Family event at Crossroads Church - Eagan

This past June, I spent a great evening with the families at Crossroads Church Eagan's
family service camp. I talked through what we do, and showed pictures of homeless folk, and talked about how these are real people that God loves. When I talked about how we even approach people to make sure we aren't putting ourselves above them, but along side them, it resonated with the parents. I was really excited to see that!

The families packed ~370 hygiene kits (a mix of donated and purchased items), and each family took a dozen or two to keep in their cars, to hand out to folks at the highway off-ramps. The rest of the kits are at Eagan, for refilling the cars.

I am really excited about the folks stepping out this way. This approach is ideal for folks that want to serve the homeless, but aren't comfortable to walking up to people in parks... the parents were very excited to have a chance to serve beyond packing the kits.

Following up later in the summer, I've heard that many of the families have been actively handing out the bags and intersections and off-ramps. This wonderful!

Cold weather!

Last month I spent an afternoon outside Dorothy Day Center in St Paul with the people with Communitas. The last of the underwear that CrossRoads Church (Woodbury) donated to Praxis last winter is gone ("Undie Sunday")!  That is a total of ~3000 pairs of underwear (which we individually packaged, labeled and sorted) which have been distributed one-to-one. That also means a thousand conversations, some long, and some brief (can't avoid a pun now and then....), a thousand signs that the homeless are not forgotten.  THANK YOU CrossRoads Church (http://www.crossroadschurch.cc/)

So the people at Communitas (http://www.communitastc.org/) are the ones that organize the annual new boot give away each December. I am impressed by their organization of the event.  They fit each person, and then give them a voucher which they bring back the next week to receive the proper fitting boots. For more info on supporting this, please see their website.  New warm boots are so important to the homeless in a Minnesota winter! 

A friend from CrossRoads asked what items are good for a hygiene kit, and this is what I told her:

There are many options for hygiene kits. 

These are the basics (all these are travel size):
> shampoo
> conditioner
> Hand/skin cream
> powder/foot powder (this is highly prized!)
> toothbrush and toothpaste (toothpaste can be larger than travel size, but not jumbo size)

Then at least some of the follow should be added (or else the kit is rather sparse)
> bar of soap in a ziplock bag
> facecloth in a ziplock bag  (inexpensive in bulk at Walmart, for example)
> razor and shaving cream (travel size)
> chapstick or other lip balm

Separate packs can be made for feminine hygiene;
> 10 packs of whatever product, in ziplock bag.  (this would be a huge bonus to get these!!!)

Blessings all!
Matt

"Cause of homelessness"

I was outside The Listening House in St Paul, with some middle schoolers from Las Vegas in town for a mission trip.

We had spoken to several people there, offered hygiene kits the kids had assembled, and prayed with a few folks.  Then Danny came over. Danny is middle-aged, and dressed moderately well. "What is the cause of homelessness?", he asked us.

Cause? A single cause?  I was thinking about job loss, addiction, running away from abusive homes, mental illness, freedom, and the other reasons people have told us about being on the street.  I couldn't think of only a single cause.

"Broken relationships" he continued.  "I have family in town, and if those relationships weren't broken, I would have somewhere to sleep tonight." He went on about how important is it to work at relationships and keep them healthy, so that when you need people, they are there for you.  Maybe he said that last part, and maybe I imagined it, because I mentally drifted away as I wrestled with whether this could be a root-cause.  When I mentally returned he was telling the kids a bit of his life story.  Yes, there was job loss, but without relationships he had no one to turn to when the money ran out. Was there an unspoken factor involved?  Don't know, and it really didn't matter - Danny had opened my eyes a bit further to the fact that there isn't an "us" (housed) and "them" (unhoused).  There is just "us", and God was clear that we are to look after the hungry, cold and naked, and yes, the lonely. 

We prayed with Danny while he wept, and then we headed back to Mears Park. I could tell that one of the boys and one of the girls had their eyes opened a bit.  I hope that that morning has planted something in them.

A New Year, a new phase...

I am really excited to tell you about the next phase of Praxis! After much discussion and prayer and walking St Paul, we are joining with Lowertown Fellowship to serve the people on the streets of St Paul. Check out the Lowertown Fellowship page linked below: they are a group with a heart for God and for the Lowertown side of downtown St Paul. They have space and presence on in the Mears Park area, so they will be able to reach our friends throughout the week; we will continue to set up on the weekend. All our material goods will be available to both groups, so yes, we definitely need donations of cold weather items and hygiene items! Please send/post a note if you have questions or interest in this next phase... and thanks for your partnership in serving the people of St Paul!


https://www.facebook.com/groups/111992412149712/

Matt
 

Winter 2011/12 update

It was a very busy winter for us...  From October through May we went downtown every Saturday.  In the fall, CrossRoads Church had a coat drive, and over the next month we distributed one hundred coats, to our friends. We helped each one find just the right size and style. Here's a note I pasted on Facebook after one of the days:

