Thank you to the hundreds of people and organizations who contributed, volunteered or donated shoes during this year’s Maundy Thursday Foot Washing. What began as a Holy Week service to the community at our Diocesan Center has spread far beyond Ocean Beach. ECS was back again this year, providing 70 pairs of shoes at their Friend to Friend location. In addition, Stand Up for Kids and Photo Charity put shoes on another 67 homeless teens and children of distressed families.
Generous donations from The Women of St. James; Good Samaritan, San Diego; Good Shepherd, Bonita; The Society of St. Paul; the Spiritual Ministry Center; St. John’s, Fallbrook; St. Peter’s by-the-Sea Lutheran Church, and individuals made it possible to serve the large and the small. There were extra shoes on hand for teens who had grown more than they realized, and cash for special orders like the man who wore a size 20 shoe.
Volunteers came from as far away as Carlsbad and Fallbrook. They helped cook and serve food, washed and cut hair, gave medical and dental exams, offered job assistance and pet care. The guests they served represented the mentally ill and homeless, working families with children, and a school teacher on disability.
After a hot meal and a haircut, one of the guests sat on the curb, holding a new pair of shoes, and said, “I feel whole again.”
355 pairs of shoes
173 meals
35 haircuts
33 medical appointments
18 veterinary visits
17 dental visits
8 job assists
6 VA service appointments
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This year, May 30th is our nation’s Memorial Day, it is observed on the last Monday of May, and it honors the men and women who died while serving in the U.S. military. Going back to the Civil War, where nearly 500,000 people died, women in the South tended the graves of fallen soldiers, not […]
This past Sunday, the EDSD Youth Leadership Council gathered at St. Thomas of Canterbury in Temecula. After worship that morning, the council spent time reflecting on their work this year and talking about goals for next year’s council. Elizabeth Sipra, a member of this year’s YLC from St. Thomas, said, “I think that Youth Leadership […]