Susan Valiquette is pastor of First Church, United Church of Christ, in Phoenix, which offers a cooling center through the Arizona Faith Network.
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Cooling Ministries Can Save Lives
A Phoenix pastor describes the joy of letting people rest in her church’s air-conditioned fellowship hall.
IT’S GOING TO be 109 today. The 100s have come early this year. It feels oppressive on the body, the whole being. The desert should have cool evenings and mornings, even if it’s hot during the day. But because of all the [housing] developments, people, and highways in the Phoenix area, it never cools down. If you put economics, the increase in drug addictions, unemployment, an aging population, and climate change all together, the number of individuals who need some sort of indoor space is increasing every year. And the places that are open for people are few. There are always deaths every summer on the streets directly related to heat. We know that opening our doors means we are saving lives.