Hello all! I am involved in a ministry reaching out to the multitude of unhoused neighbors in our community. I was one of two founders of this particular effort almost 3 years ago and recently retired somewhat discouraged.
In those three years we began a once weekly program welcoming these troubled children of a gracious God into our church hall for a wonderful meal ... our commitment was to serve a "banquet" worthy of a welcome for Jesus .... and to interact with our guests on a friend to friend basis. We grew the effort to include shower availability, haircuts, clothing, hygiene items, on-site access to clinic services for basic services and follow-up visits, abuse counseling facilitators and several tables of shelf-stable foods so our guests could load backpacks with up to 10 items for 'meals' after leaving for the day. We developed several hundred trained WONDERFUL volunteers from across the multitude of faith communities in our area, Christian and non-Christian alike.
Our area has 2 homeless shelters, one specifically adult and one for families, but the need here is so great that they are always full and have a waiting list. They also have a limit of the time any individual or family may reside there. Currently the need exceeds the availability by over 200 adults, and the local school system has counted over 200 enrolled students who reside with a parent in a CAR. During this heat wave our church has opened a morning respite center to allow our neighbors to come in and cool off, have a snack and a drink, but by 3pm at the latest the doors close. Two winters ago we opened the lower level of the church admin building, formerly used as classrooms, for an 'extreme weather' overflow shelter and were able to provide refuge for nearly 50 people nightly when temperatures fell below 10 degrees. That lasted one season until the Bishop's office pulled the plug citing liability factors.
Last winter we raised cash to provide hotel rooms, but by the end of the winter we were approaching 100K just for the rooms, and that was simply unsustainable.
Here is my faith dilemma.... when I ask myself WWJD, which is the guiding principle I have tried (and with shame often failed) to live by, I realize we have more than 100 churches in this area, and EVERY one of us locks their doors nightly against these neighbors, citing city ordinances and liability factors. Last year a young man nearly died of hypothermia in 55degree weather here. He was wet from a night of cold, driving rain and he had not eaten in over 2 days, and was convulsing when he ws found. It is with profound shame that I admit he was found laying against our locked church doors, less than 4 inches from a heated, empty space. Here was the biblical 'leper' Jesus commanded us as HIS followers to care for.... and we have all locked our doors against them.
I'm aware there is always danger, cities don't want us to open our doors to HIS children our neighbors, and many if not most Bishops worry about the liability.... yet when I ask WWJD the answer seems very simple. My wife and I have opened our home to help whenever possible, and honestly, the last neighbor to stay was suicidal and committed suicide there by burning our home down and dying in the fire, so I truly DO understand the danger.... but what's the alternative? Do we stop seeing the face of Jesus in each of these troubled neighbors and turn away?
I have become
In those three years we began a once weekly program welcoming these troubled children of a gracious God into our church hall for a wonderful meal ... our commitment was to serve a "banquet" worthy of a welcome for Jesus .... and to interact with our guests on a friend to friend basis. We grew the effort to include shower availability, haircuts, clothing, hygiene items, on-site access to clinic services for basic services and follow-up visits, abuse counseling facilitators and several tables of shelf-stable foods so our guests could load backpacks with up to 10 items for 'meals' after leaving for the day. We developed several hundred trained WONDERFUL volunteers from across the multitude of faith communities in our area, Christian and non-Christian alike.
Our area has 2 homeless shelters, one specifically adult and one for families, but the need here is so great that they are always full and have a waiting list. They also have a limit of the time any individual or family may reside there. Currently the need exceeds the availability by over 200 adults, and the local school system has counted over 200 enrolled students who reside with a parent in a CAR. During this heat wave our church has opened a morning respite center to allow our neighbors to come in and cool off, have a snack and a drink, but by 3pm at the latest the doors close. Two winters ago we opened the lower level of the church admin building, formerly used as classrooms, for an 'extreme weather' overflow shelter and were able to provide refuge for nearly 50 people nightly when temperatures fell below 10 degrees. That lasted one season until the Bishop's office pulled the plug citing liability factors.
Last winter we raised cash to provide hotel rooms, but by the end of the winter we were approaching 100K just for the rooms, and that was simply unsustainable.
Here is my faith dilemma.... when I ask myself WWJD, which is the guiding principle I have tried (and with shame often failed) to live by, I realize we have more than 100 churches in this area, and EVERY one of us locks their doors nightly against these neighbors, citing city ordinances and liability factors. Last year a young man nearly died of hypothermia in 55degree weather here. He was wet from a night of cold, driving rain and he had not eaten in over 2 days, and was convulsing when he ws found. It is with profound shame that I admit he was found laying against our locked church doors, less than 4 inches from a heated, empty space. Here was the biblical 'leper' Jesus commanded us as HIS followers to care for.... and we have all locked our doors against them.
I'm aware there is always danger, cities don't want us to open our doors to HIS children our neighbors, and many if not most Bishops worry about the liability.... yet when I ask WWJD the answer seems very simple. My wife and I have opened our home to help whenever possible, and honestly, the last neighbor to stay was suicidal and committed suicide there by burning our home down and dying in the fire, so I truly DO understand the danger.... but what's the alternative? Do we stop seeing the face of Jesus in each of these troubled neighbors and turn away?
I have become
.