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Jim and Ken

Phil Altmeyer

Phil Altmeyer talks about how the Bible makes clear God's heart for the poor.

1 min read

God Loves the Poor

What better phrase to describe one’s life than the one God used to describe David, “a man after my own heart.” What do we know about God’s heart? How...

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3 min read

A Brief History of UGM, Part 2: 1987 to Present

Part 1 of the history of UGM covered our founding in 1951 through the retirement of Executive Director Harry Altmeyer in 1987. We pick up as his son...

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2 min read

Heart to Heart: Compassion and Accountability

After 30 years in homeless ministry, you'd think I would have it all figured out, that I could coast along to retirement. I'm chuckling at the...

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2 min read

Heart to Heart: The Heart has Eyes

Sometimes we are blind. The problem (for most of us) isn’t with the function of our actual eyeballs, the cornea or the retina or the optical nerve....

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2 min read

Why Go to Chapel?

For the majority of people coming through the doors of the Union Gospel Mission, the most pressing issues are shelter from the cold, a warm meal, the...

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2 min read

What do You have in Common with a Drug Addict?

“Addiction” is a strong word. Most of us probably wouldn’t use it in reference to ourselves or we’d use it in a joking manner like, “Yeah, my...

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2 min read

The Root of Our Joy

This sentence from the cover story struck me: “The day after Rachel was baptized, she received news that her father’s cancer had returned for the...

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1 min read

The Darkest Dark

Do you remember the darkest dark you’ve ever experienced? I know I do.

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Phil-and-Grandsons

2 min read

Poverty and Family Breakdown

“If a country is to be corruption free and become a nation of beautiful minds, I strongly feel there are three key societal members who can make a...

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1 min read

A Christmas Irony

By Phil Altmeyer Executive Director Christmas – what’s not to love? Family and old friends gathered together around a roaring fire. Sledding....

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1 min read

Dressed in Praise

The other day I received this text message from Scott, one of our program graduates: “I forgot to mention that yesterday was my 6 years...

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1 min read

Out of the Ashes

You may have noticed a theme in the 2013 Mission News. Over the past several months, we’ve been looking at the first three verses of Isaiah 61 and...

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1 min read

The Only Number that Matters

Sometimes it’s tempting to define homelessness, and even this ministry, by the numbers: 1,295 people on the streets. 97,000 nights of shelter....

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1 min read

Giving Back

I was in a jam. I needed some last-minute changes to a PowerPoint presentation, and it was after hours so all the tech-savvy staff had gone home....

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2 min read

Trust Fall

As you read this, a group of around 50 children are out at Tshimakain Creek Camp near Ford, Washington, having fun, experiencing God’s creation and...

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