A few weeks ago, Galloway United Methodist Church held what they called “Homelessness 101” and invited Pat Morgan, the executive director of Partners for the Homeless, to come and speak about homelessness. Morgan gave her usual talk that promotes all of the wonderful services available for homeless people in Memphis that are part of a continuum of care. Her view is that there are plenty of opportunities for any homeless person to get off the streets.
As I sat listening to her, a fire burned in me, a fire of anger. So, when the time came for questions I began by asking her why she has publicly opposed having a free shelter for homeless persons in Memphis. Her initial response was to lie, saying she did not oppose a free shelter. I said that she was lying, since I know that she has told the Center City Commission that a free shelter is not needed and would only encourage people to remain homeless. She then admitted she has opposed a free shelter and that she doesn’t want anything to be done for homeless persons that would make being homeless easier or comfortable. I also challenged her on her position regarding panhandling. Catherine also asked some hard questions. The facilitator of the meeting, not liking this flow of questions, moved to end the meeting and Morgan fled the scene.
I talked with several people afterwards, including the pastor of the church, urging him to have the church reflect on God’s call to hospitality. I even sent him a two page bibliography about hospitality and offered to come and speak on the topic. I never heard anymore from him. A few days later I heard from one of my colleagues at MTS who attends Galloway that I had disrupted the meeting. People were upset that Morgan had not been treated with more respect. I tried to explain to my colleague that I had been polite but insistent.
This is not the first time I have been chastised for being disruptive. After Robert Coe was executed a few of us held a demonstration downtown that moved from the federal building to 201 Poplar. We carried a symbolic black casket, and our hands were painted red. We marched silently and then stopped in front of 201 Poplar. I was among those who spoke. I felt God’s spirit in me in a way I have never felt before and I loudly denounced the execution as contrary to God’s will, and that those Christians who support executions are heretical, falsely claiming to follow Jesus yet joining in executing him. I was angry, and my words expressed an angry rejection of this and all executions. Afterwards I was criticized for not being polite.
So, Jeremiah’s words about a fire burning him with God’s word that must be spoken is something I feel when I see injustice, when I see people being harmed, exploited, beaten down, and then I hear that they deserve what they are getting.
But I also feel with Jeremiah the tension, the dissonance, between God’s call into the joyful work of serving persons on the streets and in prison, and the hardness of the rejection that comes with that work when I along with others tell the truth to those in power that their actions are hateful, unjust, and murderous. When I point out the violence and destruction of the Center City Commission, of Pat Morgan, of the State of Tennessee when it executes, there is public mocking, ridicule, and rejection.
I did a little research and found that the Hebrew word translated here as “deceived” is pittitani, which literally means “to entice, to deceive, to persuade.” Further, when the Hebrew verb is used with the idea of enticement, the word appears in the context of a seduction or rape (Exodus 22:15). Seduced or raped by God, in either case Jeremiah describes a sense of God doing violence to him. And Jeremiah felt this way because his call had begun with an assurance from God that he would be protected; that God would be with him as he lived out his call. But what has happened to Jeremiah? He spoke out and he was punished, beaten and put in the stocks for public ridicule (Jeremiah 20:1-2).
So, I’m going to continue to live with this hard reality: God’s call into hospitality for homeless and imprisoned persons, and all of the joys and sorrows that come from responding to that call will inevitably also compel me to speak out against the injustices and hatred directed toward those I serve. And when I speak out and denounce the injustices and hatred I can count on being misunderstood, mocked, rejected. But what else can I do?
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Reflection on Hebrews 13:12-16
The suffering of Jesus outside the gate implies a new place of salvation wherein the center of religious activity was moved to the periphery. Salvation lies outside the gates of ideological, political, and socio-economic walls that surround our religious compounds and shape the structure of Christendom. The death of Jesus outside the gate implies also a fuller understanding of mission. Since Jesus died outside the gate, mission has become the crossing of the walls and gates of secured and comfortable compounds, the continuous movement toward him to bear the abuse he endured for the world. Mission is crossing frontiers, geographic, political, social, economical, which lie beyond the center of power. –Orlando Costas, Christ Outside the Gates
A friend of mine spent Holy Week in Rome, attending services at St. Peter’s and visiting other famous churches in that “holy city.” I know the thrill of walking into such magnificent structures and breathing in the rich history they represent; a history that revolves around their central role in religious activity. One such church is called “St. Paul’s Outside the Walls.” It is so named because St. Paul is buried there, not far from where he was executed, and both the place of execution and the church are outside of the walls of Rome as it existed in Paul’s day. So Paul, too, ended up like Jesus, tortured and executed outside the gate, outside the walls of the city, thrown out with the trash.
