New Around the Mission
The Hands and Feet of Jesus Present in Birmingham
May 13, 2011
Three quarters of a million Americans, both adults and children, have no place to call home. While homeless shelters for men and women are prevalent, families with children often have fewer choices when it comes to a hot meal and a place sleep.
While the community of Birmingham recovers from the recent devastation unleashed by tornadoes and deadly storm systems, the sixteen congregations that make up the Birmingham Hospitality Network (BHN) continue to serve families seeking food and shelter every day. Of the 2000 individuals in Birmingham categorized as homeless, one-third of them are families.
Homeless children live with the same set of daily routines as their peers: homework, after school activities, sack lunches, sleepovers with friends. Yet they live with the daily unknowns – where will I sleep, will I have dinner tonight, how will I get to baseball practice?
Once a quarter, after the last car pulls away from the parking lot on Sunday morning, St. Peter’s Anglican transforms their classroom space into a transitory weeklong home, complete with comfy couches and television. Volunteers unload a trailer of foldaway beds provided by BHN to create bedrooms, cook and serve meals and sleep on-site with the families they serve.
“It takes about 40 volunteers to make this happen,” notes Amy Negrete, Church Administrator. “We shift normally scheduled meetings and group activities to other spaces on our church campus during that week.”
While the rules of BHN prohibit proselytizing, and there are no tangible rewards or benefits to volunteers for their time, Amy says that one of the real advantages of participation in BHN is that it “draws our members closer together.”
“Because of schedule demands, a vast majority of our members can’t participate in much beyond Sunday worship,” explains Amy. “Involvement with BHN gives people a way to connect beyond that. They may sign up for a time slot with someone they don’t know, which provides opportunity for new friendships to develop.”
During Holy Week, April 17-24, thirteen people (ten of them kids ranging from infants to teenagers) called St. Peter’s their home from 5:30 in the evening until 7:00 each morning. One of the three families - a single father with two pre-school children - joins the group for dinner, makes sack lunches, and transports his kids to caretakers. Instead of sleeping on the provided cot, he works through the night at a new job.
It is unusual for volunteers to see the same families twice because of time limits instilled in the program and vigorous help to access jobs and housing for participants.
As people gathered on campus during Holy Week to focus on Christ’s redemption, forgiveness and reconciliation, members put flesh on these themes. Serving those in need, they represented the hands and feet of Jesus to homeless families sleeping secure in their classrooms overhead.
Posted By: Cynthia P. Brust
Categories: Faith in Action