"We had a great morning, distributing some of the coats that Crossroads Church collected. It started snowing mid-morning, so there was a bit of a sense of urgency among our friends.
We also ran out of underwear and socks. If you get a chance, think about picking up an extra pair next time you're at Target (Walmart, etc...).
Thanks to a very generous donation of 3 litre thermos pots from a ladies' Bible study group (thanks Sue!) we will be able to serve hot chocolate! This is a real treat, as hot chocolate isn't available in the shelters.
And please remember to pray for the safety of the people that will be sleeping in the shelters, and for the people camping by the river. "

"A good morning talking to people... some families came over to see what we were doing, and we had some good discussions. Aloa, long-johns, Goldbond powder (in small sizes) ladies hygiene packs and men's medium underwear are the particular requests we had today. Thanks so much for the recent donations! "

"We had a very busy morning! We served hot chocolate, and ran out of hot water early on. Hopefully we will have extra air pots next week. We had Christmas treat bags (all gone), socks (all gone), mitts and hats (mostly gone), underwear and hygiene packs. We have now given away _almost all_ the coats donated by CrossRoads Church (thanks Lisa 'Wolterstorff' Adams for facilitating that!) in Woodbury. Those coats are particularly appreciated - people still have lightweight jackets on and the cold is coming.
The neat thing is that people are now waiting for us to show up, and help us get set up. Some come by just to say "hi" as they remember us from previous weeks. We had a number of good conversations as well. One fellow that writes a blog about Saint Paul interviewed us and took some pictures. I'll post a link when he posts something.
We're getting geared up for next weekend (yes, we're going down on Christmas Eve day). The folks dowtown are very thankful for all your donations; if you're so moved, let me know if you have anything to donate before next weekend; I'm taking some time off work, and can come by and pick anything up."

"Here is the update for the year since our last update in January...
We've gone downtown most weekends until mid-April (we skipped the state hockey chamipionship weekend...).
Thanks to Undie Sunday at CrossRoads (1000s of pairs of underwear), the Hygiene weekend at The Alley (1000s of hygiene kits), and great support from Susan Morin's small group, the 20-somethings small group, CrossRoads Women's Ministry (all those fem. hygiene products!), (and others that prefer anonymity), we were able to meet many of the practical needs of the people on the street in St Paul. Some really good conversations as well... Thanks all for your support!
We are taking a break for the next few months, as what we've learned over the last 7 years is that the urgency that we be in the parks decreases..."

I'm having problems posting pics (or this site is having difficulty accepting them....). I'll post pics when it's working again...
 

Homemade sleeping bags...

Elspeth forwarded this to me, about how to make sleeping bags for the homeless

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dPxT_lNx60c

Here is the group's page, with the instructions...

http://www.reese.org/sharon/uglyinst.htm

Is anyone interested in getting together and giving this a try?  Let me know...

Christmas Presence, December 11th.

We are gearing up for the next Christmas Presence event (see previous events in Rice Park listed below). Socks, underwear, mitts and hats are particularly needed.  The event is on Saturday December 11th. Let me know if you are interested in helping out, and meeting some great people!

Getting ready for cold weather

Friends,
We've been blessed with wonderful weather this autumn, but we know what's coming!

(some Praxis folks from 3 winters ago...)

Simple things like new socks (either full-length athletic, or workman/thermal), knit hats and mitts make a huge difference to our friends on the street...
Also, new underwear is always appreciated (mens and womens, all sizes...).

If you remember, can you drop off items at either CrossRoads (Praxis bins across from the children's ministry check-in area), or at The Gallery...

Shalom,
Matt

Changes...

Changes have a funny nature of happening in clusters... 

• One of our leaders over that last couple of years (Kim) is moving away to be with her sons. Thanks so much Kim for your energy and enthusiasm!
• Terry and Matt are looking to move to a ministry that works more towards getting people off of the street. This is grea, and I hope you plug in with one of the great ministries in the Twin Cities.
• For a year we've been part of the CrossRoads Church Live-out-Love Saturdays, and in this time we've had the opportunity to take many people downtown and let them meet our friends. My desire has been that people come to see our friends as people made in the image of God, and to start to feel God's love for them (as well as for all of us). Thank you Lisa and Cyndi for facilitating our involvement in Live-out-Love!
• Bill, one of the originals, is now a leader in BSF, and so his Saturday mornings are spoken for. I've appreciated your companionship through the many cold winter mornings when we've searched the streets and skyways for people needing gloves, hats and prayers!

One the plus side, the young folks (ok, to me mid-20s is young!) at the Gallery Church are getting involved in homeless and urban issues in a way that inspires me!  Tony and friends have worship services and just hang out and talk, play music and pray with people Sunday nights (rotating through each of the parks).
I enjoyed hanging out with Tony and others a few Saturdays ago (chatting with people, singing, even painting!). 

So, the faces of Praxis (except mine...) have changed, but the mission is the same (Dignity and Respect for all the Image-Bearers of God), and the approach is the same (learning by doing...)

Shalom,
Matt

Dignity and Respect for all the image-bearers of God

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

In the park with Gallery Church

We got together with The Gallery Church (St. Paul) in December (just a couple of days after a huge snow storm...fortunately part of the park was cleared...).

