Union Gospel Mission offers emergency shelter during freeze

Cold weather, slick roads, school and event cancellations are all problems many of us face during the freezing cold weather in Portland. These are minor annoyances when you are homeless. During this freeze Union Gospel Mission is offering an emergency overnight shelter to the homeless. The dining room at the Mission is a place to sleep out of the cold.

Union Gospel Mission needs blankets, coffee and pastries for the emergency shelter. Please drop off these items at 15 N.W. Third Avenue, or call 503-274-4483.

You can make a donation online to help at www.ugmportland.org

Wow! 1,101 meals served at Thanksgiving

The day began early, as crews came to set up the 120' foot NW Natural Gas tent at 6:00 am and volunteers began preparing a the meal...

Over 300 volunteers were involved in preparing the Thanksgiving meal.

More than an hour before the event began, a line stretched along the block at W. Burnside street.

The NW Natural Gas tent was quickly filled as volunteer served 1,101 meals in just 4 short hours.

Yesterday, we only had 80 turkeys, but by Thanksgiving morning, nearly 300 turkeys had poured into Union Gospel Mission! We are blessed and humbled by the generosity of our community this Thanksgiving!!

Thanksgiving Dinner for 1,000 at Union Gospel Mission

Thanksgiving is a mere 48 hours away. Many are preparing for friends and family to arrive for the big meal.

At Union Gospel Mission we are preparing for a big meal- a REALLY big meal, enough to feed over 1,000 people.

Here are the numbers:

100 Turkeys
175 lbs of stuffing
450 lbs mashed potatoes
60 gallons of gravy
200 lbs of yams
200 lbs mixed vegetables
2,000 dinner rolls
225 pies
60 gallons of juice

As I type at 1:30 pm on Tuesday, we are short 20 turkeys. We should be able to make it work with 80, but it would be nice to have the 100 turkeys to ensure we can generously heap the turkey meat on every plate, and provide some turkeys for food boxes for individuals and families in need.

Its not too late to help! You can give online at www.ugmportland.org or call us at 503-274-4483 or drop off a turkey at 15 NW Third Avenue in Portland.

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Haggen Food & Pharmacy Food Drive

We are so fortunate to have community partners like Haggen Food & Pharmacy! Four locations:

Murray Hill Haggen Food & Pharmacy, 9055 S.W. Murray Blvd., Beaverton.

Oregon City Haggen Food & Pharmacy, 19701 Highway 213.

Tanasbourne Haggen Food & Pharmacy, 18000 N.W. Evergreen Pkwy., Beaverton.

Tualatin Haggen Food & Pharmacy, 8515 S.W. Tualatin-Sherwood Road.

Are participating in a Thanksgiving food drive with Union Gospel Mission. At any of the above locations you may drop off non-perishable food items, such as canned fruits and vegetables, boxed items like potato and stuffing mix are especially needed. Haggen stores also have a wonderful system in place where customers can purchase a $5 pre-packaged grocery bag of needed items. It makes donating easy!

Join Union Gospel Mission, at the Tualatin Haggen Food & Pharmacy on Saturday November 15 from 12:00 noon - 2:00 pm where "The Buzz" 105.1 FM radio will be on hand with wonderful prize give-aways! A great time to stop by and make a donation.

Many served at Operation Overcoat

Nearly 1,500 meals were served and many thousands of articles of clothing were given away at Operation Overcoat 2008

A meal of hamburgers, hot dogs, and macaroni salad was served.

Hundreds of people received clothes, shoes, hygiene items and blankets.

The crowd was entertained by the SPO dancers and other musical acts that performed throughout the event.

Furniture Outlet provides great donation for Operation Overcoat

Furniture Outlet has been a great partner in helping Union Gospel Mission collect items for Operation Overcoat. Furniture Outlet co-owner Trudy Palo was kind enough to drop off two truckloads!!


Even though the big Operation Overcoat event is less than 48 hours away, there is still time to make a donation. Blankets, undergarments and hygiene items are still urgently needed. You can make a secure online donation at www.ugmportland.org or call 503-274-4483

Operation Overcoat video

Learn more about Operation Overcoat!