And this is what I am called to focus on first in relation to the reading from Hebrews 13:12-16 and the quotation from Costas: it is not St. Peter’s in Rome or St. Paul’s Outside the Walls that is the center of religious activity. Instead, if we are disciples of Jesus then the center of religious activity is Manna House and the intersection of Jefferson and Claybrook; the center of religious activity is not the Vatican or Jerusalem, but wherever people are being marginalized, oppressed, exploited, pushed aside, kept down, and we as disciples of Jesus are responding with hospitality and resistance, compassion and struggle for justice. Our salvation, our being made whole through the love of God, comes not through famous churches, but through our loving relations with people who are infamous, our standing with and for people who are rejected, neglected, despised.
Second, I want to focus not only on Jesus being executed outside the gates, outside the city walls (and Paul too), but on how Jesus’ life and death and resurrection opens to us a way to break down those walls. I was led in my reflection to Ephesians 2:14-19, another place in Scripture where Jesus is spoke of in relation to a wall. Paul writes that Jesus takes down “the dividing wall of hostility,” that is the dividing wall between Jews and Gentiles, through the cross, that is, through Jesus’ life of self-giving love and resistance to the powers that led to his execution and that was overturned by the resurrection.
Here is the path we are called to with “fear and trembling”—we too, like Jesus and with Paul are called outside the walls to the cross in order to take down the walls. The walls cannot be taken down by remaining safely inside of them, where our privilege is protected, where our way of life is secured, where the usual order of business is maintained. The walls can only be taken down by having our lives defined by God’s loving, life-giving, liberating power and that means by having our lives defined by loving relationships with others, especially those outside the walls, instead of by walls and by those who make and maintain walls.
Once identification, solidarity, with persons already outside the walls is made, we start to share in the denigration and rejection they so brutally experience. Our hearts are broken not only by the barbs of little insults from family and friends or others who do not understand why we even want to be with “those people,” but also from knowing deeply how the lives of those with whom we seek to serve and be in solidarity are broken by violence, addiction, mental illness, loss of family, police harassment, and more.
But this is Jesus’ way that takes him and us outside the walls and takes down the walls: he left the pearly gated community of heaven, and entered fully into identification with those outside the gates. He did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a slave, being made in human likeness. And in this state, he humbled himself and became obedient to death—even death on a cross! (Philippians 2:6-11). How to overcome walls built by hatred and exclusion? Those walls are overcome only by lives that intentionally go outside the walls to be with, to serve and to struggle with those outside the walls.
I think, finally, of Paul’s words in Romans 12:21, “Do not be overcome by evil but overcome evil with good.” If we are to overcome walls we must love as God loves, we must overcome evil as God overcomes evil, not by violence, not by more control and domination, but through love. We must go to those abandoned places of empire, like Jefferson and Claybrook, and faithfully remain in loving relationship with everyone who shows up: homeless, poor, prostitutes, persons who are mentally ill, addicts and dealers, other people coming to volunteer, and even the police. And in doing this faithfully offer welcome through hospitality and faithfully offer resistance to anything that denigrates and despises human dignity. In those two practices the cross will come, and in those two practices are the seeds of resurrection.
A friend of mine spent Holy Week in Rome, attending services at St. Peter’s and visiting other famous churches in that “holy city.” I know the thrill of walking into such magnificent structures and breathing in the rich history they represent; a history that revolves around their central role in religious activity. One such church is called “St. Paul’s Outside the Walls.” It is so named because St. Paul is buried there, not far from where he was executed, and both the place of execution and the church are outside of the walls of Rome as it existed in Paul’s day. So Paul, too, ended up like Jesus, tortured and executed outside the gate, outside the walls of the city, thrown out with the trash.
And this is what I am called to focus on first in relation to the reading from Hebrews 13:12-16 and the quotation from Costas: it is not St. Peter’s in Rome or St. Paul’s Outside the Walls that is the center of religious activity. Instead, if we are disciples of Jesus then the center of religious activity is Manna House and the intersection of Jefferson and Claybrook; the center of religious activity is not the Vatican or Jerusalem, but wherever people are being marginalized, oppressed, exploited, pushed aside, kept down, and we as disciples of Jesus are responding with hospitality and resistance, compassion and struggle for justice. Our salvation, our being made whole through the love of God, comes not through famous churches, but through our loving relations with people who are infamous, our standing with and for people who are rejected, neglected, despised.
Second, I want to focus not only on Jesus being executed outside the gates, outside the city walls (and Paul too), but on how Jesus’ life and death and resurrection opens to us a way to break down those walls. I was led in my reflection to Ephesians 2:14-19, another place in Scripture where Jesus is spoke of in relation to a wall. Paul writes that Jesus takes down “the dividing wall of hostility,” that is the dividing wall between Jews and Gentiles, through the cross, that is, through Jesus’ life of self-giving love and resistance to the powers that led to his execution and that was overturned by the resurrection.
