Eikon Church - Little Rock, AR

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Open Doors: An Update and an Invitation Posted by 11.01.2011 9:46 am

Last Thursday as I arrived at Open Doors, there were at least 10 people standing at our door waiting for us to open. It was about 60 degrees that day, and they were all so eager and thankful to be let into the building to warm up. And all I could think…it’s only 60 degrees…I can’t imagine what it’s going to be like in about a month.

I am so thankful to all those who have volunteered to get Open Doors up and running! I know it has been a safe, comforting space for so many people who have nowhere else to go. I know we have a few people interested in volunteering their time or contributing, so let me offer this update…

Open Doors is held at our building (map here) and is open every Thursday from 3-7 pm. We offer showers, laundry, internet, a place to kick back and watch tv, drinks and snacks. Every week is a learning experience, and we just go with the flow and figure out how to do things better each time. Our biggest current need is volunteers. We have 2 shifts: 3-5 and 5-7. Obviously, the 3-5 shift is harder to fill because most people are working. But if you are interested, please let us know.

Our other need is supplies. We are running low on a few things and really need to replenish our supply. Here is a list:

  • travel shampoo
  • travel soap/body wash
  • individually packaged snacks
  • bottled water
  • lemonade mix
  • laundry detergent
  • razors
  • shaving cream
  • any other personal hygiene items

As we move into the winter months, we are accepting anything else to help keep our friends warm. Here are some things we could use:

  • blankets
  • backpacks
  • sleeping bags
  • tents
  • coats
  • clothes

Please let me know if you would like to volunteer or if you’d like to donate supplies. Email me at christen [at] babybyrds [dot] com, or feel free to drop anything off at the building during Open Doors or on Sunday evenings. Thanks!

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Posted in core values, information, social justice, theology, volunteer | 2 Comments »



introducing (and inviting you to) OPEN DOORS Posted by 08.17.2011 9:38 pm

We all deserve a chance to have a shower, clean clothes and a fresh start. Most times our homeless friends are not welcome in laundromats or other places that would enable them to have this opportunity. We want to create an inviting space where people can feel comfortable coming to get cleaned up, to hang out and to get basic help…without having to do anything in return. We plan to provide the following:

  • laundry
  • showers
  • haircuts
  • check email
  • help with job applications, paperwork, etc.
  • fresh clothes (as needed)
  • hangout/watch tv/games
  • snacks

If you’d like to contribute beyond volunteering, here are some things we need:

  • individually packaged snacks
  • bottled water
  • lemonade drink mix
  • shampoo
  • soap/body wash (travel size)
  • laundry detergent
  • towels
  • any personal hygiene items
  • games: dominoes, cards, chess, etc.
  • 1-2 computers (don’t have to be new. can be an older, but working one)
  • printer

OPEN DOORS is open from 3-7pm every Thursday. Email me at christen [at] babybyrds [dot] com if you have any donations or any questions. Let me know if you’d like to volunteer!

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Posted in announcements, core values, information, social justice, theology, volunteer | No Comments »



Christmas Party Under the Bridge!!! Posted by 12.14.2010 12:12 pm

christmas party broadway bridge homeless

As many of you know, we will be feeding our homeless friends under the Broadway bridge on Christmas Eve (12/24). We have decided to not only make this a meal for them…but also have a Christmas party. I mean, it’s Christmas, and they’re homeless! They need some joy in their life! We are going to try and make it a joyous time for all involved.

We are a relatively small group trying to make a BIG impact. So this is going to take all of us…and our friends to help us pull this together! So please spread the word, ask your friends and family what they can donate to help us out.

FOOD: We will be having a Mexican food theme. We figured they probably get a lot of “holiday food” and might like a change up. So If you’d like to help cook or volunteer to bring a dish, please get in contact with Alena on facebook or on Sunday night. We need to plan for between 35-50 people.

DECORATIONS: We have apparently secured a tree. So we need any decorations that are easy to set up and quick to take down, and christmas lights.

  • Battery powered lights
  • easy to set up decorations

GIFTS: Most importantly, we’d like to give these lovely people something for Christmas. Here is a list of things we are trying to collect…

  • socks
  • gloves
  • hats
  • scarves
  • bus passes
  • packaged snacks
  • hot chocolate packets
  • coffee
  • insulated mugs
  • tents
  • sleeping bags
  • blankets
  • coats

I will organize some kind of meeting to wrap everything once we have it. Also, if you would just like to make a donation…please feel free! Contact me at christen [at] babybyrds [dot] com with any questions. We will take what we can get and give it to those who desperately need it on these cold nights. Thank you so much for your help and willingness to give! Now get to work and see what we can gather up!

christen

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Posted in announcements, core values, events, food, gatherings, information, social justice, theology | 5 Comments »



an invitation to give Posted by 08.06.2009 5:59 pm

ADMIN NOTE: on a regular basis, we hope to have bloggers besides just ryan offer their voice and point-of-view. these will be various people connected to our community, whether they be leaders, people in the community or just “friends of eikon”. so, for the first time, christen—our spaces leader—will be blogging.

some of you might know that our friend and music leader, rob toon, was diagnosed with leukemia in 2008 and is currently preparing for (another) bone marrow transplant. the following post was first put up at her blog, babybyrds.com.

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today my blog is dedicated to my friend rob. (please forgive me if i get some of the details wrong, rob…i’m not up on all the medical jargon:) it is hard for me to even approach this subject without getting emotional sometimes…but here goes. rob and stephanie toon are some of our very best and closest friends, not to mention family, and leaders in our new church. they have four beautiful kids, michael, jack, lily and averi, who are some of lucy’s favorite people!

over a year ago rob was diagnosed with leukemia, and underwent all kinds of chemo treatment to get rid of it…which he did…until around december. they found out it was back and started the search for a donor so rob could get a bone marrow transplant. they’ve found a match and he has already had one transplant, a few weeks ago. however, it didn’t work, due to a viral infection. after a few very rough days for rob and steph, they finally got word that the donor was willing to donate again. this is very time sensitive and has to happen immediately. they are currently having people donating white blood cells to hold him over until the transplant. hopefully everything will work this time. they will get more cells this time and the viral infection should be gone, so they can do what they need to do. this transplant will take place august 11.

i must mention that this whole process is taking place in houston. which means that their kids are back home with stephanie’s parents in bryant, ar. on top of the sadness of not getting to see their kids for months, stephanie is not able to work so she can be with rob in houston. thus…no income. this is obviously a very stressful situation for everyone involved…rob and steph, the kids, grandparents…you get the idea. and now that rob has to have another transplant, their stay has been extended into mid november at least. the whole situation just makes me sad…

i am asking anyone who reads my blog…to help, if you can. here’s how:

  1. 1. please pray for this family and rob’s transplant and recovery.
  2. 2. if you live in houston, rob may need more people to donate blood for him before or after his transplant. he needs more white blood cells. i’m not sure when, but if you are interested in giving, let me know and i can get you the details.
  3. 3. if you would like to donate any money, i know they would greatly appreciate it.

thanks for reading this and helping in anyway possible. rob and stephanie mean so much to us. we are hoping to go visit sometime soon and maybe even donate some of our blood, if they need it. which terrifies ryan…ha. you can keep up with rob on his blog. please email me if you have any questions about anything or want to help, christen [at] christenbyrd [dot] com. here is a picture of their family i took right before they left for houston.

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Posted in leadership, theology | No Comments »