November 15, 2011; Source: DNAinfo.com | After Zuccotti Park was raided on November 15, many protestors were sent to the streets with no direction of where to go next. Churches across the city began opening their doors Tuesday night to Occupy Wall Street protesters.
The Middle Collegiate Church in the East Village accommodated about 75 protesters on Tuesday night after the raids. The senior minister Jacqui Lewis assured the occupants that they would have a safe, comfortable place to sleep in addition to pizza on Tuesday evening and bagels in the morning. Lewis has also written for the Middle Project Blog, in support of the Occupy Wall Street movement:
People of faith: wealthy people, middle class people, working class people, and poor people—we need to UNITE in our common call to be the people God created us to be. We are responsible to and for one another, we have to do this better; it is our watch and we must take care of business!! We must partner with one another, reach across the aisle as necessary, find partners, and build bridges so we can heal this land.
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The Church of St. Paul and St. Andrew, on the Upper West Side, was expecting about 50 protesters on Tuesday night. The church even left a message on a large piece of paper by Zuccotti Park offering housing with an address and directions.
As the months get colder and colder, what will become of the Occupy Wall Street protestors? Will there be temporary housing provided by the faith community, or will the movement continue without a base encampment site and continue its strong reliance on social media? —Aine Creedon