Here is the path we are called to with “fear and trembling”—we too, like Jesus and with Paul are called outside the walls to the cross in order to take down the walls. The walls cannot be taken down by remaining safely inside of them, where our privilege is protected, where our way of life is secured, where the usual order of business is maintained. The walls can only be taken down by having our lives defined by God’s loving, life-giving, liberating power and that means by having our lives defined by loving relationships with others, especially those outside the walls, instead of by walls and by those who make and maintain walls.
Once identification, solidarity, with persons already outside the walls is made, we start to share in the denigration and rejection they so brutally experience. Our hearts are broken not only by the barbs of little insults from family and friends or others who do not understand why we even want to be with “those people,” but also from knowing deeply how the lives of those with whom we seek to serve and be in solidarity are broken by violence, addiction, mental illness, loss of family, police harassment, and more.
But this is Jesus’ way that takes him and us outside the walls and takes down the walls: he left the pearly gated community of heaven, and entered fully into identification with those outside the gates. He did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a slave, being made in human likeness. And in this state, he humbled himself and became obedient to death—even death on a cross! (Philippians 2:6-11). How to overcome walls built by hatred and exclusion? Those walls are overcome only by lives that intentionally go outside the walls to be with, to serve and to struggle with those outside the walls.
I think, finally, of Paul’s words in Romans 12:21, “Do not be overcome by evil but overcome evil with good.” If we are to overcome walls we must love as God loves, we must overcome evil as God overcomes evil, not by violence, not by more control and domination, but through love. We must go to those abandoned places of empire, like Jefferson and Claybrook, and faithfully remain in loving relationship with everyone who shows up: homeless, poor, prostitutes, persons who are mentally ill, addicts and dealers, other people coming to volunteer, and even the police. And in doing this faithfully offer welcome through hospitality and faithfully offer resistance to anything that denigrates and despises human dignity. In those two practices the cross will come, and in those two practices are the seeds of resurrection.
Reflection on Ephesians 6:10-18
The last two weeks have been especially challenging at Manna House. The tension and fights that led to us closing for part of a morning, the conflict with a drug dealer which led us to close for an entire morning, other small time drug dealers hanging around using the phone until we took the phone away, and on a few mornings such large numbers of guests that our practice of hospitality in which we seek to greet and respect each guest as Christ was severely challenged.
All of these challenges grow out of a system of neglect and oppression directed at the poor and especially at homeless persons. There are many ways that that system is manifested, the ongoing police harassment of homeless persons, the vicious anti-panhandling campaign manufactured by the Center City Commission and endorsed by the Partners for the Homeless (better named “Partners Against the Homeless”), the lack of jobs, the lack of treatment for addictions and for mental illness, the lack of medical care, the lack of housing, the lack even of shelter.
And that system infects the poor by continuing to pump the myth that if you work hard, or if you scheme hard, or both, you can get rich, you can get your problems solved, you can be a success. And so some of the poor turn to the dream of riches through dealing drugs, while others turn to the dream of getting rich quick through the lottery, or writing a letter to an old high school friend and asking for $10,000, or hitting up volunteers for money, or selling CD’s. It is all part of the “hustle” that mimics the larger hustle of consumer capitalism.
I am also infected by that system and its myth. I have my vision of the good life and on the day I was threatened by Mike one of my responses was “I don’t need this. I just wanted to help the poor and here I am having my life threatened and being insulted, and I feel like just walking away. Why do I bust my ass to be here and put up with all the crap that comes at me each day?”
The devil does have wiles. My struggle, and I think the struggle for us at Manna House, is a struggle against “the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places” (Ephesians 6:12). After the fights that led to our closing for part of a morning one guest said it was like an evil spirit was going from one group to another and it latched on to whoever could not resist it. I believe that guest was right.
So how do I resist those powers and principalities? Ephesians names the armor needed (using imagery that subverted the Roman Empire’s armor): truth, justice, peacemaking, faith, salvation, the Holy Spirit, prayer. “Tell the truth and shame the devil” a line I learned at the Open Door and since the devil is the great confuser it makes sense; tell the truth, be truthful, speak truth to power.
Justice, live with God’s vision for the world, live for that vision, treat others with the love that God has shown to me, to us.
Peacemaking, refuse to use the police insofar as that is possible. “Do not be overcome by evil but overcome evil with good” (Romans 12:21). Through God’s loving power, keep on loving the drug dealers; keep praying for those who persecute our guests and us.
Faith, keep that other world in view, keep my eyes on the prize, hold on. Live as if the kingdom of God is THE reality and all this other stuff will fade away. Believe in the resurrection, the triumph of love over hatred, life over death. Believe that everyone is of God and therefore everyone does in some way reflect God’s presence, everyone is redeemable, even me.
Live the salvation offered by God through Jesus Christ. Be healed. Be made whole and live into that wholeness rather than holding on to my wounds, and my hurts.
Be grounded in the Spirit. Pray, pray, pray so that I practice being in the presence of God and that I let God do God’s work and that I cooperate with God’s work.
