Helping Culpeper’s homeless

A month into a new program in which Culpeper churches are opening their doors overnight to the homeless, local faith leaders say it’s been a success.

But more churches are needed to keep the program of the Culpeper Ministerial Association going year-round.

For the past three weeks, the parish hall at St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church downtown has served as the physical and support location for housing the homeless, with members of various other churches — City On A Hill and Mountain View Community — also providing overnight volunteers and support.

One night, as many as 13 homeless people took shelter in the historic St. Stephen’s, said the Rev. Chad Whaley, pastor at New Salem Baptist.

His church on Sperryville Pike lodged guests during the program’s first week, providing meals and a warm place to sleep for seven people every night during the week of Thanksgiving.

The Ministerial Association started the shelter program after being approached for help by Culpeper Human Services.

It is modeled after CARITAS of Richmond, in which more than 170 churches provide overnight refuge. Whaley, who moved from Richmond about a year ago, was involved in that program.

In Culpeper, people needing a place to sleep at night can show up at the Depot on Commerce Street at 6 p.m. for a ride — if necessary — to food and shelter at a participating local church.

Guests are transported back to the Depot each morning by 7.

The Piedmont United Way and Salvation Army have also proved invaluable in getting the program afloat, Whaley said.

He added that there have been no problems associated with housing the homeless. “It’s so easy,” he said, even the smallest church congregation can help.

Whaley attributed the program’s success to just that: churches getting involved.

“We are starting to see more and more churches come along,” he said. “The most interesting thing I have enjoyed seeing is the people in the churches getting excited, asking me, ‘How can I get my church involved?’

“As a pastor, you always love to see ministry excitement bubbling up from the bottom — that’s when you really get to see the Lord at work.”

Whaley said the shelter program “is not a forced conversion program.” Rather, it’s “the church just reaching our hands out and loving people.”

The Rev. Michael Gray, rector at St. Stephen’s, said the week he and his church members provided overnight support. they received about six to eight guests per night, usually the same people.

“It has been going beautifully,” Gray said. “They are all very grateful to have a warm and safe place to sleep.”

His congregation is behind the program 100 percent, he said.

“We put up a signup sheet last Sunday for volunteers, and within 30 minutes it was pretty much filled out,” Gray said.

A one-week commitment from other churches to do the same is “really easy to do,” he added.

As for the need, Gray believes it’s greater than the number of people they are seeing each night. Many homeless people, for whatever reason, are scared of shelters, he said.

“If (Pastor Whaley) hadn’t had the experience with CARITAS, we couldn’t have done it immediately,” Gray said of how quickly the program was implemented. “But with his experience it was doable. I just volunteered to have his back.”

And for good reason.

“We want to be the church where the people come to for whatever they need,” Gray said.

Starting today and through next week, including Christmas, the shelter program will be housed at Alum Springs Baptist Church, located in the county, north of town along Dutch Hollow Road. Volunteers from Culpeper United Methodist Church will provide the overnight support.

Santa visits the church Christmas Eve, and various other churches have “adopted” shelter guests in terms of providing holiday meals and gifts.

The week after Christmas is covered as well, Whaley said, but there is still a need for churches to step up during the first two weeks of January.

That’s what the shelter program of the Ministerial Association needs most: more churches.

“You can always think of a million reasons why you can’t do something, but the main reason why churches would step and do this is because God asked them to,” Whaley said. “Even if you don’t have facilities, we really just need churches to say we will be responsible for a week.

“There is no reason for any church to say no to this.”

Allison Brophy Champion can be reached at 825-0771 ext. 101 or .