Underwear needed for a good cause!

Union Gospel Mission is seeking churches willing to have an "Undie Sunday" on Sunday September 21 and collect new socks and underwear for men, women and children who are homeless or in need. This is part of "Operation Overcoat" a annual clothing giveaway on Saturday September 27. At Operation Overcoat thousands of articles of clothing are given away.

Union Gospel Mission is also seeking businesses willing to have an "Undie Monday" to collect new socks and underwear.

Are you ready to have an "undie" day at your church or business?

Here's what to do:

1. Contact Stacy Kean at stacyk@ugmportland.org or 503-274-4483 to let Union Gospel Mission know your group is participating.

2. Let all your friends at work and/or church know! Ask them to bring new socks, underwear and even hygiene items on "Undie Sunday" or "Undie Monday"

3. Drop off the collected items at Union Gospel Mission at 15 NW Third Ave. in Portland before September 27.

In addition to new socks and underwear, hygiene items, such as soap, toothbrushes, toothpaste, deodorant and lotion are needed!

Please consider having an "Undie" day for a good cause!

Luis Palau City Fest this weekend!

Luis Palau City Fest is this weekend, just a few blocks away from Union Gospel Mission. The Mission is providing support to the weekend event and participated in the City Fest Season of Service at the Compassion Southeast event in June.

Watch the video about Season of Service

Summer vacation

The LifeChange Recovery Community is taking a summer vacation to the Oregon Coast. Since the LifeChange community is continually busy running the Union Gospel Mission thrift store and handling services at the Mission the annual trip to the beach is an much needed break before the fall, which is the busiest time of year at Union Gospel Mission.

We hope all the friends of Union Gospel Mission are enjoying their summer as well!

Feel free to check out our website http://www.ugmportland.org/ even though LifeChange residents are on vacation this week, wonderful volunteers are still helping people in need, providing meals. Anytime of year is a great time to donate.

Union Gospel Mission kitchen remodel

Union Gospel Mission's kitchen is in need of remodeling so that Union Gospel Mission can continue to serve over 100,000 meals per year to people in need. Take a look at this video to see the kitchen:

What a difference two weeks can make

Just two weeks ago, it was unseasonably chilly, with gray skies and rain. Today, the sun is bright, and there is talk of the weather reaching 90 degrees.

Many people think of donating to or volunteering with Union Gospel Mission during the Thanksgiving and Christmas holiday season, which is great, and a huge blessing.

While Union Gospel Mission does provide more special meals and events during the holiday season, the need is year round. We have people coming to our door today for a sack lunch at 6:30 am or for a hot dinner at our chapel service at 7:15 pm. All day people come seeking clothing and maybe a pastry, a cup of coffee or a drink of water.

Our LifeChange addiction recovery program helps men and women living at the Mission everyday. LifeChange residents work at the thrift store and at the Mission, they also work together in recovery everyday.

If you want to volunteer, donate clothing or food or make a financial donation, it is welcome anytime- even on sunny May days!

Visit our website www.ugmportland.org

New socks and underwear needed

Union Gospel Mission REALLY needs new socks and underwear to give to the homeless or people in need who come to the door of the Mission seeking clothing on a daily basis.

Union Gospel Mission has a "community clothing closet" that has all types of clothing: pants, shirts, jackets, blankets, and new socks and underwear. People in need of these items can come to the door and receive them. However, over the past week or two there just hasn't been enough socks and underwear to meet demand. As many as 30 requests for these items per day have been turned down.

Why? There are a couple of reasons: clothing donations have dropped off, and this spring has been unseasonably cool and wet increasing demand for these items.

Marc, who is a member of the LifeChange recovery community here at Union Gospel Mission, has the role of meeting the needs of people who come to the door of the Mission. His observation was that many of the people who rely on the Mission for clothing don't have a place to store clothes, nor do they have a way to wash their clothing.