None of this suggests anything less than a battle, an intense struggle, a serious engagement with evil which demands a serious engagement with God. I think our mission group is a crucial component in this battle; we need each other, we need each other’s prayers, each other’s presence at Manna House, each other’s insights and wisdom and laughter and tears and hopes. Only together and with God will we make it through and continue to offer others what we have experienced, the very love of God.
All of these challenges grow out of a system of neglect and oppression directed at the poor and especially at homeless persons. There are many ways that that system is manifested, the ongoing police harassment of homeless persons, the vicious anti-panhandling campaign manufactured by the Center City Commission and endorsed by the Partners for the Homeless (better named “Partners Against the Homeless”), the lack of jobs, the lack of treatment for addictions and for mental illness, the lack of medical care, the lack of housing, the lack even of shelter.
And that system infects the poor by continuing to pump the myth that if you work hard, or if you scheme hard, or both, you can get rich, you can get your problems solved, you can be a success. And so some of the poor turn to the dream of riches through dealing drugs, while others turn to the dream of getting rich quick through the lottery, or writing a letter to an old high school friend and asking for $10,000, or hitting up volunteers for money, or selling CD’s. It is all part of the “hustle” that mimics the larger hustle of consumer capitalism.
I am also infected by that system and its myth. I have my vision of the good life and on the day I was threatened by Mike one of my responses was “I don’t need this. I just wanted to help the poor and here I am having my life threatened and being insulted, and I feel like just walking away. Why do I bust my ass to be here and put up with all the crap that comes at me each day?”
The devil does have wiles. My struggle, and I think the struggle for us at Manna House, is a struggle against “the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places” (Ephesians 6:12). After the fights that led to our closing for part of a morning one guest said it was like an evil spirit was going from one group to another and it latched on to whoever could not resist it. I believe that guest was right.
So how do I resist those powers and principalities? Ephesians names the armor needed (using imagery that subverted the Roman Empire’s armor): truth, justice, peacemaking, faith, salvation, the Holy Spirit, prayer. “Tell the truth and shame the devil” a line I learned at the Open Door and since the devil is the great confuser it makes sense; tell the truth, be truthful, speak truth to power.
Justice, live with God’s vision for the world, live for that vision, treat others with the love that God has shown to me, to us.
Peacemaking, refuse to use the police insofar as that is possible. “Do not be overcome by evil but overcome evil with good” (Romans 12:21). Through God’s loving power, keep on loving the drug dealers; keep praying for those who persecute our guests and us.
Faith, keep that other world in view, keep my eyes on the prize, hold on. Live as if the kingdom of God is THE reality and all this other stuff will fade away. Believe in the resurrection, the triumph of love over hatred, life over death. Believe that everyone is of God and therefore everyone does in some way reflect God’s presence, everyone is redeemable, even me.
Live the salvation offered by God through Jesus Christ. Be healed. Be made whole and live into that wholeness rather than holding on to my wounds, and my hurts.
Be grounded in the Spirit. Pray, pray, pray so that I practice being in the presence of God and that I let God do God’s work and that I cooperate with God’s work.
None of this suggests anything less than a battle, an intense struggle, a serious engagement with evil which demands a serious engagement with God. I think our mission group is a crucial component in this battle; we need each other, we need each other’s prayers, each other’s presence at Manna House, each other’s insights and wisdom and laughter and tears and hopes. Only together and with God will we make it through and continue to offer others what we have experienced, the very love of God.
Sunday, January 25, 2009
Reflection on Romans 15:1-7 for Mission Group, 1-23-09, Peter Gathje
Romans 15:1-7,
1 We who are strong ought to put up with the failings of the weak, and not to please ourselves. 2 Each of us must please our neighbor for the good purpose of building up the neighbor. 3 For Christ did not please himself; but, as it is written, "The insults of those who insult you have fallen on me." 4 For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, so that by steadfastness and by the encouragement of the scriptures we might have hope. 5 May the God of steadfastness and encouragement grant you to live in harmony with one another, in accordance with Christ Jesus, 6 so that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
7 Welcome one another, therefore, just as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God.
Paul was writing to a faith community torn apart by division between Jewish and Gentile followers of the “way.” Each side saw itself as somehow superior to the other and Paul’s letter makes two basic points. First, “none are righteous no not one.” Second, all are saved, made whole, by the transforming faith in and of Jesus Christ. By the time the letter is entering this 15th chapter, Paul is wrapping things up and encouraging both groups to live in unity.
I find this background is of some help in thinking about this particular passage in relation to my practice of hospitality at Manna House. The divisions of race, class, gender, sexual orientation, addiction, and mental illness, are all as powerful as the division between Jew and Gentile in the ancient world.
Following Jesus means working to transcend those divisions, not through a new super-identity, but rather a mutual recognition of being broken and sinful and in need of love. This is an identity made by receiving love freely from God, along with realizing our shared humanity and shared salvation.
