Over the past few months, I've had a number of conversations with members of our parish regarding God’s heart for and presence amongst those who are suffering, the needs of our city and neighbors, a desire to serve and for a simple way to do so. This is a great encouragement: it is good and right that the needy are not forgotten, nor "the hope of the poor taken away." Of course, need and poverty take many forms, financial and physical being two of many.
Nevertheless, they are acute forms of need and poverty, and those who suffer from them are at real risk of being forgotten and losing hope.
As a way of enacting our prayers together, this month we're beginning what we are calling a ministry of “mobile hospitality.”
Here's how it works:
As you leave the church each week you will have the opportunity to stop at our “mobile hospitality shelf” located on the front steps of the church, place a few basic items in a small bag and take it with you to give to a friend or neighbor who is in need.
Why are we doing this?
There are many, many ways to think about this ministry, which we believe is central to the heart of God for his people. Here are some of them:
God is present in and amongst the poor:
The scriptures which teach us that God is present in and amongst the poor and calls his people to love and honor them as his image bearers (Matt. 25:31-45). Scripture teaches us one of the places we see God most clearly is in “the least of these,” so we both seek and serve him in this ministry.
This will help us to "see" the city as it is:
We hope this practice will help us see our neighbors in need. Rather than bashfully pass by a neighbor in need because we have nothing to give (and in doing so ignoring and dishonoring them), having something to give will allow us/teach us to look a brother or sister in the eye, learn a name, perhaps offer a prayer.
God is an inviting host, and we are his desired guests:
As a church we place a high value on Hospitality. We regularly reenact the hospitality of God our gracious host through small groups, cookouts, dinners in the community etc. This is a (small) way of extending this hospitality beyond the walls of our church to many in our city who are often overlooked.
God is full of mercy:
He calls us to become like him. But we have to learn how to do it.
We are enacting our prayers:
We believe this is one way to respond to three simple prayers we pray in our liturgies at least weekly: “Let not the needy, o Lord be forgotten, nor the hope of the poor be taken away” (Morning/Evening Prayer); "thy Kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven” (The Lord's Prayer); “send us out to do the work you have given us to do, to love and serve you as faithful witnesses of our Lord Jesus Christ" (Post-Communion Prayer). We are doing these prayers in this work.
Habit shapes belief:
We believe that what we do, as well as how we think, shapes our hearts and lives. As we practice this ministry of mercy weekly, we do believe God will meet us and shape us.
An example of how this works:
Three weeks ago heading home from the pool I noticed a woman standing in the intersection asking for money I had never seen before. At the moment I had nothing to give, and (at least I felt like) I was in a hurry so I looked the other way while stopped at the intersection—not too subtly ignoring her in the process. I know I saw her at least three times in the weeks since.
Yesterday, I pulled up at the same intersection, reached into my back seat and grabbed a bag of items from the mobile hospitality shelf. I rolled down the window, quickly learned her name, her husbands name, told her mine and said I hope to see her again. “That woman at the intersection” is now “CeCe.” “That man standing nearby” is now “Dallas.” I woke up this morning with them on my mind to remember to God in prayer and I genuinely hope to see them again.
This is small, and this may be my only interaction I ever have with her, but I do believe she felt seen and honored, I do believe this was a small way for me to love and participate in the love of God, and I do wonder, as our church engages in this practice week after week, how the Lord might use this to shape us and expand our hearts and ministry as a parish.
More soon,
David+