by Judayah Murray

In January, Howard University paired up with Reid Temple DC to provide “Blessing Bags” filled with various items such as bottled water, first aid kits, toothbrushes and soap to the Homeless of the Shaw/Howard Metro Community.

Demi Lewis, a senior residents’ assistant in College Hall South of Howard University, organized the entire exchange by urging her residents to give back to the community. Students volunteered over the course of two weeks to create thirteen bags filled with necessities for the homeless.

Prior to the partnership, it had always been a church tradition to step out into the community to invite strangers to join the congregation every Sunday. Thanks to Demi Lewis and her initiative, on February 7, Reid Temple also began handing out “Blessing Bags” at this time during their weekly community walks

Reverend Russell St. Bernard who is a youth minister at Reid Temple DC and has been with the church and part of the staff for six years now says Reid Temple believes in serving the community.

“We are focused on trying to reach more people for God,” he said.

Reid Temple, or as it was originally called in honor of its first pastor, Dent Chapel, is a Maryland-based church that was founded in 1900 by a small handful of dedicated members.

Today, they currently have two campuses, one in Silver Spring and another in Glenn Dale. Between the two, there are over 10,000 members. Most recently, Reid Temple has expanded to Washington, DC hosting Sunday services at Howard Theatre.

Although this branch is still fairly new, this is certainly not their first experience with giving back.

On November 21, they hosted the Reid Temple DC Outreach, an initiative to aid hunger in the Shaw/Howard community.

They invited students from Howard University to assemble sandwiches and bagged lunches to be passed out to the homeless. St. Bernard who is referred to as ‘Rev. Russ’,by his colleagues, says that they plan to host another this February.

In the past, the church also held a coat drive where they were able to give “several hundred pairs of coats, hats, socks to Central Mission” and other missions in the area.

Reid Temple doesn’t stop at reaching out to Howard University to offer volunteering opportunities, nor does it stop at feeding and clothing the homeless. The Church also works to educate members of the community on social issues.

“Our church is a vehicle for remaining engaged on issues that are important to us beyond the walls of the church,” says Reverend Terance McKinley, the director of ministries of two and a half years. They have committed themselves to teaching the community about civil and human rights and what it means to be unapologetically Christian, as well as economic disparities to begin closing the wealth gap.

Reid Temple recently held a mock trial associated with the Freddie Gray case in Baltimore. The event was called “Where Do We Go From Here—Improving Police-Community Interaction” on October 3.

It was both free and open to the public. “We brought in real attorneys, we tried the case and we had a panel of discussion that followed,” said McKinley.

“Reid Temple, just as a church, has always been committed to preaching that transforms lives and if there’s anything that I think the church can attribute its success to, I would say it would be to the fact that the pastoral leadership at any of locations hold that as their highest priority,” says Reverend Russell St. Bernard.

The future looks bright for Reid Temple DC. With them in the forefront, the Shaw/Howard Community has a lot to look forward to.