they want to know what they can do,” she said. “This ministry is one way that the members of Powhatan Community Church can be the church — become the hands and feet of Jesus. It’s a humbling ministry that reaches out to not only the ones we serve but also deeply touches the lives of those serving.”
Barbara Francis ([email protected]) is on the staff of the Religious Herald.