Shelter Marysville: A Letter from Pastor Craig

The conversation is changing and we're looking forward to partnering with North Snohomish County Outreach and Generations Community Church to do good - TOGETHER.

Please read the letter from Pastor Craig Laughlin below and I encourage you all to email office@generationscommunity.org with the subject line "Shelter Marysville" and ask how you can be part of the solution. Let's show Generations Community Church that we appreciate being included in the process and we want to be part of this solution!

To our Neighbors,

The denomination of which Generations Community Church is a part was birthed in the inner city of LA. Our very inception was driven by the belief that we must follow Jesus' example by engaging the most vulnerable to make their lives better. In keeping with that core value, many months ago, we started a journey toward providing shelter to a particular segment of our community experiencing homelessness.

After strong opposition from our community, the collaborating team of Generations Community Church, North Snohomish County Outreach, and Everett Gospel Mission have concluded that creating a Pallet Shelter Community on our property is not a viable option. Therefore, we are no longer pursuing this option. However, we continue to believe that caring for the poor and vulnerable is a moral and spiritual obligation. Additionally, this work remains a core value for our church. Tonight’s zoom meeting will still take place for those that want to talk about creative solutions to homelessness in our community.

At Generations, we believe that God brings good out of bad or, in this case, a bad situation. Strange as it seems, we have been deeply encouraged by the number of people who are supportive of providing more shelter in Marysville. Many who are opposed to a shelter on our property told us they were supportive of and interested in helping with creating shelter someplace in our larger community. We hope that we can bring people together toward the goal of providing shelter in a way our larger community embraces. We invite like-minded people to join us in seeking creative ways to reduce the suffering of those on the bottom of the economic spectrum to remain in conversation with us about bringing hope to many who are hopeless and help those who can not help themselves. If you would like to be a part of this conversation, please e-mail our church office. Office@generationscommunity.org – in the subject line, write Shelter Marysville.

Finally, let me say we will continue to engage our neighborhood and always look forward to getting to know you. We welcome your presence on our property. Many have learned to ride a bike or drive a car in our parking lot. Many more have brought kids down to give them a little exercise or throw a ball for a dog. We are actively looking to improve our property with benches and picnic tables. We will continue to provide large group, neighborhood gatherings like our Easter Egg hunt. August 28th we plan to do a neighborhood block party that will look a great deal like our Easter egg hunt with inflatables, games, food, and other activities. We hope you will bring your children and grandchildren and join us for a good time with our neighbors.

We always welcome conversations about how to make our community better.

By His Grace,

Craig Laughlin, Lead Pastor www.GenerationsCommunity.org Love God, Loving People that is the whole deal. 8240 64th St. NE * Marysville, WA 98270 * 360-659-4629 Church Facebook www.facebook.com/generations784/ My Facebook http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=806730634