Hyde Park United Methodist is part of a network of shelters that provide warm, secure space for those experiencing homelessness. The program is administered by Hillsborough County government, which monitors weather conditions and issues an alert when the weather forecast shows temperatures will drop below 40°F. Once that notice is issued, our team of volunteers mobilizes to setup and open the shelter.
Hyde Park United Methodist’s Cold Weather Shelter is located at its Hyde Park Campus, 500 W. Platt Street, Tampa, 33606.
Hillsborough County may activate the Cold Weather Shelter for
Wednesday Dec. 6, 2023.
Sign-up here to serve on December 6-7
Email Dale Saville with questions.
Read the Cold Weather Shelter Guest Rules here.
Location of the Cold Weather Shelter: Hyde Park United Methodist, 500 W. Platt Street, Tampa 33606
Email Don Aiken, church liaison, for more information or to volunteer.
******Portico Breakfast Volunteer Sign-In******
Thank you for serving!
Mission Smiles partners with local churches and ministries to provide free dental clinics in various neighborhoods throughout Tampa Bay, bringing the hands of Jesus to those in need.
They provided this report of their visit on Oct. 8, 2023:
“The hands and feet of Jesus were demonstrated throughout the day. The spirit of God descended on this day and all were truly blessed.”
Mission Smiles served 21 guests and performed 10 extractions and 12 cleanings. The dollar value of dental services and volunteer hours provided to the community was $11,827 See the full report.
To learn more about Mission Smiles or to get involved, contact Missions.
Be part of SERVE Day 2023! Individuals from Hyde Park will sort food, park cars, handout turkeys and more at the Metropolitan Ministries Holiday Tent on Nov. 19. The address of the tent is 2609 N Rome Ave, Tampa, FL 33607.
Shifts are available throughout the day. Participants wear red “Making God’s Love Real” t-shirts. If you do not have one, you can purchase one for $10 in the church’s administrative offices.
Registration for SERVE Day is through the Metropolitan Ministries website; you will select in advance where you will serve.
Click on the opportunities below for details and to register. To register, you will be asked to create an account (if you have not already created account from previous years.) Registration requires each person to create an account. For assistance with registration, contact Nathan Gula, Metropolitan Ministries Director of Volunteer Services, 813.209.1035.
Please note: child care is not offered during any shifts; the minimum age is 8 with a parent or 14 without a parent.
PLEASE RESERVE YOUR SHIFT BY NOV. 5
Shift 1: 10:45 a.m. – 2:30 p.m. General Tent Volunteering
Shift 2: 11:45 a.m. – 3:30 p.m. General Tent Volunteering
Shift 3: 2 – 5:30 p.m. General Tent Volunteering
Shift 4: 3 – 6:30 p.m. General Tent Volunteering
See all SERVE Day opportunities HERE.
Pray for the people of Pakistan who are affected by churches being burned and threats of harm. See the message from Bishop Tom Berlin.
Please pray for those affected by the terrible fires and destruction in Hawaii from Hurricane Dora. See the message from Bishop Tom Berlin from the Florida Conference of The United Methodist Church. See California-Pacific Conference Bishop Escobedo-Frank’s pastoral letter on the fires here.
Hyde Park’s mission partners, Dave and Julie Eberhard serve as missionaries with Wycliffe Bible Translators.
Read an excerpt from their latest newsletter:
Dear family and friends,
Our last letter mentioned all the travel that I (Dave) would be doing. This letter is to recap. APRIL: The Philippines and Thailand—4 tasks 1. Opening talk at the Global Voice event – where we gathered data from 13 different indigenous languages of the Mindanao region of the Philippines. 2. Giving the opening keynote address to the LSP – Linguistics Society of the Philippines—in Iligan City. Was honored to be made an honorary member of the Society.
Read the complete newsletter.
Baltic Methodist Theological Seminary (BMTS), our mission partner, is the largest United Methodist seminary in Europe, and serves students from eight countries who study in three languages: Estonian, Russian and English. Their newsletter is titled Prayerchain, it begins with a message from Külli Tõniste, Rector. Here’s an excerpt:
FOCUS
Much has happened in the life of the Baltic Methodist Theological Seminary and Methodist church this week.
First of all, on July 15th we celebrated graduation of 6 wonderful God-called Spirit-filled faithful and inspiring students to whom this special edition of Prayerchain is dedicated.Out of all graduating classes this one was the most impacted by Covid and the war. There were no easy times, yet 6 amazing women completed their studies and left us with an example of Christian endurance.
Other items in the newsletter:
* Meet the Seminary Graduates
* Generosity Training
* Board of Trustees
* Estonia Annual Conference Decision About Separation from the United Methodist Church
Read their newsletter.
Open Arms Homecoming
Thanks to everyone who helped make the Open Arms homecoming back into the Harnish Center such a wonderful success. Thanks to all of you who jumped in to help move a chair or a table, serve coffee and food, and provide a warm welcome to all who came. Energy was high and excitement was in the air. We even had a tasty and generous donation from Hula Bay to make the day special.
Thank you for extending the table wide to invite all of God’s children to come to the Gospel Feast. All of us who were a part of this amazing day certainly met Jesus at the Table and will never forget it.
If you and your family or small group would like to help, we’d love to have you. Sign-up here to serve with Open Arms.
Hyde Park’s mission partners, Pat and Melenda Edmiston are missionaries with Wycliffe – Partners in Bible Translation, a nondenominational mission organization dedicated to translating the Scriptures and teaching people to read and write in their own language.
An excerpt from the Edmiston’s latest newsletter:
I (Pat) ask prayer for my final 5 week checking session with the New Ireland Translation Institute project in PNG. We will be finishing up the last check for two of the language groups working on their NT. That will leave only one more out of the original 11. PTL. Pray for health, especially protection from malaria and Covid. Pray for travel. I have to overnight 4 times before I finally arrive! The leg from LAX to PNG is 33 hours with a 15 hour transit in Brisbane. I am opting for a hotel rather than the airport. Pray that I can work out getting a valid Covid test for my return to the US, if it is still required by then.
Read the newsletter.
Shining the Light Ministries, our mission partner in Nicaragua, provides agriculture training and support to low income families in the area around Leon. Their focus is in three areas: Gardens, Poultry and Sewing.
Here is an excerpt from their latest newsletter:
THE LONG AWAITED VISIT
In the past 2 years our staff has experienced much of the same trials and sorrows from COVID as we have had here in the States. From the loss of our spiritual Leader in 2020 to almost losing Pastor Angel and most of the staff having COVID. I am very impressed by the perseverance and dedication from all at Asociación Brillando La LuzDe Cristo En Nicaragua. Everywhere I went where there were groups of people and almost everyone was wearing masks. We have been able to keep a supply of masks and sanitizer in the office.
Read the complete newsletter.
