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This past week I visited the church I used to attend in Riverview called Ressurection Catholic Church. They have multiple non-profit organizations there which call for many community service acts from many people within the church and within the community. I used to be a part of a ministry there called Thorn Ministry Inc. Every Sunday we would go to three different areas of downtown tampa and serve food to the homeless and have a van filled with clothes and other hygenic products they would need. I remember the first time I went on one of the missions with them that I knew this was going to be a life changing experience. They started bright and early making food, gathering everything they would need for the day, and loading it up. This is a full days work that they have ahead of them. I was able to meet some incredible people with stories for every emotion possible. There was one man I recall who had told me that he lost everything because being homeless is a brutal life. Someone had came and physically abused him to the point he could not even walk. Next thing he knew, everything he had was gone. I only did this for a few months during the summer, but these people do it as a living. It is run out of a little house down the road from the church, all the food, medical supplies, and hygenic products are all donated from individuals or companies.
T.H.O.R.N. (Thankfully Helping Others Real Needs) Ministries Inc. is a mobile feeding outreach with branches that serve food, gift medical supplies, first aid, clothing, hygiene supplies, friendship and referrals.
We feed mainly in Tampa. The main branch goes out on Sundays to 3 mobile locations.
We have branches that feed in St. pete/Clrwarter
and throughout the Tampa Bay area.
In addition we help disabled children in Western Samoa. We fundraise to provide monies that will allow surgical treatment for severely needy children, we sponsor containers of medical/school supplies to gift to the local substations and preschools.
Once a year we sponsor a needy child to come to the US for surgical intervention and we offer mission trips to Samoa for medical and missionary outreach experiences.
Our vision is to reduce the plight of the oppressed and neglected hungry by offering hot meals, drinks, clothing, first aid, toiletries, and friendship on multiple days on the streets in the Tampa Bay area and to offer medical / school supplies to a needy nation in the South Pacific. (Western Samoa)
Here is a slideshow of images that Kristin Taylor, the head of Thorn Ministries Inc, has taken throughout some of their events.
INTERVIEW
I interviewed Kristin Taylor to learn more about Thorne Ministries and her experiences with it.
Q. What is your mission statement for Thorn Ministry?
A. T.H.O.R.N. Ministries (Thankfully helping others real needs) is a mission outreach program that teaches the works of mercy through practical means. The Heart of Tampa Project is the mobile feeding outreach and THORN Samoa is the medical/spiritual outreach.
Q. What exactly is your role in Thorn Ministry?
A. I am the founder and C.E.O... In spiritual terms however... I am the one who places the vision on the table and then works out how to accomplish it.
Q. I remember going with you over the summer and it was run out of a woman¢s house in Riverview. Is it still that way or have you moved it out to somewhere else? If you have stayed then why would that be?
A. We still work out of Anita's and also have a storage barn off Boyette.
We are a mobile outreach.. so we can begin and end anywhere. We involve the community so each person comes from their own homes to bring out food and aid to the homeless.
Q. How do you effectively obtain all the food, medical supplies, and hygienic products for this ministry?
A. Everything is donated. We do not appeal for help. It comes! It's pretty miraculous and would make no sense to anyone with a business planning mentality. I call it divine providence. What we need shows up when we need it.
Q. What other events take place within Thorn ministry besides weekly going out on Sundays to different areas of Tampa and feeding the homeless?
A. Sorting donated goods, cooking, dispersing all the items that have been gifted to other ministries in need.
I also travel speaking and singing and teaching groups how to implement this program in their communities.
Q. Do you have any other bases besides just in Tampa? If so, where?
A. Western Samoa
Q. How do you get people involved in helping and giving their time?
A. By example. When people come and see what we do, they either love it or hate it.
I also speak/sing about the ministry and that draws many too it.
Q. Do you incorporate anything environmental when it comes to the ministry such as planting trees, creating shelters, or cleaning parks? If so, please give a brief description of what it is you do and how you help to promote sustainability and helping out with the environment.
A. We keep our environment clean.. We also clear the areas we are of the trash that has accumulated during the week.
Q. What is your favorite part about working with Thorn Ministry?
A. Feeling my life is making a difference to others not only locally but in the world.
In Samoa... the work truly is changing the way the disabled are treated.
Q. Any plans for the future for Thorn Ministry?
A. The plans grow and change daily. Whatever needs we see before us we try and encourage people to personally take them on. We are a teaching ministry, meant to encourage, inspire, and help implement outreaches that will not only make the world a better place but make the individual feel a purpose and a deeper meaning to their own lives.
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