Bible verses and good wishes are hidden behind the walls of
the new Lamb Center in Fairfax.
In February, about 100 supporters of the drop-in shelter
gathered in 10-degree weather for a beam signing party. They
walked through the unfinished shelter in winter coats,
grabbed Sharpies and wrote on the bare beams.
“Bless all the workers who built this building. Their hands
are your hands,” read one.
“God bless The Lamb Center and the city of Fairfax,” read
another.
Many of the messages were bible verses.
“The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want, Ps 23:1,” and
“Whoever welcomes the children in my name, welcomes me and
the one who sent me, Mk 9:34.”
The messages are hidden now by drywall, but their spirit
continues to guide the staff and volunteers of The Lamb
Center.
Hundreds of supporters and guests came to the facility June
26 for the ribbon-cutting ceremony that officially opened the
shelter.
The Lamb Center has been helping the homeless, called guests,
in Fairfax County and city since 1992. Last month, they moved
from their rented space on Old Lee Highway to a new home on
Campbell Drive in Fairfax City. They have been operating for
about a month in their new space, but it was time to
celebrate a grand opening.
The two-story facility has a warming kitchen, health-care
space, showers, laundry, office space, conference rooms,
counseling areas and cafeteria-style dining area. There’s
also a place for guests to get haircuts and a chapel for
prayer.
The center is open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 3
p.m., and Saturday from 8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
Thirty-five faith groups including six Catholic parishes –
Blessed Sacrament Church in Alexandria, Church of the
Nativity in Burke, St. Leo the Great Church in Fairfax, St.
Mary of Sorrows Church in Fairfax, St. John Neumann Church in
Reston and St. Mark Church in Vienna – support the center by
donating money, food and volunteers.
At the ribbon cutting, Executive Director John MacPherson
introduced local officials including Rep. Gerry Connolly and
Fairfax County Board of Supervisors Chairwoman Sharon Bulova.
After the speeches and before the ribbon cutting, the
attendees held hands in a circle around the parking lot and
prayed. Prayer is a big part of The Lamb Center. Informal
Bible-study classes are held twice a day.
MacPherson said that the shelter serves about 115 people a
day, mostly men, but women and children do drop in. They feed
and clothe people, and counsel them if needed.
“Their physical needs are (met) first,” said MacPherson,
“then on to their other issues.”
Carol Dieterle is on the center’s board of directors and a
volunteer. The St. Mark Church parishioner retired from the
federal government in 2012, which gave her time to serve the
shelter and the guests who depend on it.
“(This is a place) where people come who have nothing,” she
said.
Dieterle said that after her time at the center she leaves
happy.
“It feeds me to come here,” she said. “It feeds my soul.”
Dieterle remembers several years ago when she and her family
were eating dinner at a restaurant near the old Lamb Center
at Fairfax Circle. She could see the guests outside the
shelter. Her son asked for money to give to them.
After that experience, she realized what she wanted to do
after she retired.
Another diocesan volunteer, Theresa Danner, is a parishioner
of Church of the Nativity in Burke. She is the mother of
four, including a 16-year-old daughter, Maria, with Down
syndrome.
Danner went to Haiti with Father Richard B. Martin, former
pastor of Nativity, several years ago to help in the
Caribbean country. When she returned, she found it difficult
to adjust to life in her “first-world” house.
“I wanted to serve the poorest of the poor in my community,”
she said.
Danner volunteers in the center’s kitchen and the clothing
section.
“Pope Francis said pray for the hungry, then feed them,
that’s how it works,” she said.
The Lamb Center treats the guests with respect, she added.
Gene, 75, is one of the guests. He was a carpenter for many
years, but lost his job. He said it’s difficult if you’re old
and unemployed. It’s even more difficult if you are homeless.
“I wasn’t prepared (for unemployment”), he said, adding that
people looked down at him.
Gene slept in the back of his van for about four or five
years. Then he found The Lamb Center.
“Dave (Larrabee, director of operations) gave me dignity,”
Gene said. “They all make you feel welcome.”
Occasionally Gene finds carpentry work, but his government
assistance helps him pay for a small apartment. He still
stops by during the day when he can.
It’s difficult to be alone and isolated, he said.
“It’s like a community here.”
To donate
Go to thelambcenter.org/donate. The Lamb Center needs
clothing, styrofoam plates, toothbrushes, razors, toilet
paper, detergent, bleach and trash bags. They can be dropped
off at 3160 Campbell Dr., Fairfax.
