Room at the Inn offers shelter on Christmas Day for first time

COLUMBIA For the first time, Room at the Inn Columbias winter shelter will be open for roughly 36 hours during both the Christmas and New Year's holidays.

Broadway Christian Church,2601 W. Broadway, will open at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday and close at 7 a.m. Friday. Admission to the shelter will only be on Wednesday. Hours for New Year's will be the same: from 6:30 p.m. Dec. 31 to 7 a.m. Jan. 2.

Room at the Inn opened for the year on Dec. 11 and will operate through March 10. Its operation is supported by 20 to 25 faith-based congregations.

This is the first year Room at the Inn has been open in December, said Debby Graham, outreach coordinator at Broadway Christian Church, which is one of four churches that serve as venues for the shelter.

"We missed the cold snap in November, but no one can predict the weather in Missouri," Debby Graham, the outreach coordinator at Broadway Christian, said. "It requires extra volunteers and extra funding. We just go on faith that enough money will come in. We are hoping and praying that the support from the community will help us. It always seems to work out."

In addition to Broadway Christian, the host churches are Missouri United Methodist Church, 204 S. Ninth St.; First Baptist Church, 1112 E. Broadway; and, for the first time, Fairview United Methodist Church, 3200 Chapel Hill Road.

Supervising editor is Elizabeth Brixey.

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Room at the Inn offers shelter on Christmas Day for first time