Ms. Sabrina has raised four children. Her daughters work in medical professions, and her son serves as a police officer in a nearby suburb. Her mom and sister come to church with her, and her extended family gathers regularly for reunions. She has a special family. But her family and her home extend much further.

She calls her house in the Roseland community a “home of refuge.” She has taken in young women who have needed housing, stability, and the wisdom of a woman who has been through some things. She has created her own application process for residents to come and live in her home, including a referral from her pastor. But in her home (which she purchased and rehabbed in partnership with Hope Christian Reformed Church 30 years ago) she has housed young, single moms and their children. She has made room for a sister of hers who was in between jobs. She has rented a room to women who were ready to move out from our shelter for women and children. In the practice of Christian hospitality, bonds form and a family is created.

Where are the places and who are the people who have formed bonds in your community? Which coffee groups, basketball leagues, men’s groups, and shared living spaces have been like Ms. Sabrina’s “home of refuge”?