So if you can drop off some new socks and underwear at 15 NW Third Avenue in Portland that would be greatly appreciated! You can make a donation online http://www.ugmportland.org/donate.html to help purchase these items. Another option is to organize a sock and underwear clothing drive at your place of business, school, church, civic group or club. Any questions -call Union Gospel Mission at 503-274-4483.

Easter Highlight video

We're very excited! We have started taking video of various events and we're able to share them with our friends online.

Here is our first effort, a look at highlights from our Easter event:

LifeChange Graduates: They've come a long way

Here's a photo of our 5 LifeChange grads with our Executive Director Bill Russell (far right in the pic) It was a very exciting, emotional time at the graduation celebration in March. All the graduates are awesome guys who worked very hard in LifeChange. You can read their stories and see their "before" and "after" LifeChange photos at:

http://www.ugmportland.org/lifechange.html

In addition to the stories on the LifeChange page, is an application for the LifeChange addiction recovery program. Most of our residents heard about LifeChange from a family member or friend. If you know someone who is addicted and feeling hopeless, please let them know about LifeChange.

Easter re-cap

Easter Sunday was a soggy one, but it didn't stop Union Gospel Mission's Easter Brunch! 650 meals were served.

The crowd was steady throughout the day....

Over 200 volunteers helped prepare and serve the meal. We received a great donation of ham from Carlton Farms, and many Easter donations through the mail to support the meal. Thanks to volunteers and donors people who might have spent the holiday alone in the rain instead enjoyed a wonderful Easter meal at Union Gospel Mission.

Easter Eggs needed...

We don't need these pretty, colorful kind (though they are nice!) What Union Gospel Mission needs are 1,500 regular eggs (yes, over a thousand!) to provide an Easter Sunday brunch to people who are homeless or in need.

The menu for the Easter brunch is ham, eggs, biscuits and country gravy, mixed fruit, juice and coffee. Plastic forks and spoons are also needed.

What Union Gospel Mission, and over a hundred wonderful volunteers, want to do this Easter Sunday is to provide a special brunch, and a welcoming place for people who are homeless, in need of food or otherwise would spend the holiday alone. Typically, Union Gospel Mission provides between 600 and 700 meals on Easter Sunday.

If you want to donate eggs or plastic forks and spoons those can be dropped off at 15 NW Third Avenue in Portland, or call 503-274-4483. Donations online accepted at http://www.ugmportland.org/

LifeChange Graduation

Preparations are underway for a wonderful celebration on March 9. Five residents of the LifeChange addiction recovery program are graduating! Each has spent an average of about four years in recovery. Four of them used meth and one used prescription drugs as well as heroin. They all had some pretty awful experiences in the midsts of their addiction. But today they have completely re-built their lives through some very serious and hard work in LifeChange. They've come very far...




So, congratulations Doug, Brian, Daniel, Brek and Kurt! Stay tuned to hear more about their amazing stories of recovery.

Our group of graduates demostrate that recovery is possible. If you or someone you know needs help, an application for LifeChange is online at http://www.ugmportland.org/lifechange.html

Learning to have fun- clean and sober

The LifeChange addiction recovery residents took to the slopes on February 4, for the annual "snow day."

In LifeChange, the focus is on comprehensive recovery. Not only do residents learn job skills, computer skills, and other valuable life skills, they also learn a new way to have fun. In the past, many associated "fun" or "partying" with the use of drugs and alcohol.

During community recreational events, LifeChange residents get a break from their busy schedules and have a chance to see that fun doesn't need to involve drugs or alcohol.

Multi-tasking: skiing, snowboarding and posing...

Taking a break- LifeChange residents set up a tent in the ski-area parking lot, a place to eat and warm-up.

A beautiful day for skiing- lots of snow!

Blankets, coffee needed during cold

The air is frigid here in Portland. It looks like the cold weather is going to continue through the week.

Union Gospel Mission serves as a temporary overflow shelter during the cold weather. Typically, Union Gospel Mission doesn't offer temporary shelter. To live at Union Gospel Mission a person needs to be part of our addiction recovery community, LifeChange. But, when it gets this cold, the Mission is an overflow night shelter with around thirty homeless people sleeping on the dining hall floor.

