"We had the confidence to attempt this in large part due to our experience hosting and working with Family Promise/Interfaith Hospitality Network," said Rev. Joicy Becker-Richards, pastor of Oxford Second. "The biggest challenge is getting past feeling overwhelmed - that it's more than you can do. But as a dear friend once said, 'Whatever you can do is enough.' And somehow it grows from there. We had a electricity, so we started by offering heat, coffee, and a place to re-charge cell phones. And it quickly grew from there, with others offering food and time to help. And next time, we plan to be ready to offer more!"
Communication was a huge local problem, so another question was how to get the word out to those who needed help. A sign was set up out in front, announcements were made on radio station WRNJ, and friends posted on facebook, all asking everyone to help "spread the word" to those who might need help.
Word was received at the end of the week that most of the outages were resolved, so the warming station was closed following dinner that Friday evening. But Oxford Second has already started planning for ways it can help with any future emergencies.