| |
Gethsemane has been partnering with other churches and non-profits to provide affordable housing in the city of Seattle for the last 20 years. Now affordable housing is happening right on our site in downtown Seattle. I never dreamed this could happen!...Jean Anderson, President, Gethsemane Lutheran Church Council |
|
| |
The varied ministries of Gethsemane reflect its philosophy of advocacy and social concern. Gethsemane Lutheran Church believes:
The Church will…serve in response to God's love to meet human needs, caring for the sick and the aged, advocating dignity and justice for all people… and standing with the poor and powerless and committing itself to their needs. To fulfill this purpose, our church shall…work in concert with forces for good, to serve humanity, cooperating with church and other groups participating in activities that promote justice, relieve misery, and reconcile the estranged, and…work to discover the causes of oppression and injustice, and develop programs of ministry and advocacy to further human dignity, freedom, justice, and peace in the world. |
|
| |
 Gethsemane, the garden in Jerusalem where Jesus and his disciples prayed the night before his crucifixion, a daunting symbol of the agony Jesus faced and a place where he prayed for clarity and the resolution of his unbearable distress. Gethsemane, a garden in Seattle, where those displaced and homeless have a place to confront their despair, seeking clarity and resolution in a setting of respect, dignity, grace, and redemption. Gethsemane – surrounded by hundreds of homeless individuals who are sleeping on the street, living in shelters, maintaining the most marginal existence in the Triangle.
A highly credentialed social worker with 20 years of experience working with the homeless in downtown Seattle leads the charge at Gethsemane Community Services (GCS). Providing “hands on” survival services and resources, individual social work counseling, advocacy and referral services, GCS is the social service mainstay at Gethsemane. And then there’s the longest running show in town – since the early ‘60s, in fact - the free Saturday "Soup and Movies" program for homeless men. Though Gethsemane's current priorities include a partnership that results in the addition of five stories of low-wage worker housing atop a newly-constructed church fellowship building, the foundation for that program, quite literally and figuratively, exemplifies an historic and ongoing commitment to minister to the needs of Seattle's homeless - financially, corporally, and spiritually.
|
|
The street people call it “the Jesus Church.” It’s located in one of those transitional zones, across from the Greyhound Bus Station at 9th and Stewart, so named because of the prominent statue of Jesus on its face. This is Gethsemane Lutheran Church, the oldest Lutheran congregation in Seattle, with a resonant and colorful tapestry of people and mission woven in 125 years of service to the City. Since its beginning, Gethsemane has reached out to the community around it, especially to those who are lost, down on their luck, homeless, and alone. After many years of planning its expansion to provide housing, Gethsemane acted on its plan by selling their parking lot in 2006, sought a partner, secured funding, and is moving ahead with an exciting, unique project worthy of your support. 
