Partner Feature: Settled.

SOCIAL JUSTICE & OUTREACH

The Ministry of Social Justice & Outreach seeks to follow in the way of Christ by promoting opportunities for outreach, advocacy, and education to help create a more just and inclusive world where every person can live in dignity and thrive.

This week we are highlighting one of our mission partners, Settled, an organization that believes God has an answer to homelessness: "He places the lonely in families" (Psalm 68:6). Settled exists to help churches invite their neighbors off the streets and into full community through intentional tiny home villages called Sacred Settlements.

Settled brings together people with decades of experience in solving complex social challenges and equips churches across the country to develop sustainable, deeply human solutions for those who are often the hardest to house. Through Sacred Settlements, churches create communities where neighbors experiencing homelessness can find safety, belonging, and meaningful relationships.

St. Paul's UCC has supported Settled through both volunteer service and financial contributions. We are what Settled calls a Supportive Church. While we do not host a Sacred Settlement on our property, we partner with churches that do by helping raise funds, building tiny homes, providing volunteers and skilled labor for special projects, and forming supportive friendships with community neighbors.

At our June 4 meeting, the Social Justice & Outreach Ministry welcomed Gabrielle Clowdus from Settled to share more about the organization's work and to help us explore ways St. Paul's UCC might deepen its involvement. The conversation included learning what it would mean to continue supporting Sacred Settlements and even considering the possibility of planting a Sacred Settlement at St. Paul's UCC in the future.

Homelessness is not simply a housing problem. It is often a problem of isolation and disconnection. Settled's work reminds us that lasting change happens through community, relationships, and the belief that every person deserves dignity, belonging, and a place to call home.

To learn more about Settled and ways to get involved, visit Settled's website.

Please keep Settled, its partner churches, and it’s community members in your prayers as they continue this important ministry.

"The Lord will guide you continually and satisfy your needs in parched places and make your bones strong, and you shall be like a watered garden, like a spring of water whose waters never fail."

— Isaiah 58:11