So, the results of this new identity are immediate and powerful. Whatever strengths I have are not for oppressing or harming others, or for protecting myself, they are rather to be put at the service of the weak. They are for the upbuilding of the neighbor. And this is to live in the spirit of Christ. Such a service of love is not easy to do, but God is with us in this work, encouraging us, strengthening us, giving us hope.
This brings me to the line in Romans that I love and that is foundational for hospitality as I see it at Manna House, “Welcome one another, therefore, just as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God” (Romans 15:7).
The greatest act of hospitality is God’s embrace of me in my brokenness and sin, and this embrace is through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
I know the evil within myself and I'm as mystified by it as I am by the evil I encounter in others; as Paul said in Romans, “The good I want to do I don’t do and the evil I don’t want to do, I do.” There is some power in our lives as humans that propels us into evil, I think that's the symbol of the snake in the garden, and still there is some element of choice. But whatever that mystery of evil, there is a greater mystery, and that is God’s love that endures forever, that redeems us, makes us whole, transforms us. God transforms us not by force or fear, but by love.
So, I seek at Manna House to embody that love. I don’t seek to “fix” people. I seek to welcome them as God in Christ welcomes me. What encourages me is not that people get better by getting sober or getting a job or even housing (though I celebrate when such things happen), but that people become more loving. I know that transformation in love is more enduring and more deeply enlivening than anything else in our lives.
So, I can celebrate the transformation I’ve seen in several of our more difficult guests since last summer. I can celebrate one of our guests asking for forgiveness and his asking me to help him come up with a list of what he can get from the clothing room because as he said, he gets flustered and angry when he can’t remember what he’s supposed to get. I can celebrate another guest asking yet again for forgiveness for flying off the handle and accusing someone of stealing something he left behind in the shower room.
And I can celebrate that I’m better with some of our mentally ill guests than I used to be thanks to their patience and Kathleen’s example one day with a guest I had had great difficulty in communicating. In other words, I’m getting healed and transformed by love too, not quickly but slowly.
I know I’ll keep failing, keep sinning, and I’ll keep struggling not to, but I also know that God is not done with me and neither are the guests and the other volunteers here at Manna House. Somehow together in this place God lovingly welcomes each of us, and in that loving welcome we can lovingly welcome each other. And slowly that love ends the divisions, and brings us together in a God-given harmony, a beloved community, a taste of the kingdom of God.
Romans 15:1-7,
1 We who are strong ought to put up with the failings of the weak, and not to please ourselves. 2 Each of us must please our neighbor for the good purpose of building up the neighbor. 3 For Christ did not please himself; but, as it is written, "The insults of those who insult you have fallen on me." 4 For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, so that by steadfastness and by the encouragement of the scriptures we might have hope. 5 May the God of steadfastness and encouragement grant you to live in harmony with one another, in accordance with Christ Jesus, 6 so that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
7 Welcome one another, therefore, just as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God.
Paul was writing to a faith community torn apart by division between Jewish and Gentile followers of the “way.” Each side saw itself as somehow superior to the other and Paul’s letter makes two basic points. First, “none are righteous no not one.” Second, all are saved, made whole, by the transforming faith in and of Jesus Christ. By the time the letter is entering this 15th chapter, Paul is wrapping things up and encouraging both groups to live in unity.
I find this background is of some help in thinking about this particular passage in relation to my practice of hospitality at Manna House. The divisions of race, class, gender, sexual orientation, addiction, and mental illness, are all as powerful as the division between Jew and Gentile in the ancient world.
Following Jesus means working to transcend those divisions, not through a new super-identity, but rather a mutual recognition of being broken and sinful and in need of love. This is an identity made by receiving love freely from God, along with realizing our shared humanity and shared salvation.
So, the results of this new identity are immediate and powerful. Whatever strengths I have are not for oppressing or harming others, or for protecting myself, they are rather to be put at the service of the weak. They are for the upbuilding of the neighbor. And this is to live in the spirit of Christ. Such a service of love is not easy to do, but God is with us in this work, encouraging us, strengthening us, giving us hope.
This brings me to the line in Romans that I love and that is foundational for hospitality as I see it at Manna House, “Welcome one another, therefore, just as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God” (Romans 15:7).
The greatest act of hospitality is God’s embrace of me in my brokenness and sin, and this embrace is through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
I know the evil within myself and I'm as mystified by it as I am by the evil I encounter in others; as Paul said in Romans, “The good I want to do I don’t do and the evil I don’t want to do, I do.” There is some power in our lives as humans that propels us into evil, I think that's the symbol of the snake in the garden, and still there is some element of choice. But whatever that mystery of evil, there is a greater mystery, and that is God’s love that endures forever, that redeems us, makes us whole, transforms us. God transforms us not by force or fear, but by love.
So, I seek at Manna House to embody that love. I don’t seek to “fix” people. I seek to welcome them as God in Christ welcomes me. What encourages me is not that people get better by getting sober or getting a job or even housing (though I celebrate when such things happen), but that people become more loving. I know that transformation in love is more enduring and more deeply enlivening than anything else in our lives.
