Deacons contribute to Chief Seattle Club

The deacons of the Diocese of Olympia gathered on Saturday, November 20, 2010, for a day of fellowship and learning, focusing on the issue of domestic poverty. Bishop Greg joined us in the afternoon and presided at the closing Holy Eucharist. At that Eucharist we took an offering of $200 and subsequently sent it to the Chief Seattle Club, an organization whose mission is “To provide a sacred space to nurture, affirm and renew the spirit of urban Native Peoples...Five days a week, we offer a place where urban American Indians and Alaska Natives, many of whom are homeless and low-income, can join to share a common meal, speak their own languages, access social services, and find peace, without fear of public censure or discrimination." The club helps provide basic needs (food, showers, basic items, telephone access, etc.), health care, legal services, chemical-dependency services, housing, education, job training, a Gathering Circle (an ongoing arts program that celebrates Native cultures), and an art studio with weekly arts and crafts programs. For more information about the Chief Seattle Club, visit their website at http://www.chiefseattleclub.org/