Santa Barbara Rescue Mission Women’s Auxiliary Annual Holiday Tea for Bethel House

The Santa Barbara Rescue Mission (SBRM) Women’s Auxiliary (WA) held its annual Bethel House Christmas Tea for its women in recovery program on Wednesday, December 13 at the home of Susan Hughes. Dianne Davis, Hospitality Chair, organized the event, and Kirsten Walters, Membership Chair, organized the activities for the event, including the prayers, singing Christmas songs and, breakout sessions.

The SBRM Women’s Auxiliary is led by President Pamela Dillman Haskell. She shares: “The Christmas Tea is an opportunity for the SBRM Women’s Auxiliary to celebrate the women of Bethel House on their journey to healing. We are so grateful we can offer some holiday cheer to these brave women, and honestly it’s a gift to us that we can do so.”

Attendees were board members and officers of the Women’s Auxiliary and the residents of Bethel House. Each member of the Women’s Auxiliary brings a tasty hors d’oeuvre, dessert, teas, and punch to share family style in the kitchen and dining room. 

The Holiday Tea program is a tea reception, followed by all joining in the living room for a community prayer service and singing Christmas carols accompanied on piano by Sara Coleman. The event concludes with breakout rooms for one-on-one sessions with assigned Women’s Auxiliary members and the Bethel House residents. 

The SBRM Women’s Auxiliary supports SBRM through fundraising for its in-house programs and community outreach. The Bethel House Women’s Residential Treatment Program is a 12-month, faith-centered, 12-step social model program. Residents are provided with a living and learning environment that addresses the issues of addiction in a holistic way. SBRM provides immediate help and lasting hope to those with no place else to go, via a 12-month residential recovery program to men and women who desire to break free from cycles of addiction, poverty, homelessness, and crime.

411: www.sbrm.org