Open Arms Initiative

Below is an article on Open Arms, a faith-based resource sharing cooperative in Richmond. The article appeared in the Friendly Visitor, the newsletter of West Richmond Friends Meeting, and was written by their Pastor. Nancy F. is the Clear Creek representative to the Open Arms resource sharing cooperative.

“Something’s Happening. . .

About 6 or 8 months ago, I (Josh Brown) had a phone call from Wayne Copenhaver over at First Friends Meeting. Often when we get calls from people in the community who need help, Wayne and I work together to try to meet those needs.

Wayne shared a concern which I’ve felt for a long time – so many of the needs we hear about are too big for one congregation, or even for two or three congregations, to handle.

The requests are endless – for food, for emergency housing, for help with utility bills or prescriptions, for car repairs, for rides, for all of the things which everyone needs. As the economy has gotten tighter, churches and service organizations in our area have had record-breaking numbers of requests.

The other thing which we saw, is that poor people often spend dozens of hours trudging from one office to another, making phone calls on borrowed phones, being told at one place or another why they don’t qualify for this program or why the funds are all gone for that program.

Out of these two needs – the limited resources of churches, and the endless, discouraging search for help – something new is being born.
Wayne asked me to meet with representatives from other churches and service organizations, to see if we could set up some kind of a clearinghouse, where resources and needs can be brought together.

Several proposals of this kind have been tried and failed over the years. But we’ve met half a dozen times this summer and fall, and this time it looks as though we might just get things off the ground.

The clearinghouse is going to be called Open Arms – a name which suggests both the open arms of God’s love, and also that we want to welcome people with open arms, rather than turning them away.


The purpose statement of Open Arms says, “Open Arms Ministries is a faith-based coalition which provides a clearinghouse for ministries serving our area in the name of God, with the intent that needs are met and that lives are transformed.”

Open Arms will receive need requests either in person at an office in downtown Richmond or over the phone. Volunteers will check the validity of requests, and refer people to the appropriate place where they can receive help.

Our plan is to work with existing services, and not shut down any services which are meeting a need. We will encourage the formation of new ministries, while not duplicating services already provided by secular service organizations or government programs.

Each church or participating organization will have one representative on the board. Each church must also agree to support Open Arms financially or in kind, and help recruit volunteers to staff the clearinghouse. Volunteers will also come from places like the Earlham Volunteer Exchange, Retired Senior Volunteers Project, service clubs and organizations. Participating churches and organizations will provide and update an inventory of resources and services which it wants to make available through Open Arms.

In a major step, First Friends has agreed to pay the salary for a part-time coordinator for up to 2 years. The coordinator will supervise the recruitment and training of volunteers, oversee grant writing, maintain the database and report to an Executive Committee. We are looking for office space downtown, and the United Way has already donated computers for the office. You can expect to hear more about this exciting new project in months to come. Please pray for our success, and ask how you can help!