So, I can celebrate the transformation I’ve seen in several of our more difficult guests since last summer. I can celebrate one of our guests asking for forgiveness and his asking me to help him come up with a list of what he can get from the clothing room because as he said, he gets flustered and angry when he can’t remember what he’s supposed to get. I can celebrate another guest asking yet again for forgiveness for flying off the handle and accusing someone of stealing something he left behind in the shower room.
And I can celebrate that I’m better with some of our mentally ill guests than I used to be thanks to their patience and Kathleen’s example one day with a guest I had had great difficulty in communicating. In other words, I’m getting healed and transformed by love too, not quickly but slowly.
I know I’ll keep failing, keep sinning, and I’ll keep struggling not to, but I also know that God is not done with me and neither are the guests and the other volunteers here at Manna House. Somehow together in this place God lovingly welcomes each of us, and in that loving welcome we can lovingly welcome each other. And slowly that love ends the divisions, and brings us together in a God-given harmony, a beloved community, a taste of the kingdom of God.
“They Come”
by Jason Franklin, dedicated to Manna House
Worn and weary from the night they come;
Worn from the day that was spent looking and searching. They come.
Weary from the dread and fear of what a new day will bring. They come.
They come from the north, the south, the east, and the west.
They come searching for something, anything to bring a moment
of relief to their tired minds and bodies. They come.
Looking for water to bring freshness to both body and soul. They come.
Looking for a drink of warmth for both mind and spirit. They come.
They come looking for a haven within a world that has cast them aside.
They come looking for a place where their worth is acknowledged and they
are treated with dignity. They come.
They come searching for drops of manna that have fallen from heaven to
fill their emptiness. They come.
They come and they find that which their body, mind, and spirit cry out for. They come.
One more day gone and another night falls. They come.
Jason Franklin did his Clinical Pastoral Education at Manna House this past spring and this poem was part of his final class presentation.
by Jason Franklin, dedicated to Manna House
Worn and weary from the night they come;
Worn from the day that was spent looking and searching. They come.
Weary from the dread and fear of what a new day will bring. They come.
They come from the north, the south, the east, and the west.
They come searching for something, anything to bring a moment
of relief to their tired minds and bodies. They come.
Looking for water to bring freshness to both body and soul. They come.
Looking for a drink of warmth for both mind and spirit. They come.
They come looking for a haven within a world that has cast them aside.
They come looking for a place where their worth is acknowledged and they
are treated with dignity. They come.
They come searching for drops of manna that have fallen from heaven to
fill their emptiness. They come.
They come and they find that which their body, mind, and spirit cry out for. They come.
One more day gone and another night falls. They come.
Jason Franklin did his Clinical Pastoral Education at Manna House this past spring and this poem was part of his final class presentation.
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
Manna House Volunteer Information
The Practice of Hospitality at Manna House
Some of the Inspiration for Our Hospitality
“The Lord appeared to Abraham by the oaks of Mamre, as he sat at the entrance of his tent in the heat of the day. He looked up and saw three men standing near him. When he saw them, he ran from the tent entrance to meet them, and bowed down to the ground. He said, ‘My lord, if I find favor with you, do not pass by your servant. Let a little water be brought, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree. Let me bring a little bread, that you may refresh yourselves, and after that you may pass on--since you have come to your servant.’ So they said, ‘Do as you have said.’” Genesis 18:1-5
Then the Lord said to Moses, “I am going to rain bread from heaven for you, and each day the people shall go out and gather enough for that day….” This is what the Lord commanded: “Gather as much of it as each of you needs… Let no one leave any of it over until morning.” Exodus 16:4, 16, 19
“Is this not the fast that I choose: to loose the bonds of injustice, to undo the thongs of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke? Is it not to share your bread with the hungry, and bring the homeless poor into your house; when you see the naked to cover them, and not to hide yourself from you own kin? Then your light shall break forth like the dawn, and your healing shall spring up quickly… Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer, you shall cry for help, and God will say, Here I am.” Isaiah 58:6-9
“I was a stranger and you welcomed me.” Matthew 25:35
“Let mutual love continue. Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing so some have entertained angels without knowing it.” Hebrews 13:1-2
“Be hospitable to one another without complaining. Like good stewards of the manifold grace of God, serve one another with whatever gift each of you has received.” 1 Peter 4:8-10
“The stranger requires much attendance, much encouragement, and with all this it is difficult for him not to feel abashed; for so delicate is his position that whilst he receives the favor, he is ashamed. That shame we ought to remove by the most attentive service, and to show by words and actions, that we do not think we are conferring a favor, but receiving one, that we are obliging, less than we are obliged.” St. John Chrysostom, Homily 14 on 1 Timothy
“If you cannot relieve, do not grieve the poor. Give them soft words, if nothing else. Abstain from either sour looks or harsh words. Let them be glad to come, even though they should go empty away. Put yourself in the place of every poor person; and deal with him as you would God should deal with you.” John Wesley, in Christine Pohl, Making Room, 71.
