Student Contributor -M. Smith
The Gathering House is an Evangelical Covenant Church committed to using its resources of space, time, and assets to create an environment where lives can be changed under the purposes and leadership of Jesus Christ. Worship occurs every Sunday and the other 6 days is transformed into a café serving the local community with coffee from local roasters, a salad bar, hot soups, and gourmet grilled cheese sandwiches by day. This café is a jobs-training location, hiring individuals out of prison where they gain life skills and work skills with ambitions to move on to greener pastures. The evenings provide community space and a stage for open mic nights, meetings, and other presentations or performances.
This location hosts the monthly Spokane Homeless Coalition meetings, the Racial Equity/ Diversity Spokane Chapter hosted by NAACP President Kurtis Robinson, the Spokane Fatherhood Initiative, and the Gathering of Artistic People (GAP). The Homeless Coalition has aided in making The Gathering House a warming center during the harsh winter months, offering warmth and safety to those that find themselves without a place of their own. Additionally, the coalition discusses the growing Spokane homeless epidemic and discuss various solutions that are then shared with our local government. The Gathering House is committed to the Spokane community and an integral part of the betterment of its members by being an integral space for wheels of change to be set into motion.
The Gathering House partners with a wealth of local community organizations all with the purpose of bettering the lives of community members. They are not limited in any way the types of partnerships available and are open to new and unique ideas. With a stage, audio/ visual capabilities, smaller conference rooms, and a large hall that seats upwards of 200 people, they are an ideal space for hosting gatherings of any type… hence, The Gathering House! I have been to silent auctions, weddings, funerals, fundraisers, birthday parties, rock concerts, Homeless Coalition meetings, ate lunch, grabbed coffee, attended worship, provided minor maintenance work, filled sack lunches for the homeless, attended a play, and helped veterans tie flies for fishing. That is just scratching the surface for opportunities available to teachers and their students!
