We are an outreach ministry offering a consistent, compassionate, pastoral presence to the homeless and marginalized in downtown Portland, Maine.
Our Church
When we stop to talk to someone on the street or in the shelters, we introduce ourselves as street pastors. Usually, they ask, "So, where’s your church?" We explain that we are a walking ministry and that, “the church is right here with all of you.” We make sure they know that we’re not there to tell them what to believe or how to worship. We’re there to sit with them wherever they are in their journey, whether in sorrow or in triumph. That is our church.
Our History
In the spring of 2006 two ordained, UCC pastors, Reverend Mair Honan and Reverend Karen Christensen, felt Spirit-driven to begin a ministry with the marginalized and homeless in downtown Portland, Maine. The main focus was to learn how we could be pastors in this community, to remember the sacred in the midst of it all, and to decrease the imagined and real boundaries between those who have little materially and those who have much.
Our Partnerships
Grace-Street Ministry is a self-funding program of Williston-Immanuel United Church that operates a ministry to the marginalized and homeless on the streets of Portland. When the pandemic forced the closing of the Preble Street Soup Kitchen, Grace-Street pastors joined with Preble Street caseworkers to form the Street Outreach Collaborative to deliver food to the unhoused and the food insecure at several sites in Portland.
“The pastors of Grace-Street Ministry are the hands, feet, and heart of Christ, bringing hope, joy, and compassion to our unhoused neighbors in Portland. We are grateful for their work and are honored to be a partner in ministry with them.”
“Grace-Street Ministry is a welcome and reliable partner to our Street Outreach Collaborative, adding to the empathy, respect, and dignity that is the foundation of our social work approach. The pastors bring spiritual comfort and hope to many of our neighbors who face the struggle of homelessness.”
A special thank you to Russell French Photography for documenting a day with Grace-Street’s Executive Director and Co-Pastor Jeffery Logan. All images were taken in June of 2021 on what was a typical day for Grace-Street Ministry clergy. For more information about how you can help, go to our Support Us page.