“Now I lay me down to sleep, I pray thee, Lord, my soul to keep.”
Every night, children around the country go to sleep without a bed to rest in. They may sleep on floors or couches due to their family’s unstable housing situations, economic conditions, or custodial arrangements. Sleep in Heavenly Peace, a national non-profit organization, hopes to solve this problem by building beds for children and teens in need. Through partnerships with churches and organizations, they have been building beds since 2012.
Christ Our King, Saline recently partnered with the Monroe County chapter of Sleep in Heavenly Peace by hosting a one-day build in June. They invited community and congregational members to participate, welcoming the eager volunteers on a sunny Saturday morning.
“I appreciate everybody coming out today and joining us on this day of community service, building these beds and getting them out there in the community,” said Tim Taylor, president of the Monroe County, Michigan chapter.
“Sleep in Heavenly Peace has been in service since 2012. It started with a men’s prayer group that built a bed for a child in the Utah area around Christmas. They just started building more and more beds. What started with one men’s prayer group developed into a national nonprofit. Since they started in 2012 until this year, they have put out almost 500,000 beds across the U.S.”
Greg Witto, Director of Family Life Ministry at Christ Our King, was able to assemble a task force and enlist over one hundred people from the church and community for Growing in God’s Love, an intergenerational weekend event that combines sharing and service. He learned of the organization and was excited to partner with them.
“We went on a youth trip and participated with Sleep in Heavenly Peace in the Saginaw area. That was the first we’d heard of it,” Witto said. “We thought what a wonderful opportunity for us to help some kids and to bring some people together to share the love of Christ by meeting some of their needs and caring for them. We started talking about this event that we’ve established so that we can do some serving in our community.”
“We had a partnership with the Monroe chapter of Sleep in Heavenly Peace with our
church’s quilt ministry,” Witto said. “We contacted Tim and asked if we could do a bigger build with the organization, and the rest is history. We’re using some power tools and being able to have kids as young as four years old and people here in their eighties today, and they’re all going to be able to help out and make a difference for some kids in our community.”
In addition to the 30 beds that were built this weekend, the quilt ministry donated 30 handmade quilts to be given to the children who receive these beds.
“It’s amazing. A lot of people don’t realize what the conditions are for a lot of these kids,” Taylor said. “There’s a lot of co-bedding, a lot of sleeping on mattresses on the floor because folks can’t afford proper sleeping conditions for their kids, or they grew up in a household with blended families where they had more kids than beds available. It definitely impacts them. It impacts their ability to go to school and be well rested. It impacts their safety. It impacts their ability to go forward in life achieving milestones. So the more beds we can put out there for these kids, the better futures they’re going to have.”
Team leaders helped guide groups who worked with sanders, mitre saws and drill presses to assemble thirty loft-style beds.
“We appreciate you guys blessing us with the funds to be able to do that,” Taylor told the participants. “They already have a home that they will be going to. Our needs list is long. We’re delivering 50 beds in two weeks. That doesn’t even make a dent into what is needed in that service area. The more beds we can build, the more kids that we are going to be able to serve, and the better futures they will have.”
Witto prepared the participants for the day of service, reminding them that we love because He first loved us.
“God is the one who, by the power of the Spirit, empowers us to love our neighbor and care for others,” Witto said.
“Our theme verse for this year is from Hebrews 10:23–25: ‘Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.’”
“This was written to a people at a time who were fearful for their lives. They were persecuted in a great way,” Witto said. “These were encouraging words for them to stay together, to continue to live out the faith that God has given them. It talks about being encouraged by being together and encouraging others, and that’s what we’re doing.”
“Even though we might not see the children who receive these beds, this is one way for us to love our neighbor and encourage others,” Witto said. “And by doing so, we can also encourage one another toward love and good deeds.”
Photos courtesy of Heidi McClelland Photography (unless otherwise noted)