Pastor Lisa Doege and Patty Paulson were our guests September 20th to talk about NUMAS Haus.
NUMAS Haus was created by the New Ulm Ministerial Association, with a great deal of support from individuals, churches, service clubs and local businesses. 
Doege, pastor at Nora Unitarian Universalist Church in Hanska, is vice president of the NUMAS Haus board of directors.  She said when NUMA began talking a couple of years ago about extending its ministry out into the community, the need for a homeless shelter became apparent.  "All of our traditions, Christian, Jewish and Muslim, call for caring for strangers, widows, orphans and the poor," she said.  The group learned that there were 40 students in the New Ulm School District who were considered homeless.  The group knew that tackling the issue of homelessness was immense, decided to start small and focus on helping single mothers with school-age children.  The house provided was remodeled into housing for three families, and that project, started two years ago, is not complete with the first family already in place. 
Patty Paulson is the supervisor of NUMAS Haus.  It is a job she is uniquely suited for, with degrees in social work and administration. 
The money donated was a joint effort between our District 5950 and our local members.
The attached picture shows from the left, Pastor Lisa Doege, Patty Paulson, Jim Spoon and Pastor Ric Jacobsen.