Mission Emphasis – Haywood Street

In November 2006, Central United Methodist Church and Haywood Street United Methodist Church merged, creating two campuses under the name of Central United Methodist Church.  Central UMC made the commitment to maintain the historic Haywood Street Church building and to use that Haywood Street campus for mission-oriented activity.

Rev. Brian Combs came to Asheville in 2009.  Understanding his call to be in ministry with folks on the margins, Rev. Combs spent his first four months in Asheville in the soup line and under the bridge, staying overnight at the shelter, loitering downtown with an ear bend towards the cracks of poverty, always listening for the voice of Jesus among the disinherited.  And what he heard was, “Offer me a congregation of absurd grace, a meal of scandalous abundance, a kingdom glance of heaven on earth.”

And so began the Haywood Street Congregation.  Core programs include weekly worship, a clothing closet, community garden, a free community lunch known as the Downtown Welcome Table, and Haywood Street Respite, which offers a safe place for adults experiencing homelessness to stay on a short term basis after being discharged from a hospital. Those who eat and worship together at Haywood Street are individuals carrying all their worldly possessions in ragged backpacks as well as privileged professionals, stay-at-home moms, students and the working poor.

The core programs provide a platform for the ministry of relationship, which can be defined simply as the act of “being with” and speaks to our deepest identity. It contrasts with “doing for” and requires spending time together, talking and listening, serving and being served, giving and receiving. It forms the basis for our unique and transformative companion ministry.

You are invited to bring items for Haywood Street Congregation. 

Items suggested are: 

• socks
• feminine products
• toilet paper
• men’s and women’s underwear
• shampoo
• dental hygiene products
• gift cards

You will have the opportunity to learn more about the Haywood Street Congregation on the pre-conference outing where a stop is planned to visit the facility, as well as hear about this ministry during the conference.