By Marci Gore/ Kingsport Times News

KINGSPORT, Tenn. (Jan. 7. 2015) — Shades of Grace United Methodist Church will be open this week, offering shelter, hot drinks and a warm meal to those who are homeless.

"We were open noon to 5 (on Monday) and we ended up having over 50 people come in off the street. Some of them stayed practically the whole time and some of them just come and go. Sometimes they'll just pop in to eat something and then leave. For most of the homeless people, it's nothing more than just a reprieve from the cold. It's the closest thing to a home that some of them have," said Rev. Will Shewey, pastor of Shades of Grace.

Shades of Grace is a brand new church in the Kingsport District of the Holston Conference of the United Methodist Church. Shewey began the church last July, first holding services at Mafair UMC. And then, in October, the church found its permanent location at 313 E. Sullivan St. in downtown Kingsport.

Read more: A warm shelter: New downtown church open to homeless during cold snap | Kingsport Times-News http://www.timesnews.net/article/9083967/a-warm-shelter-new-downtown-church-open-to-homeless-during-cold-snap#ixzz3OAJURWsW