We give the blankets to people in the morning, and we hand the blankets out all day, so we need donations of blankets and sleeping bags. Since people are sleeping on the floor donations of mats would be great.

It would also be great to have donations of coffee (caffinated is preferred, rather than decaf!) and oatmeal, because its an easy meal to fix in the morning.

If you or someone you know would like to donate blankets, coffee or anything they can be dropped off at the Mission at 15 NW Third Avenue in Portland, or call us at 503-274-4483.

The residents of the LifeChange recovery community are really making this happen, they are staying up night shifts to monitor the guests and really showing compassion to people in need.

You can also make a donation at our website: http://www.ugmportland.org/donate.html

Union Gospel Mission History Lessons

We've found a little treasure in re-arranging and sorting. We have a black bound book by Rev. Reuben Newsom who was Superintendent (Director) of the Mission for many years. He wrote the book in 1965. The book detailed the founding, purpose and ministry of Union Gospel Mission from its founding in 1927. He writes that Union Gospel Mission was organized in November of 1927, and a chapel was remodelled for use, the chapel was located at Northeast 3rd and Ankeny in Portland. Rev. Newsom wrote about the dedication of the chapel:

"On Sunday afternoon, January 1, 1928, crowded with Christians from many churches and denominations, the chapel was dedicated for the purpose of presenting Christ to defeated, homeless men. That evening the first Gospel service was held."

That was the beginning of Union Gospel Mission in Portland.

In 1937, the building at 15 NW Third Avenue became Union Gospel Mission. Here's a picture of some of the Mission's founding leaders in front of the building.

There are more interesting photos from Union Gospel Mission's early days on our web site at http://www.ugmportland.org/about.html

Union Gospel Mission is in the same building, and same location. In January, 2007, Union Gospel Mission opened the new LifeChange Center attached to the existing Mission.

Here is a picture of the LifeChange Center. This building houses the LifeChange recovery community. LifeChange helps men and women who were "defeated" or felt hopeless in their addiction and gives them an opportunity for a new life.

After writing about the first evening Gospel service at Union Gospel Mission, Rev. Newsom included this Bible passage:

"Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen." Ephesians 3:20-21.

Union Gospel Mission's thrift store

Happy 2008! When the New Year comes, many people think, out with the old and in with the new...maybe, since you received some nice new sweaters for Christmas you decide its time to donate some of your clothing.

The place to do it is Union Gospel Mission's thrift store. And if you're looking to upgrade your wardrobe or get a screaming deal on furniture, appliances, and just about anything else you can think of, its the ideal place to shop.

Now, like most treasures, its a little hard to find. Its located in Tigard at 11611 SW Pacific Hwy., across from the Tigard Cinemas. Its a little bit hidden on a longer driveway past a Teriyaki restaurant.

Not only will you get an awesome deal on whatever you buy, the revenue of the thrift store supports Union Gospel Mission's LifeChange addiction recovery program. But wait! There's more! The thrift store is run by residents in recovery top to bottom. The thrift store manager is a great guy named Steve Welch (that's Steve in the picture, hard at work answering phones at the store). Steve is a senior member in LifeChange, and he like other members in the recovery program, has held progressively responsible jobs at the thrift store or at the Mission working on homeless services.

The thrift store also picks up items for FREE in the greater Portland area. So, if you're upgrading to a new couch, or have other items in good condition to donate, call the thrift store at 503-639-6488 to schedule a pick up.

Here's a picture of the LifeChange team bringing in a donated futon/couch to the thrift store. As you can see, its a fairly large store with a great variety of items.

So- at the Union Gospel Mission thrift store you will get a great deal on whatever you buy, the money from your purchase will help people in addiction recovery, and the store is a place where people in recovery are learning marketable skills as they rebuild their lives and overcome addiction. Now, that's smart shopping.

More info. about the thrift store at http://www.ugmportland.org/thrift.html