“You will find that charity is a heavy burden to carry, heavier than the kettle of soup and the basket of bread. But you must keep your gentleness and your smile. Giving soup and bread isn’t all that the rich can do. You are the little servant of the poor, the maid of charity, always smiling and in good humor. They are your masters, terribly sensitive and exacting as you will see, but the uglier and dirtier they are, the more unjust and bitter, the more you must give them of your love. It is only because of your love that the poor will forgive you.” St. Vincent De Paul (1581-1660)
“Those who offer hospitality are not so much providing a service as they are sharing their lives with the people who come to them.” –Christine Pohl, Making Room, 71-72.
What We Offer in Hospitality at Manna House
Manna House located at 1268 Jefferson is a place of hospitality in the Madison Heights neighborhood of Midtown Memphis. It is a place of welcome for homeless persons and others in need. At Manna House we welcome each guest with respect and compassion.
Many of those who come to Manna House live nearby, either in modest homes or on the streets. Others come to the neighborhood to eat a meal at the St. Vincent de Paul soup kitchen (called “the radio station”), located just a few blocks away. Manna House is a place to sit and visit before or after a meal there. It is a living room for people from the streets.
Manna House is open for hospitality every Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday from 8:00a.m. to 11:30a.m. Our hospitality takes a variety of forms. We offer a place where people can come inside for conversation or rest. (In warm weather our guests enjoy our backyard with picnic tables). We offer something to drink (coffee, and in warm weather kool-aid and water). We offer use of a bathroom. We offer use of a phone for local calls. We offer showers that include a change of clothes. We offer some personal hygiene items and limited clothing items (such as T-shirts and socks).
Our Vision of Hospitality
In offering hospitality we affirm that hosting our guests involves not only providing needed material goods, but more importantly honoring our guests’ humanity and personhood. We are not a social service agency; rather we are persons welcoming other persons to share ourselves, our gifts, and gifts we have received from others. We seek to know our guests as persons with names, histories, and hopes. We seek to be stewards of God’s graciousness, not possessors of power and privilege dispensing charity from above. We seek to build relationships and we are not out to “save” people or remake them in our own image. We recognize and repent of our racism, classism, sexism, and heterosexism, and we seek to create a community of hospitality in which all are welcomed as children of God. We recognize our own vulnerability and brokenness as we minister with our guests who are also vulnerable and broken.
We are committed to providing a place where everyone is treated with respect, both guests and volunteers. In engaging with each other as persons we refrain from the posting of rules. We do not ask for identification. We reject racist, sexist, and any other form of denigrating language. We respond to conflict in a spirit of peacemaking and nonviolent conflict resolution. We sometimes have to ask a guest to leave who has become disruptive or abusive.
We abide by the vision and practices of Manna House that are necessary for the good order needed for hospitality. Among those practices is the recognition of the need for boundaries and limitations on what we can offer and when. We affirm that sometimes it is necessary to say “no” to a request from a guest in order to continue to say “yes” to those forms of hospitality to which we are committed for the long haul.
Before we open at 8:00a.m., we gather for a brief prayer. To prepare for the day and to make time for this prayer we ask volunteers to arrive at 7:45a.m. We also gather at the end of each morning at 11:30a.m. for prayer and reflection. We consider this time together after we close to be crucial to our practice of hospitality as it allows each volunteer to share his or her experiences, to examine how we may improve in our practice of hospitality, and to bring all that we have done to God in prayer.
Areas of Practicing Hospitality at Manna House
Hospitality at Manna House revolves around two main areas: the clothing room and the living room/dining room/backyard. A long-term volunteer guides the hospitality in each of the two areas. Other volunteers should rely upon the long-term volunteer for direction, and to answer any questions or to respond to problems that may arise. It is important for volunteers to work as a team that offers hospitality in ways consistent with the vision and practices of Manna House.
Clothing Room
Persons offering hospitality in the clothing room area are responsible for offering showers, and sharing the hygiene and clothing items with guests who are signed up to receive these items. A volunteer will put the names of guests on two different lists. One list is for “socks and hygiene” and the other is for those who will shower. The person who “works the list” will begin signing up guests for the showers and clothing room when the doors of Manna House open at 8:00a.m. The person working the list will also call the names of the guests in order and bring guests to the clothing room, telling the volunteers in the clothing room if the guest is there for a shower or for “socks and hygiene.” No guests should be in the clothing room if their name has not been called.
Guests signed up for “socks and hygiene” may receive a shirt, socks, and hygiene items. We do not give out pants or underwear as these are reserved for persons who are showering. We do not have the resources to give out these items to everyone. Although it is difficult to say “no” it is only in saying “no” to some needs that we are consistently able to say “yes” in meeting other needs.
