We were was sitting with some ladies in the green space across the road from Dorothy Day. We'd been talking for a while, and had offered them some water, snacks and hygiene kits. I asked what other sorts of things they'd appreciate receiving. One answer surprised me, and I've passed it on several times since. The lady said, "Dignity, underwear, respect, socks, moisturizer, and, did I mention dignity?" She went on to list the local churches that treated people well, and then other churches that made her feel degraded even while they served her.
I tell this to every group that we take downtown with us: "Dignity and respect." It doesn't matter what a person's housing and employment status is; everyone needs love, and to know that they are not forgotten, by God or by us.
We don't just hand out items (although that's part of it); we try to connect with people, we ask their names and we offer to pray with them, and we catch-up with them in subsequent weeks. We offer them a safe place to unburden themselves, and perhaps talk through some things.
Some people accept this readily, others reject us. When we first met one gentlemen he tried to punch us. Over the next year and a half, we kept gently serving his friends, and eventually we got to know him and pray with him. A few months later we learned that he had died. When I think that I'm too tired to go downtown, or it's too cold out, I think of him, and how time is short, and we head out again.
Thank you for your donations to Praxis (at CrossRoads, Gallery, and my workplace), and thank you for your prayers. If you would like to join us sometime, please let me know.
Shalom,
Matt
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