As usual, we set up with some tables (with with food, coffee and hot chocolate) and bins of clothes in the park, and then sent out groups (with bags of hygiene kits and mitts and gloves) to the shelters and bus stops. After an hour, people started coming by.  It was a really cold day, but the team from Gallery were really energetic and enthused!

We had a lot of conversations with the people that came by. (One funny time: when we were setting up, a couple came by and asked, in a pointed tone, if we were setting up to "sell our wares to the tourists". When I explained what we were doing, they kept saying, "Oh, that's so nice...".)

We got some donations through an event at The Peach art gallery, and the excess clothes then went to one of the East Side schools that a couple of the Gallery people teach at.  It worked really well, and I look forward to the next time we take part in a Love: St. Paul event with The Gallery.

November in the park

We had a great morning last Saturday with the CrossRoads Church/Live Out Love group! We started with 3 assembly lines for lunches and snacks.

We then headed downtown to Rice Park, set up some tables with coffee and hot chocolate, lunches and snacks, and hygiene kits.

We had several benches with men's items (socks, underwear, shaving kits and coats), and benches with women's items (socks, underwear and feminine hygiene packs).

Groups of three or four headed through the other parks, the bus shelters and Dorothy Day Center, taking water and food, letting people know we were in the park.

We met a lot of people, and many of our group got to sit down and talk our friends. It was a great day, and our friends really appreciated the chance to talk (and get new socks, underwear and hygiene items).

Thanks so much to the CrossRoads Women's Ministry for enough donations to make 500 feminine hygiene packs! Our friends really appreciated that!!! Thanks to the Children's Ministry for the donations of socks and underwear! Thanks to the ladies who have been faithfully making mitts, scarves and hats!

If you would like to contribute to either our monthly events, or our weekly smaller walks through downtown, please use the donation bin at CrossRoads Church (near the Children's Ministry check-in desk), or find me at Gallery Church. Our friends are very appreciative for all the items you donate!

Peace,

Matt

It's time to break out the mitts!

This past weekend, we had a couple of people ask us if we had mitts and gloves with us. It was 50F that morning. Now that the cold front has moved in, and there is a frost warning for tonight, we're now gearing up for the cold weather. If you have hats, scarves and mitts/gloves (for adults and children), let me know, or drop the items in the bins at CrossRoads (or hand them to me at CrossRoads Sunday morning, or The Gallery Sunday evening).

The photo is from last winter; I'm showing it to remind us (me), that now is the time for the cold-weather gear...

Tomorrow night, some of the ladies of CrossRoads are getting together to make some mitts and hats. Thank you ladies! (The men on the street prefer dark, solid colors, while the ladies prefer colorful items.)

Peace,

Matt

Autumn Updates...

Long time, no typing...
We've been going downtown most weekends through the spring and summer. Usually it's been our group of 4-5, but four times we've host a group from Live Out Love from CrossRoads Church. On those days we've set up a station in Rice Park, then sent out groups of 4-5 to the parks and bus stops. It's been great to see the participants' enthusiasm, and better to hear them say their eyes have been opened to the people they'd normally walk by.
Thanks to CrossRoads for promoting the events, and supplying the water and the bananas (and vacuum pots of coffee!).

One thing we've seen is that the number of people on the street and in the parks have been increasing (numbers were down last year before and after the RNC: the Excel Center is next to Rice Park and across the road from Dorothy Day, Listening House and Mary Hall). I'm expecting that we are going to be seeing more people through the winter as well.

If you'd like to help out, come to one of the Live Out Love events, or send me a note... We have a group of ladies that knit mitts, hats and scarves for the winter (thank you so much!). Our friends also need new socks (athletic socks are best...), and underwear (mens and ladies, S,M,L,XL), as well as hygiene items. Drop me a note if you'd like to help, or you can drop items for the homeless in the donation bins at CrossRoads and The Gallery churches (CrossRoads in Woodbury: bins are near the entrance to CrossWalk, The Gallery @ Stepping Stone Theater: bins are in the lobby).

And, please pray! If you think it is cold and miserable out (and you know it's coming!), please stop and pray for the people finding shelter.

Thanks and blessings,
Matt

A cold day in February...

On Valentine's Day this year we put on a little event in Rice Park. We set up a table with a cooler of orange drink (thanks, McDonalds in Cottage Grove), bagged lunches and hygiene packs. We put out bins of mens and womens clothes, hats, socks, scarves and mitts, and spread coats (thanks Stone Soup) and blankets across the benches. A couple of us manned the food table, and the other four helped people find the clothes they needed. A special "thanks!" to the ladies at CrossRoads who have been knitting scarves and sewing the mitts! People really appreciated that these were hand made.

We had a great day! The sun shine helped counter the cold wind (yes, it was cold!). We got to talk to a lot of people, and share some laughs and some hugs.

We will be looking at repeating this maybe every six or eight weeks; in the meantime we will be doing our regular walks through downtown.