By Laura Meier and the Rev. Michelle Fritch, Grace-Calvary Episcopal Church, Clarkesville

What started in Northeast Georgia last fall as a safe, warm bed for someone in need is now a six-church ministry serving neighbors who daily confront housing insecurity and homelessness.

Behind the beauty of the region less than 100 miles from the state capital are individuals and families struggling to survive, often unseen and inadequately supported. They now have reliable shelter as well as dignity, stability, compassion, and a path forward, provided by the Matthew 25 Alliance, a collaborative ministry of two Episcopal parishes and four other churches.

“For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me. Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.”

Matthew 25

A Six-Church Ministry

Those words from Jesus inspired a hopeful vision shared by six churches in White and Habersham counties: creating a faith-based warming center. The Matthew 25 Alliance, or M25A, was born, and today it includes more than 100 volunteers from the six congregations.

• Grace-Calvary Episcopal Church, Clarkesville
• Episcopal Church of the Resurrection, Sautee-Nacoochee
• Clarkesville First Presbyterian Church
• First Baptist Church of Cornelia
• Nacoochee Presbyterian Church, Sautee-Nacoochee
• First Presbyterian Church of Cleveland

They have grounded this collaborative ministry not only in charity, but in relationship and community care.

Warming Center and Year-Round Care

From January through March this year, the M25A Warming Center operated in the gymnasium of First Baptist Church of Cornelia on five bitterly cold nights. Volunteers provided hot meals, hygiene supplies, safe sleeping conditions, and a structured, supportive environment designed to restore a sense of normalcy and dignity for their guests.

The ministry continues during the hot summer months, as M25A volunteers plan to offer an afternoon cooling center as well as free monthly community meals for those in need. At the same time, M25A is expanding its efforts to address the deeper causes of homelessness.

In partnership with local agencies and community organizations, the ministry is developing year-round support for people facing job loss, medical crises, domestic instability, and rising housing costs. M25A is working to connect people with services that assist with employment opportunities, identification documents, and long-term housing options.

This approach recognizes an important truth: homelessness is rarely caused by a single factor and cannot be solved by a single solution. As housing costs continue to rise and economic uncertainty affects more households, the work of M25A becomes more relevant and significant. Community members contribute meals, supplies, financial gifts, and countless volunteer hours, making this effort a true community-wide response rather than a standalone program.

Giving and Receiving

M25A is not only transforming the lives of those who come seeking shelter, meals, and support. Again and again, volunteers discover that they are receiving as well. Guests offer opportunities to build relationships across social and economic divides, to hear stories that challenge assumptions, and to encounter the image of God in unexpected places.

In serving others, volunteers often find themselves growing in compassion, faith, and understanding. They learn that ministry is not a one-way act of charity, but a mutual exchange of gifts. The people who come through the doors of the warming center remind us what it means to be human, to depend on one another, and to live in community.

In this way, giving becomes receiving. As Jesus taught, when we care for “the least of these,” we encounter Christ himself, and in doing so we discover our own deepest identity as the Church.

In Northeast Georgia, M25A serves as a reminder that addressing homelessness begins by seeing people not as problems to be solved, but as neighbors worthy of dignity, compassion, and opportunity.

Text 407-252-8653 to request help from the Matthew 25 Alliance.

Call Grace-Calvary at 706-754-2451 to support this ministry.