Bent

Have you ever had the occasion to step over or walk around someone sitting, lying, or sleeping on the sidewalk in a North American city?  Perhaps the person was panhandling, maybe sitting with a coffee cup asking for change.  How did you react?  If you were in Canada, did you reach in your pocket or purse for a loonie or toonie?  Or did you look the other way and hurry on by?  Did you wonder who these people are and how they got to such a state?  Did you assume they had chosen the street life because “There must have been an alternative for them some where!"  Perhaps you muttered something to yourself or someone else about “Why don’t they just get a job!”

At one time or another over the years, I confess I have done most of those things.  On my better days, I have had enough compassion to suspend the questions or judgment and simply give a little help.  At other times the questions or doubts have won out and I have looked or walked the other way.  Sometimes I have even felt afraid, not because the homeless person was menacing (which seldom happens), but because the situation was strange to me and beyond my comfort zone.  I have personally witnessed homelessness in at least four cities; Toronto, New York, Miami, and even my lovely San Diego, in each case with people literally sleeping on the sidewalk.  I must tell you that, of all of those, Toronto in January felt the most desperate with the mercury plummeting to dangerous levels on bitterly cold winter nights.

In all the times I have encountered homelessness and street begging, one thing I have never done, and probably never even considered, is to take the time to make the acquaintance of the street person and get to know them.  But that is exactly the strategy of Toronto street worker, Tim Huff as described in his 2008 book Bent Hope: A Street Journal published by Castle Quay Books.  Huff invests the hours, days, weeks, and often months it frequently takes before the person is able to trust him enough to let him in. 

The experiences chronicled in this little book provide a brief glimpse into Huff’s daily encounters with the homeless.  The author works with youth, so most of those he introduces us to are young; often in their mid-teens.  It is both enlightening and chilling to learn exactly what their former life was like that made this desperate and dangerous existence preferable.

One might expect stories of homelessness to be depressing.  While it is true that many of the stories do not have a happy ending, the overall impression one receives from reading this little book is one of hope; albeit a hope that is often "bent" just as the title implies.  Yet hope is real, and sometimes Huff’s nights of listening and talking result in new beginnings and lives saved.

I encourage you to find and read this little book, available here from Amazon.  It will warm your heart and bring you hope.  What's more, you will never look at homeless people the same again.

Posted by Carman

Presence

From time to time in this blog, we like to share the good word about what is happening in our various congregations. This week I had a lovely telephone visit with Kathy DeCaluwe who is a Seventy and the pastor/planter of the Healing Water congregation in London, Ontario. In that conversation, we discussed many things, all of which were good, but the one I want to share with you today is about a sending/serving ministry this congregation has undertaken.

Previously, Kathy had sent me some information on a different matter which referred in passing to how the congregation had gotten started at “the coffee shop” or “coffee house”. That reference stuck in my mind, so during our telephone conversation, I asked her what that was about. It turns out that one evening each week, people from Healing Water congregation go to the local homeless shelter and spend time with those who gather there. They play cards with those who come, and are available to offer a listening ear if people want to talk. Sometimes they are able to share a prayer with the folks they meet. Sometimes they pray silently.

This is, of course, not a big deal, and not the only ministry the congregation undertakes. It is simply a small congregation being the presence of Jesus to some of God’s beloved and most vulnerable people. These folks leave their nice warm homes on a bitterly cold night to go downtown to share the warmth of a smile from a friendly face with people who know the cold of the city all too well. In doing so, they partner with others who do the same, and they are blessed. It is not a big deal, but I find it very moving. I am always grateful when a congregation understands that its mission is to the community where it is planted.

Healing Water is, of course, not the only congregation that is involved in serving the community. While there are many ways to do so, reaching out to serve others together is simply part of what a healthy congregation does. If more congregations did the same, I suspect that many people who have stopped attending and become "post-congregational" would find their ministry relevant and would be willing to participate.

Whether or not you are in a congregation, you may also be part of a sending/serving ministry where you are. If so, would you be willing to share your stories here? We would all be blessed by this “good word.”

Posted by Carman

Bracelet

I’m still seeing lots of folks with various coloured wrist bands—I’m choosing to call them bracelets, if that’s ok. Most recently I had dinner with a women wearing a white band. “It’s for Make Poverty History” she shared with us at our shared table. “It’s my third one; I’ve worn out two already.”

Here’s the place she’ll order a new one when this one wears out.

One of the bloggers I follow recently went on a real rant about all the Pink! that surrounds us. Pink ribbons, pink clothing, pink facebook pages, pink comic strips. She was a breast cancer survivor and was downright furious that the whole “pink campaign” had become so commercial and phony. It reminded me of the criticism that Oprah’s Buy Red blitz generated a year or so ago. Do you remember why we were encouraged to choose all things “red” when we went shopping at The Gap, or Old Navy, or Banana Republic or the I-store? Me neither! Which was exactly the point.

This blogging cancer survivor had all kinds of suggestions for ways to make life better or easier or more comfortable for actual cancer sufferers. She had little regard for those of us who choose to buy a pink kitchen appliance and pat ourselves on the back.

Which brings me back to my friend with the white bracelet. Her I deeply respect. Because she’s a board member for Niagara Falls Community Outreach. She’s active in her community to feed the hungry and house the homeless. She knows the local politicians and lobbies them regularly for better policies to deal with the issues poverty creates. She’s currently busy raising funds to ensure those living with less, or with nothing, have a refuge where they can get a meal or a bed for the night. But she’s also taking a long look and campaigns for those whose values line up with hers, the elimination of poverty.

“We have no excuse to still have this much poverty in a country as rich as ours. I’d be happy to start with the children,” she said. But it’s clear she’s not willing to stop there! She really doesn’t care if we notice her white bracelet. It’s just to keep her focused.

If you’re wearing a similar band, of whatever colour, my question to you would be “what are you doing to make that wish come true?

Posted by Marion

Vagabonds

I recently came across a somewhat surprising court battle being waged in the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals in the United States. The case involves a struggle between the City of Orlando Florida and the First Vagabonds Church of God, along with other groups who advocate for the homeless. First Vagabonds Church was the brainchild of Pastor Brian Nichols, who was himself homeless for a time as a result of a back injury. His prayers led him to found a ministry for the homeless, and to feed the hungry. Pastor Brian passed away last year in 2009, but his work is being carried on by others.

You can learn more about Pastor Brian and the work he started by clicking on or pasting the following URL into your browser. http://www.myspace.com/firstvagabondschurch

First Vagabonds Church of God conducts open air worship services in city parks, and also feeds the homeless there. In 2006, the city of Orlando apparently passed an ordinance that limits group public feeding in city parks to twice per year in any one area. The law was challenged immediately, and has been see-sawing through the courts ever since.

Perhaps the most interesting comment I have read on this story came from Mark L. Vincent, a well known Mennonite author and stewardship advocate. In the September 30 issue of Depth Perception, Vincent questions whether both the city and the church’s attorneys have missed the point. The following is a brief quote from his article.

Feeding hungry people is not a "symbolic expression," but an essential action.
The devout followers of all this world's great religions fill their lives with
service to the poor--not as a symbol that they are religious, but as a
demonstration that they are humble, grateful for what they received, and aware
of the plight of the destitute. They simply cannot not do it.

Vincent’s comments remind us of Jesus prediction in Matthew 25;

Then the king will say to those at his right hand, 'Come, you that are
blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation
of the world; for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave
me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you
visited me.'

Mark Vincent believes that where we serve the homeless is not the issue, but instead that serving the poor is among the highest priorities of ministry and as such is not optional. Do you agree?

Posted by Carman