Redeemer youth help Salvation Army FAITH families prepare for fall

Loaded with pumpkins for carving, materials for arts and crafts and boxes of baked goods, several members of the Church of the Redeemer’s Episcopal Youth Community (EYC) gathered at the Salvation Army campus on 10th Street in Sarasota, on Sat., Oct. 25. They were there to help children and families involved in Army’s FAITH program, which provides transitional housing for families with children, prepare for the festive season of fall.

Under the guidance of Redeemer parishioners Kim and P.J. Strom, the Redeemer youth team helped FAITH moms and their children carve and paint pumpkins, donated by Detwiler’s Farm Market, and craft and paint fall-themed decorations. They also gave the families many boxes of baked goods, donated by the Bay Street Publix.

Participating EYCers included Margaret Buck, Kareena Legare, Avery Marks, Edward Menke, Elisabeth Strom, Lauren Yenari and Sage Yenari.

The Episcopal Youth Community at Redeemer is led by Redeemer’s Priest Associate for Youth Ministry, the Rev. David Bumsted. Throughout the year, with the assistance of adult parishioner volunteers like the Stroms, Fr. Bumsted develops and oversees activities and community outreach efforts for the church’s Senior and Junior EYC programs. The programs include mission trips to serve others in the U.S. and abroad, weekly Bible study and lively discussion groups, integrated with a focus on worship and community service, helping Redeemer’s youth lead authentic, life-giving and Christ-centered lives.

The Salvation Army’s FAITH program is a transitional housing program that helps homeless families make a safe, supported journey to permanent housing. The program helps families where parents have lost jobs but don’t have enough savings to pay rent while looking for new employment, as well as families facing eviction, single-parent homeless families and others in similar need. Parents in the program are expected to look for work and become gainfully employed; they must also be drug- and alcohol-free. To learn more, visit salvationarmyflorida.org/sarasota.

The Church of the Redeemer is located at 222 S. Palm Ave., Sarasota. Learn more at redeemersarasota.org or call 941-955-4263.