A Rock Hill homeless shelter needed help. Elevation Church came to the rescue.
The Rev. Jordan Hicks, community pastor at Elevation Church’s Riverwalk location, was directing a church service earlier this month to honor the memory of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
“We want to make sure that we’re stopping, and remember the incredible life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr,” he said as he addressed the congregation. “You know, more than I think anything else Dr. Martin Luther King sought to kind of provide unity.”
He said this year the church “wanted to make sure that we took the opportunity to stand with, and partner with, many organizations that are doing that on the frontlines in a real, tangible way.”
“I want to invite to the stage, just for a moment the executive director from Bethel Men’s Shelter, Mr. Richard Murr,” he told the crowd. Murr climbed onto the stage, taking his place beside Hicks.
“We found out recently that in order to do the work that they’re doing at Bethel Men’s Shelter, where a lot of organizations and churches come in and prepare meals, there was a need, right about $15,000, I think worth of upgrades,” Hicks explained.
The Bethel Men’s Shelter, which is part of the Bethel United Methodist Church, is the first and only year-round emergency shelter in the tri-county area. It has served 410 men since it became a permanent shelter in 2019.
The needed repairs Hicks mentioned had temporarily shut down the shelter’s soup kitchen. A fire marshall’s inspection had revealed that one of the oven hoods needed repairs and did not meet fire codes, said Pastor Emily Sutton, of Bethel United Methodist Church.
As he stood on the church stage Monday, Hicks held a red envelope.
“We wanted to make sure that we were standing with you on this weekend,” he said. “So on behalf of the Elevation Church, these people that give so faithfully and generously and our lead pastor, Pastor Steven Holly..”
He paused, choked up, and passed the envelope to Murr.
“This is actually a check for $15,000,” he said. The full amount to get the shelter up to code, and allow the shelter to again open its soup kitchen.
Murr beamed, moving to embrace Hicks -- but paused to give him an elbow bump instead.
The men’s shelter holds an annual soup kitchen event where participants can pay what they please as a donation when they come to eat. That event had to be canceled this year.
Also, organizations come in and cook for the men at the shelter; now that can continue too, Sutton said.
“Our community showed up when there was a need, for those who are in the most need,” she said.
The funds were raised by members of the Elevation Church, Outreach Director Christina Taylor said.
The church has worked with the Bethel Methodist Church and the Bethel Men’s Shelter in the past. Donald Lea, Elevation Church’s liaison to local charities, found out about the needed repairs and brought the issue to the church’s attention.
“People who are born and raised in York County know these organizations that serve the community, and they want to rally around that.”
“It blows me away, our church is so generous,” Taylor said. “In a time where you would think people would take a step back, they’re taking a step forward.”
Anyone who wants to donate to the men’s shelter or volunteer there can visit the Bethel Men’s Shelter website.
This story was originally published January 25, 2021 at 10:57 AM.
