East Cobb Church Offers Homeless A Warm Place to Sleep

Photo Credit: Mt. Bethel UMC/Facebook

Some members of Atlanta’s homeless community were able to sleep soundly on Thursday night inside the warm confines of an East Cobb church.

According to the Marietta Daily Journal, Mt. Bethel United Methodist Church provided shelter, food, and entertainment to some 225 homeless people on one of the coldest nights of the year so far. The night before, the church provided safe haven to around 150 homeless, the MDJ said.

Mt. Bethel contacts homeless shelters in the Atlanta and Marietta areas and learns about homeless folks who are in need of a place to sleep overnight. Buses then collect the people and bring them to the church, where they are treated to hot food, warm shelter, and even a movie or two; on Thursday night, the church screened Marvel’s “Guardians of the Galaxy” movie for their guests, reports the MDJ.

Guests sleep in the church’s gym on air mattresses provided by volunteers. Lights out is at 10 p.m., and buses start shuttling the homeless back from whence they came as early as 5:30 a.m. Volunteers then bring the used sheets home, clean them, and return them to the church in case more guests are expected the next night, the MDJ writes.

Mt. Bethel’s missions director told the MDJ that he hoped their efforts would inspire other churches to open their doors to disadvantaged people and offer them shelter and human comforts on cold Atlanta nights.