BETHLEHEM, Pa. — At East Fifth and Edward streets, the Gathering Place International Ministries sits in plain sight to passers-by.
Many never notice the community who congregate year-round.
“There’s a lot of help here to be had,” said Giovanna Rodriguez, a Gathering Place regular. “You can grow here.”
Open five days a week from 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., the Gathering Place is a nonprofit organization that operates a day shelter for the unsheltered.
As winter deepens, Marian Betances, known to many as Pastor Michelle, said the organization is accepting local donations and assistance.
“There’s a lot of help here to be had. You can grow here.”Giovanna Rodriguez, Gathering Place regular
She said the warming center is a lifeline for clients and is in need of resources to provide warmth, dignity and hope to those who need it most.
Betances said the ministry funds the center and accepts all forms of donations, from actual items to financial support.
Brenda Cordero, a member of the ministry, helps Betances run the day shelter.
“There’s so much cost,” Cordero said. “Anything from cleaning supplies, laundry supplies, from just the upkeep of the building and gasoline gets expensive.”
Cordero said visitors are in immediate need of coats, boots, blankets, tents and food.
“It’s a critical need because the days are so cold,” Cordero said. “Even though they may not come and spend the day here, they will pass by to see if they can get a coat and we know, through our own observations, that there’s a lot more people under bridges who need these things too.”
For longer-term investments, Cordero said the ministry is in need of a van to transport individuals to important appointments, such as job interviews and to see doctors.
She also said they are in need of a new oven to ensure they can keep supplying visitors with at least two meals a day.
“We have one, but it's almost at the end,” Cordero said.
The history
The Gathering Place has been around since 2013, but Betances said it originally was a street ministry.
Starting out in Philadelphia, Betances said she and her family would spread ministry to homeless populations and pass out necessities wherever they could.
Eventually, they spread to other towns like Scranton, Wilkes-Barre and Allentown.
It wasn’t until 2020, Betances said, that the ministry bought an old church in Bethlehem.
“I wasn’t looking in Bethlehem when I was looking for a building,” Betances said. “The need was so big in Philadelphia, so that is where I originally started to look, but I believe that God wanted us here. All the doors were closed in different locations and this door was open at the appropriate time.”
The Gathering Place offers visitors a warm place to relax, food, hot showers and laundry once a week. But above all else, Betances said, it offers a kind of family.
The mission
Cordero said everyone is welcome, regardless of their religious beliefs or needs. The goal, she said, is to provide more stability.
One day last week, about a dozen people stopped in as staff served sloppy joes for lunch.
The Gathering Place staff will help fill out benefit applications, give referrals to treatment or recovery programs and help find referrals for temporary housing.
"Many people want to get better, but no one is following up with them,” Cordero said. “We do what we can to support and encourage them in treatment or recovery or simply help them take care of themselves.”
For Rodriguez, The Gathering Place is a lot more than a day shelter. She said she visited for the first time around four years ago.
“I think for many they’ve been lone rangers for so long and being part of this community, where they come frequently, they start building each other up.”Brenda Cordero, the Gathering Place Ministries
Rodriguez recently obtained housing, but she continues to return to the ministry frequently as she said she’s found community and solidarity there.
She said the most helpful aspect of the organization is the consistency it provides.
“Everybody’s showing up, everybody’s loyal, everybody’s faithful stewards,” Rodriguez said. “Because of the groundwork, it sets an example for me."
Cordero said Rodriguez has made many transformations in life since finding the ministry.
“I think for many they’ve been lone rangers for so long and being part of this community, where they come frequently, they start building each other up,” Cordero said.
To make donations, you can visit the Gathering Place between 7:30 a.m. and 4 p.m. or call 610-419-0643. During the winter season, the building is closed Mondays and Fridays.
