where that story goes and how it will end. We can, but will we?
Description of Ministry
In Luke 16, there is a story about a rich man. On his doorstep there was a beggar named Lazarus. The rich man and Lazarus both died -- the rich man was consigned to hell and Lazarus to heaven. There is no indication the rich man ever did anything wrong to Lazarus. He was simply indifferent to the plight of someone the Lord had literally laid on his doorstep. “And his soul went to the place of the dead. There, in torment, he saw Lazarus in the far distance with Abraham. The rich man shouted, `Father Abraham, have some pity! Send Lazarus over here to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in anguish in these flames.' But Abraham said to him, `Son, remember that during your lifetime you had everything you wanted, and Lazarus had nothing. So now he is here being comforted, and you are in anguish. And besides, there is a great chasm separating us. Anyone who wanted to cross over to you from here is stopped at its edge, and no one there can cross over to us' ” (Luke 16:23-26)
When we look at our own lives, it isn’t important whether we help. The important thing is that we recognize whom God has put on our doorstep, and minister to them
"For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me." Mathew 25:35-36
Our Mission Statement
To provide a ministry of presence to a group of sixty eight (68) homeless persons living in the Washington DC, Maryland and Virginia area.
Goals
The Homeless project worked to restore the self-esteem and self-worth of adult homeless persons by addressing their spiritual, physical and emotional needs. This ministry reached out to people that had no hope, to meet both their physical and spiritual needs as they navigated the streets of Washington DC, Maryland and Virginia.
The Homeless project worked to restore the self-esteem and self-worth of adult homeless persons by addressing their spiritual, emotional and physical needs. This ministry reached out to people that had no hope, to meet both their physical and spiritual needs as they navigated the streets.
Homeless men, women and children are unreached in many ways and on many different levels. When I talk about the need, I am not speaking one dementional but holistically. My Goal was to address, to develop, to advocate and to provide:
- to address the spiritual, physical and emotional needs of homeless men , women and children
- to develop resources to meet the basic needs of homeless individuals.
- to advocate for the homeless and to remind the church that the homeless reside in the streets of our community.
- to advocate for the many persons who are vulnerable to the conditions of the streets.
- to provide consistency and presence for those in serious, compromising situations.
- to provide the homeless a small platform of providing for their spiritual needs,, which includes baptizing, worship services, bible studies, sacraments (marriage, and communion), hospital visitations, pastoral care and counseling and personal support.
I want to take the opportunity to sharing with you the mission aside from meeting the basic needs of many in the community. I have three basic focuses to this ministry: To Go; Presence; and To Give.
Jesus allowed me to give hope through sharing the good news. In so doing I help to re-integrate some homeless back into society. I deliberately focus on a few in order to do an in-depth work, addressing the very issues that caused people to move to the streets.
The homeless project brought practical theology to the street through the ministry of To Go and Presence. This project was a human service that touched the lives of men and women. I wanted to reach out to the hurting and lost. It was important for me to make a serious effort to meet the physical needs of those in need.
The sacrifice to be amidst the homeless in their communities, their space namely the streets establishes a willing “to go” and offer Christ's call to be light in very dark places. I wanted to stress the importance and significance of the deeper calling of this ministry.
There is a misconception about this idea 'to go'-- the misconception is this-- we think that 'to go' means we have to leave our present communities in order to fully live out that call presented to us by the ministry of Jesus.
We often equate this idea of going & serving with overseas missions. When we look at it from only this perspective we miss seeing the need that is right in our backyards. 'To go' is to leave comfort to serve in any area whether local, national or global.
This was a tangible way that I could provide hope, the willingness to go and to be among men and women where they live, sleep, eat and play, the streets. It was a humbling movement both for me and the recipients. I learned much from being committed to this idea of living in the streets with a group of people, as we both experience the circular nature of God's love through giving and receiving.
To be a presence was probably the most important part of this ministry. It required me to sit in the valley of pain and struggle with people as opposed to feeling the freedom to just run through in our arrogance-- only offering pity and charity rather then grace that requires us to acknowledge and see people right where they are.
