Groups stepping up to help homeless need support of community
Attending the forum called last Sunday by Memphis City Councilman Jim Strickland was inspiring.
Trinity United Methodist Church has stepped up in a partnership with Room in the Inn to provide a warm and safe place for a dozen of homeless adults to stay on Tuesday nights during the cold-weather months.
St r ic kl and and the presenters at the meeting did a good job of explaining the program and the peculiar city ordinance that Trinity is violating.
Especially
i nspiring
were the personal testimonies of the Trinity members who are providing this outreach and the people who are among their guests.
Their stories, their laughter and their tears put an unforgettably human face on the situation.
Naturally, there are some neighbors expressing concern about the effect of Room in the Inn on the immediate community, the Evergreen Historic District.
My wife and I have resided in the district for about 10 years now. From 1991-1995, I was honored to be pastor of Trinity.
From both of those perspectives, I want to join in reassuring our neighbors that this is a positive, not a negative contribution to our environment.
Room in the Inn is a wellorganized, safe, practical model for impacting homelessness, one of our beloved city’s toughest challenges. Representatives have made it clear that screening and supervision are excellent.
One way I would describe Room in the Inn is that it’s an improvement on the stable and manger Mary and Joseph were shunted to in Bethlehem.
Living out their faith mission is what our con- gregations — Christian, Jewish, Muslim, etc. — are called to do; when they engage in ministries like Room in the Inn, they should be applauded.
Sunday’s meeting helped to bring out a point I believe to be a key to the Mid-South’s future: We are all in this together.
There are many other programs seeking the good of Memphis on this issue.
One is Resources for Human Development’s S.T.A.Y. (Support the Authentic You) program. This week, HARC (Highland Area Renewal Corp.) began hosting modest daytime activities at one of our city’s most missionminded churches, Prescott Memorial Baptist.
In a “Friendship Center” format, formerly homeless men will share in literacy training, recreation, job skills, educational field trips, Grizzlies and Redbirds games and such.
Many different groups are at work on this challenge. I find especially helpful the handbook called “Memphis Survival Guide” being shared by HOPE, the Homeless Organizing for Power and Equality. It lists what both public and private entities are doing to eliminate homelessness.
From my own Wesleyan perspective, I am heartened to see a strong em- phasis with most groups on stirring self-sufficiency and not dependency among those in need.
An example is the “cottage industry” T-shirt project being pursued by the Mid-South Peace and Justice Center. Another is the bicycle project Hope Presbyterian Church sponsors.
Memphis really is blessed with a multitude of generous people who care, but our congregations and other community-minded groups can do more.
During his remarks last Sunday, Strickland spoke of considering code variances or a change in the ordinance. He mentioned that with citizens’ concerns we might have to have meetings at congregations in neighborhoods all across the city.
Officials and citizens across the board should help find ways to assist congregations like Trinity, Colonial Cumberland Presbyterian and others to do what they can to help, along with all the other public and private efforts.
There should be genuine annual honoring of those who are stepping up. Loving our neighbors as ourselves is a growing strength in Memphis. Dr. Mark Matheny, a retired United Methodist minister, is director of the Highland Area Renewal Corp. John Sewell, Saint John’s Episcopal Church A brighter Black Friday will require our considering just what these days mean. As Saint Paul wrote, “Everything is permissible” — but not everything is beneficial. “Everything is permissible” — but not everything is constructive. (I Corinthians 10:23 NIV). We have some choices to make: Join the frantic business of the culture, or sit with those we love. By choosing less, we receive more. I suspect that our souls and perhaps even our wallets will thank us. LaSimba Gray, New Sardis Baptist Church Once again our society has opened the door to materialism, and we will lose another sacred day of worship, family devotion and family fellowship. We must remember, “As goes the family, so goes the society.” At the rate we are turning our backs to God and embracing culture over Christ, God will have one of two options: Destroy America and start over, or make an apology to Sodom and Gomorrah. I am afraid the former will be our plight. Harry Danziger, Temple Israel David Leavell, First Baptist Church Millington There are some things that can only be learned by silence and reflection. More activity will only complicate the matter. Psalm 46:10 says, “Be still and know that I am God.” Good advice for Thanksgiving and Christmas! Meade Walker, Castalia Baptist Church Commercialism is dominating American life in a destructive fashion. People who fail to worship and have no sense of a holy hush never cease to shop, buy, work or simply do evil. Covetousness has many businesses pushing the shopping of Black Friday forward to Thanksgiving Day. A day that should be spent in gratitude with family and friends is being recast as another episode of commercial greed. Consequently, it is no wonder that so many show no reverence for anything. Steve Montgomery, Idlewild Presbyterian Church Cole Huffman, First Evangelical Church Many of us will welcome stores opening on Thanksgiving, not because of holiday boredom or avoidance of family, but because we’re more marketdriven than we realize. We’re personally affirmed when making purchases. Though we can always buy online, a day on which we can’t buy in stores seems a day we don’t know what to do with anymore. Call it the triumph of the consumerpeutic. Thanksgiving Day should be reserved for focusing on beyond-the-market values like the love of family, the integrity of creed, the joy of freedoms and so on. Brad Gabriel, St. Mark’s United Methodist Church A business that opens on Thanksgiving increases pressures that weaken family and community. In contrast, Hebrew and Christian scriptures place commerce at the service of family and community. We can sense the loss and sadness that come if a business yields to the temptation to brush aside traditions that embrace giving thanks and expressing gratitude on a day of rest. Nicholas Vieron, Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church Every worship service is or should be Eucharistic (from the Greek word for “thank you”) — a thanksgiving service. As citizens of this wonderful country, we also have Thanksgiving Day when we can give thanks for the many blessings we enjoy, and that includes bringing family closer together for games, parades, relaxation, outings and even shopping. After all, we are buying gifts for those we care about. It’s another family- oriented occasion. I love it!