**To shelter the homeless **
Do any of you have a ministry in your city/town entitled Interfaith Hospitality Netowrk?
In my city, there are 13 churches (some of them Protestant) who take turns housing homeless families. Sometimes we get repeats who have traveled the entire list of 13 churches and still have not put together all the pieces.
They receive counseling for debt resolution, housing application and other things from professionals from those sections of the government at various churches. One of our parishioners, a Spanish lady, works for housing and meets with all the families every time they come to our Church.
I have cooked for the group, slept overnight, but usually I volunteer for the evening host. Activities fro children, table games for adults.....I usually won’t get out the television for them. (Aren’t I mean?) Don’t worry — other evening hosts do.
We also collect household goods for these families that are taken to the day center where they stay for the day. Then when they do find housing, they are given some supplies that they did not have.
To feed the hungry
To give drink to the thirsty
To clothe the naked
To shelter the homeless
To visit the sick
To visit the imprisoned
To bury the dead
We haven't visited the imprisoned, but our best friend was (he passed away) an ex-con, and our young daughter, over the years, became the apple of his eye. She once said, regarding Sam, "If you don’t listen to his swears, you won’t hear his prayers."
We've done most everything else on the list. We do not turn down the poor who ask us for money (unless we don't have any on us). And a few times, we've on our own handed cash to people who live on the street. But we're usually not approached; we tend to "blend" with the crowd, and in some instances, it has been "others" who have given to us. :)
But have we done with frequence what's on the list? No, not even close, but we keep working at it. Thanks for the thread ...