Fostering Community - There is community on the streets. The Marin Interfaith Street Chaplaincy invites people to discover the sacred in their lives and shared experience. By forming circles with each other, we discover and explore the ripples we send through each others' lives. By becoming aware of the effects of our everyday actions, we can recognize the sacred and change how we interact with the world.

Regular Events | Projects | Annual Events (W/ Photo Galleries)

Regular Events:

Wellness Gathering - The Wellness Group is the focal point of the Chaplaincy community. Each week, we explore what it means for us to be community together. Our spiritual practice is offering support to each other and offering ourselves in service to our community. Tuesday, 4 p.m., Geneva Room, First Presbyterian Church, 1510 Fifth Avenue (at "E"), San Rafael

Circle of Spirit - the Chaplaincy meets weekly with members of the street community at a local coffee shop in San Rafael for fellowship and conversation. This gathering allows the street community to be visible in a positive and productive way. Friday, 9 a.m., Aroma Cafe, 1122 4th Street, San Rafael.

Memorial Services - by honoring the lives of those who have gone before, we call the community to an awareness of their connection and their need to care for themselves and each other.

Projects:

Sidewalk Sideshow Productions - Informational Brochure. Originating from the Celebration of Life held on July 22, 2007, this group from the Street Community came together with the tactical assistance of the Chaplaincy for the purpose of providing a venue for creative expression. The mission of the Sidewalk Sideshow is: “We are a collective of artists working together to nurture community that enables free flowing love and compassion through creative expression in a supportive environment.

Summer Suppers - [Photo Gallery] The Marin Interfaith Street Chaplaincy has hosted Summer Suppers monthly, each year since 2010 at the St. Vincent DePaul Dining Room, 822 B Street, San Rafael. With approximately 100 people in attendance at each gathering, members of nearly a dozen different faith communities gathered to break bread and share fellowship with folks from the Street Community. The meals are prepared and served by volunteers from the Street Community. Sidewalk Sideshow Productions hosts an open mic during each dinner.

Annual Events:

Annual Thanksgiving Eve Service - an opportunity for the whole community to come together for meditations on gratitude offered by leaders from the interfaith community and the Street Community.

Annual Earth Day Celebration - occurs each spring and is held in collaboration with the San Rafael First United Methodist Church. It is an opportunity to honor the new life that arises in this season of rebirth and to hear from our friends in the Street Community who live close to the earth. Through their stories and experiences, together we learn about what it means to be good stewards of the planet we call home.

Annual Memorial Procession and Celebration of Life - [Photo Gallery] occurs each summer and is an opportunity to honor those in our community who have died and to celebrate the life that is with us here and now. This gathering is attended by many clergy, members of the street community, and concerned citizens of greater Marin. This is an opportunity for the street community to interface with the community at large to raise awareness about the harshest of realities of living without shelter. By reading the list of names of all of those who have died in past years, we honor their lives and pledge that they will not be forgotten.