4 min read
Barbara Comito, former marketing director: November 21, 2019
“Breaking bread – it’s a community thing” – Bethany Kuhn, UGM sous chef. Food is about so much more than food. It symbolizes grace, warmth, community, family, a sense of belonging. Bethany Kuhn (pronounced Que-in) gets that: “My daddy was a...
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1 min read
Phil Altmeyer, Executive Director: November 13, 2019
Here at UGM, we talk a lot about the reverberations that go out from one changed life. A mother who becomes the parent her children need affects...
5 min read
Union Gospel Mission: November 12, 2019
“Turn to me and be gracious to me, for I am lonely and afflicted.” – Psalm 25:16 For decades, Debra was a self-described “functioning drunk,”...
4 min read
Barbara Comito, former marketing director: November 7, 2019
“Humans connect to other humans at so basic a level that when we disconnect, our souls shatter into a thousand little pieces.” – Peter Leithart When...
4 min read
Union Gospel Mission: October 22, 2019
Last week, we posted Pastor John Repsold’s explanation of the differences between relief and development when it comes to addressing homelessness....
4 min read
Union Gospel Mission: October 16, 2019
Editor’s Note: Pastor John Repsold, whose downtown Spokane church Mosaic Fellowship includes ministry to people experiencing homelessness, presented...
2 min read
Union Gospel Mission: October 2, 2019
You may have seen a television commercial for UGM this fall that starts out, “We believe…” In these somewhat acrimonious times, amid heated debate...
3 min read
Union Gospel Mission: September 26, 2019
By Christy Zapata, UGM volunteer - A key component of the UGM’s approach to fighting homelessness is addiction recovery. The 20-month residential...
4 min read
Barbara Comito, former marketing director: September 19, 2019
“If we are to love our neighbors, before doing anything else we must see our neighbors. With our imagination as well as our eyes, that is to say like...
2 min read
Union Gospel Mission: September 11, 2019
“From [Christ] the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its...
1 min read
Barbara Comito, former marketing director: September 10, 2019
“We are firm believers in organizations that take the time to change people’s lives.” – Jim Strandy
3 min read
Barbara Comito, former marketing director: September 4, 2019
Why a fall campaign? This blog post is meant to give you a glimpse behind the fundraising curtain at UGM. As a faith-based, non-profit organization...
3 min read
Lynn Yount, UGM Volunteer: August 29, 2019
We use a lot of terms to describe the addiction recovery program at UGM: Christ-centered, holistic, long-term, deep-down healing, etc. One word...
4 min read
Lynn Yount, UGM Volunteer: August 21, 2019
You may have noticed a recurring theme on the Impact Blog: Everybody who works at UGM is in ministry. Whether in maintenance, payroll, the kitchen or...
5 min read
Union Gospel Mission: August 15, 2019
By Mike Doggett, former Aftercare Manager - A little over 21 years ago, I consumed my last drink of alcohol and went on what has proved to be a very...
4 min read
Union Gospel Mission: July 31, 2019
If you want to learn about a person, ask someone who has known and loved them for many years. We asked UGM’s staff pastor Sonny Westbrook, who has...
4 min read
Lynn Yount, UGM Volunteer: July 24, 2019
“As good stewards of the manifold grace of God, each of you should use whatever gift he has received to serve one another.” – I Peter 4:10 Dale Fruin...
2 min read
Union Gospel Mission: July 17, 2019
By Christa Hughes, Youth Outreach - We count the little successes. We hold fast to the hope that God is working in the hearts of children. It can be...
5 min read
Barbara Comito, former marketing director: July 10, 2019
In her article “Does Poverty Cause Homelessness?” Marchauna Rodgers argued that the United States has misdiagnosed the problem of homelessness,...
4 min read
Barbara Comito, former marketing director: July 3, 2019
With homelessness front and center in the public forum of late, Christians have a strong contribution to make. We believe in some radically...
3 min read
Barbara Comito, former marketing director: June 26, 2019
What in the world do running and homelessness have to do with each other? You might be surprised.
3 min read
Lynn Yount, UGM Volunteer: June 19, 2019
“I was King of the Park.” From one point of view, Nicholas Walker had everything you might want: Prestige, respect, and power in his community. Not...
6 min read
Union Gospel Mission: June 12, 2019
Editor’s note: Mike Doggett, UGM’s Aftercare Manager, addressed the recovery participants at a recent phase-up celebration in UGM Women’s Recovery....
3 min read
Lynn Yount, UGM Volunteer: June 11, 2019
Five years. It takes five years actively pursuing recovery for an addict to have a strong chance (about 85%) of lifelong recovery. Five years minus...
2 min read
Phil Altmeyer, Executive Director: June 11, 2019
In his book “When Helping Hurts,” Dr. Brian Fikkert explains the far-reaching consequences of defining poverty incorrectly. He likens it to a doctor...
