The Story of Jesus, Thomas Egan, and You

October 19, 2016 by Zoe Herron

By Gabe Piechowicz

As the fall storms start to stack up on the coast range and roll through the valley, our hoodies have come out and the march of old man winter has begun. In a short while, those hoodies will be underneath coats, parkas, and scarves, and in an ages-old Eugene tradition, we will all go in to semi-hibernation. Only leaving our warm homes, apartments, or dorms to go to work and school.

Pizza delivery. Beacon Beanery. Jimmy John’s delivery. Freaky Fast. Can I get an amen?

As we huddle under blankets and drink hot caffeinated beverages, another ages-old Eugene tradition will be underway.

The Egan Warming Centers will open. In 2008, on a freezing winter night when we would all be hibernating in our warm caves, one of our homeless brothers froze to death. Thomas Egan was a veteran, a Eugene citizen, and most importantly, one of Jesus’ lambs.

He knew Him by name. So should we.

The Egan Warming Centers were created in his memory and honor. They open when temperatures drop below thirty degrees Fahrenheit. Local faith communities house guests overnight, with services provided by volunteers and St. Vincent de Paul serving as the lead agency for the Egan Warming Centers.

This year, the Egan Warming Center staff will be training a team of NCU faculty, staff and students to provide a reliable source of volunteer help in operating these centers.

No more frozen lambs.

We will double up our hoodies and take to the streets of our city with Jesus. We will be running into the winter’s night to open churches, make hot caffeinated beverages, provide blankets, and share the blessing of warmth with all His lambs.

Jesus is a wild Messiah. He runs tirelessly through the streets of our city to bring hope and love to His homeless lambs. He runs past our campus everyday on His way down West 11^th. He probably just ran by a minute ago. If we had been out there we may have heard Him call, “C’mon – a little farther, a little longer!”

There will be an NCU Egan Warming Team meeting and sign up on Thursday, October 20^th at 5:00pm in the Banquet Room. If you have any questions or can’t make the meeting, but would like to join the team, please contact Gabe Piechowicz at gpiechowicz@nwcu.edu