Just Who Exactly is This About?

Today's lesson in our lectionary is most commonly known as the parable of the "Prodigal Son"- the one who squandered. And yet, as I heard yesterday, perhaps this is a product of our mindset. We here in the land of plenty hear this as a story predominantly focused upon the son who demanded the inheritance and squandered it and then came back. How often do we see this as a story about being open to "others" not us- who screw up and should be forgiven? How often do we engage this form from the standpoint of the son who has followed all the rules?
Today after worship, one of the ushers came to share that there was a homeless woman in the back of the church and she parked her cart in the narthex. As the relating of information continued, I recognized who the woman was. I see her at our free breakfast and sometimes she stays and reads in our library during the Sunday school hour.
I came out and greeted her and was correct in my assumption. I asked how she was and we talked about how the wind and rain had made things hard for her. Her umbrella had been taken the last time she was with us.
Her umbrella was taken in church.
So she had put on her layers and now most were wet. But even more than this she shared that she loved to sit in empty churches and pray. This was a time she could encounter God.
Empty churches.
It could be that she enjoyed the silence and the space.
It could be that it was easier to pray.
But empty churches.
Beautiful and sacred, but alone.
How I longed to ask why empty churches.
Instead, I encouraged her to take her time in the space and to stay as long as she liked.
She already had her hands folded.
That was the end of first service,
and at the beginning of second, as I came in, one of the ushers told me that a homeless woman was looking for me.
They took me to her.
She had stayed.
I asked if she was OK and she shared that she wanted to know that I was here.
She stayed and worshipped.
At this point, she had been in some form of worship or teaching or prayer since 7 am till Noon.
I know she struggles and that this is not her "home."
I know she cries and that she cannot share why,
but I pray that she felt this day that we were not a pack of brothers or sisters sitting in judgment deciding whether she was worthy.
I pray that she got some glimpse otherwise.
That she saw that we too are the ones who hope and believe in a God who has met us, we the unworthy.
We the "not quite cleaned up." We the ones who have no reason to expect grace,
but who have experienced it.
That we who were redeemed by a God who ran out and met us with extravagant grace could do the same- run out and meet another who needs more than our recrimination.
Who needs someone to point the way to extravagant love and grace.
Who doesn't care where she has been or why she is here or the baggage she has in tow, but simply says,
"Child, you are loved. Let's celebrate that you are here."

Soles 4 kids- share a little, help a lot

Can you imagine what it would be like to be a school child who not only faces the challenges of homework and making friends, but faces the added stress of no permanent home at the end of the day? In the School District of Lancaster, located in the city of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, approximately hundreds of homeless children struggle to attend school each year, with burgeoning needs significant enough to warrant a district-wide Homeless Office which acts as a clearinghouse for concerns such as clothing, health care and meals.
Holy Trinity Lutheran Church (TLC), located in the heart of the city, borders some of the area of greatest need. TLC became aware of children who could not attend classes regularly because they lacked shoes. Others were wearing ill-fitting shoes simply to be able to attend. As a part of its mission to be a Tender Loving Congregation, TLC Community Outreach Committee members devised a new venture, Soles 4 Kids, to gather enough sneakers for each child in need to have a pair. Inspired by members, Bob and Dorothy Cooper, on Sneaker Sunday, during worship services, children of the congregation went from pew to pew gathering the sneakers and funds and presenting them at the altar for blessing by Pastor Sadie Pounder. TLC collected 184 pairs of shoes and $2000.00 towards the purchase of additional sneakers or other items of need.
Both Bob Cooper and Ken Marzinko, Homeless Student Project facilitator noted “we expected a sizeable number of shoes, but the members’ generosity was overwhelming!” Enough has been provided to ensure shoes for all in need as well as funds for those who outgrow their uniforms or need other supplies. “It was amazing to see the joy in the faces of those who have, and of those who have received! What a wonderful witness!” The event is now envisioned as an annual component of the community outreach theme-“ Share a Little, Help a Lot,” which encompasses a variety of ways that TLC lives out the ELCA motto-“God’s work, our hands.”

Voices of the Street

At Christmas, my church choir sang an anthem about Mary and Joseph looking for room- paraphrasing:

They walk the city streets at night, in pockets of the poor

Will there be room for them tonite?
Will we find space to spare?
Will there be room for them tonite?
Will we find space to share?

This week I began my work with the Water Street Rescue Mission in Lancaster, Pennsylvania as a part of my fulfilling of a multicultural experience requirement for seminary. You can learn more about the extensive programming they offer at WSRM. Over the month I will volunteer about 18-20 hours broken up into three hour shifts. I am a spare pair of hands for the counselor on duty in the Womens Ministry Shelter, and most of my shifts are from 7-10 pm.

On Thursday night I began my first shift. It was getting down into the teens and breezy outside as I came in. I thought about how I take for granted that I can come in to a warm shelter every day. And that if I could not come to my home, that I am blessed with family and friends in many places.

There are about 30 women and children on our floor. The women are a diverse lot in terms of ages and racial and ethnic backgrounds. The children are both pre-school and school aged. I wonder what it is like to go to school from the shelter. I wonder what it is like to be in multiple schools in a year as the adults are trying to hold it all together.

At 8:30, everyone must be in the shelter and check in, unless they are working. The women line up, and one by one take a breathalyzer, receive any medications they are taking, a pass for the following day, any mail for them, vitamins for the children. Most of the women are on many medications for a variety of ailments.

As they come in, we also hear their concerns about job searches, relationship issues, health concerns, and the stresses of life. This is a lot of people in a relatively small space, so tension can erupt.

One woman is saddened because she did not pass a certification test for employment, and she is starting from scratch again. She has been here three months and she wants to be able to move on. One woman has learned that he significant other is not taking her calls, and has sent her no money- it has settled in that it is over. One woman has severe chronic health issues that affect her thinking but has been unable to qualify for the Social Security disability that would give her a chance to be elsewhere. A phone call comes from a woman who has just been discharged from the prison. She needed an address for parole and they sent her here. But she really needs to get to where her family is. We have no room, but we check the bus schedule, and confirm there is one yet tonite. We calculate the busfare, and give it to her, with directions to the stop, and a hat and gloves. She has walked three miles to get here, now she must walk half a mile to catch the bus.

The stories go on. Many of these women do not want to be here, like the one who has just gotten a job at a nearby college in maintenance. But how far can $6.50 an hour go when you need to live and eat, and get to work, and you are a single woman in your late 50's? What about the woman with four kids who, until the new family shelter opened where they would not be split up, they were sleeping in her car the week before Christmas? Or the veteran with PTSD whose wife told him to leave, and then quit paying the VA mortgage on their home where she was living, causing him to lose not only the house when she left it, but all of his VA benefits? Default on a VA mortgage rescinds all other benefits including health. The default notices came to her and she threw them away because it was not important to her.

I am thankful for this opportunity, not because it shows me a multicultural environment ( I already have worked with Legal Services and have seen people from all walks of life for years). I am thankful for the chance to see more clearly the real nature of homelessness, and also the role faith plays in the lives of these women. As with most of my experiences, I think others give much more to me than I give to them. There are plenty who have made mistakes, the difference is that when some of us mess up, we have a safety net. Others do not. "As you do to the least of these, you do to me."


To learn more about homelessness, visit National Alliance to End Homelessness.

Lord, you bless so many of us with an abundance. May we always be aware that we are blessed to be a blessing to others, that all that you provide is for this purpose. Open our eyes and our hearts to those in need that we may be your hands that share and care. Amen