It is in that truth, where new self-value and trust can be cultivated and elevated. I had to remember that truth can only be shared in the authentic space of relationship which meant I had to be committed to presence. It is the strongest, boldest form of homeless advocacy I could engage in, because it exposes my need to sacrifice my own personal comfort. True love and grace requires sacrifice, as I have experienced through the Gospel.
The Practice of Presence—
To practice presence means to provide food to the hungry, water to the thirsty, shelter to the needy, healing to the sick, and comfort to the lonely. (Matthew 25) It is a comprehensive approach to ministry that meets people at the point of their greatest need with caring, comfort, and concern.
The practice of presence assures the needy that they are not alone as they walk through what could otherwise be a lonesome valley. It is one thing to care about the needs of others; it is quite another thing to actually meet the needs of others.
The privilege of presence naturally leads to the practice of presence. This occurs precisely at this intersection of greatest need when emotional, spiritual, or physical needs must be addressed not with word only but also with deed. While it is a privilege to be with people and listen to their story, empathy without action is not ministry. A ministry of presence does more than listen.
We are reminded—
If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth. (1 John 3:17-18)
The Power of PresenceThe desolation and despondency often felt by victims of tragedy is not easily broken. There is more to the ministry of presence than just being present with the broken hearted.
A ministry of presence replaces moments of misery with moments of mercy. Moments of mercy are delivered by those privileged to stand in the stead of Christ at the crossroads of tragedy and triumph. The privilege of presence includes service in tangible ways.
"The purpose of a ‘ministry of presence’ is to provide a ‘non-anxious presence,’ to potentially be an ‘active listener’ while holding an outreached hand. To engage a the impacted person to tell their story."
Being there, holding hands, and lifting up spirits are important, to be sure, but a ‘ministry of presence’ must bring more than a mere pat on the back or a well-meaning prayer.
A ministry of presence embraces the presence of Christ by meeting the emotional, spiritual, and physical needs of the helpless and hurting.
The power of presence finds its source in Christ’s enduring presence in our own lives. It is an awesome responsibility to stand in the stead of Christ offering christian care.
Christ’s presence after his resurrection demonstrates the power that his presence has to console and comfort the needy. Christ’s powerful presence is the preeminent paradigm for my ministry of mercy which can dispel the darkness of fear and uncertainty about the future.
Jesus’ disciples were lost in the tragedy of his death when he came to them with calming words, comforting them with his presence. According to John, when they saw him they were glad.
On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors being locked where the disciples were for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, "Peace be with you." When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. (John 20:19-20)
It was the power of Christ’s presence that moved his disciples from the tragedy of death to the triumph of life. That same power is realized today in the ministry of the church through those who stand in his stead to transcend the critical events that affect the lives of people.
Folks continue to share the loss of community, family and friendships-- to be on an island in isolation. It is not what we were created for-- this island leads to the break down of dignity and self-value. To be present means we have to 'stop and be'.
The call to serve and to extend care is linked to going-- to leaving the comfort. We must be people committed to the local, national and global community of our world.
I forget or do not acknowledge that to be homeless in our society means to be faceless, nameless and story-less-- it is to be expendable.
The homeless live with a mountain of emotions that are founded in a lack of self-worth and self-value. This lack of self-worth or self-value is only perpetuated in a culture that puts little to no value on the homeless person's existence.
Once I was able to stop, listen and see where the need was and to realize that enough was not being done to minister to those in need by us staying behind church doors I moved and shifted my thoughts to what became the pivotal part of this ministry. The men and women that I serve are a population of the homeless who are not in the system-- meaning they are not working with other non-profits, social workers or case managers for various reasons.
follows this example in the most basic sense of recognizing and acknowledging that it is not enough for us to stay in the comfort of our homes and churches waiting for the needs of our community to reach us, but we respond to the need by going to where the need resides.
I realized that I must be committed and show that commitment. Jesus exemplified the necessity to go and be amongst the need, all throughout His ministry. Jesus consistently modeled this idea of leaving to go and be with the people he served. I intentionally move out of my comfort and ease of assumptions and presuppositions into a place where I could here the voices of each man and woman to reflect back the very nature of God's heart and the truth that we are created in His image.
We cannot claim we know any one reason for why someone becomes homeless. The homeless story is a diverse one-- it is a complicated one-- it is multi-faceted and complex.