On Mondays and Thursdays showers are offered for men. On Tuesdays, showers are offered for women. Persons desiring a shower sign-up on the day Manna House is open before the shower day. Once a guest’s name has been called for the shower and he/she has been brought to the clothing room, other volunteers will assist the guest, giving him or her, a towel, wash cloth/face towel, razor, toothbrush, and assisting the guest in choosing clothes. Soap and shampoo are already in the showers. After guests shower and put on clean clothes, guests give us their dirty clothes. We launder these clothes and they are returned to the shelves of the clothing room to be used again.
There is also important work to be done in the “sorting room” which is at the back of the house. In this room donations are sorted and organized to be shared in the clothing room. Guests are not allowed in the sorting room. Shoes and coats are always stored in the clothing room, and these are given out on a by need basis after 10:00a.m. A long-term volunteer will typically direct the distribution of those items.
Living room/dining room/backyard
Persons offering hospitality in the living room/dining room/front porch/backyard areas are responsible for serving coffee or other drinks. We strive to keep a steady supply of hot coffee ready for our guests, along with any other drinks we are serving. Persons working in this area of hospitality also need to attend to the sugar, creamer, and number of coffee cups to make sure there is a steady supply. We typically do not prepare or serve any food as this is not a type of hospitality we are equipped to provide in the space that we have available.
In addition to preparing the coffee and maintaining the needed sugar, creamer and coffee cups, volunteers should attend to keeping these areas clean by picking up cups, cleaning the table, mopping up any spills, and emptying trash cans when full. It is also important to supervise the bathroom located off of the dining room, making sure it remains clean, and that guests who use the bathroom are using it for legitimate purposes.
Most importantly, volunteers working in these areas should engage in conversation with guests, getting to know them as persons. Please do not congregate in the kitchen, but enter into the living room/dining room/front porch/backyard areas to interact with our guests.
Closing Down, Reflecting, Praying, and Cleaning-up
At 11:15a.m., we begin to let our guests know that we will be closing soon by announcing “last call” for coffee. We ask our guests to begin leaving at 11:25a.m. so that we can close down and have time to reflect and pray before cleaning-up. By 11:30a.m. we seek to have all guests out of the house and the backyard. From 11:30a.m. to approximately noon., we gather to share our experiences from the morning’s work of hospitality, to reflect together, and to pray. This is a very important time for us to share experiences from the morning, to learn from each other’s experiences, and to gather our experiences up in prayer. Either before or following this time we turn to clean-up tasks: sweeping and mopping the living room and dining room, taking out trash, cleaning coffee pots, etc. We also clean the two bathrooms and the showers and sinks. Both bathrooms should also be mopped. Before leaving we need to make sure all windows are closed and locked, and all doors are locked.
Some Short “Do’s” and “Don’ts
Do welcome each guest with dignity and grace.
Do engage in conversation with guests.
Do learn names and stories.
Do keep a sense of humor and a sense of compassion.Do follow the leadership and direction of those experienced long-term volunteers running each area of hospitality.
Do ask questions.
Do be patient with yourself, with other volunteers and with guests.
Don’t give money if asked by a guest.
Don’t give rides to guests.
Don’t give out personal information such as phone number, address, etc. to guests.
Who Runs Manna House?
A nonprofit tax-exempt organization, Emmanuel House Manna, provides the funding for Manna House through donations from a variety of individuals, churches, and synagogues. Members of the Board of Emmanuel House Manna along with volunteers at Manna House set the vision and practices for Manna House.
Directions and Parking for Volunteers
Manna House is located at 1268 Jefferson. Coming from the East on Poplar, turn left on Cleveland and then right on Jefferson. Go approximately two blocks and Manna House will be on your right. Coming from the West on Poplar, turn right on Claybrook then right on Jefferson. Manna House will be on your right.
Please park across the street in the parking lot provided by Mississippi Boulevard Church. Do not park in the parking lot immediately next to Manna House. The owners of that building have asked us to not park in that area.
Manna House Phone: 721-2404
Kathleen Kruzcek: 219-2117
Peter Gathje: 826-5318, pgathje@memphisseminary.edu
Some of the Inspiration for Our Hospitality
“The Lord appeared to Abraham by the oaks of Mamre, as he sat at the entrance of his tent in the heat of the day. He looked up and saw three men standing near him. When he saw them, he ran from the tent entrance to meet them, and bowed down to the ground. He said, ‘My lord, if I find favor with you, do not pass by your servant. Let a little water be brought, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree. Let me bring a little bread, that you may refresh yourselves, and after that you may pass on--since you have come to your servant.’ So they said, ‘Do as you have said.’” Genesis 18:1-5
Then the Lord said to Moses, “I am going to rain bread from heaven for you, and each day the people shall go out and gather enough for that day….” This is what the Lord commanded: “Gather as much of it as each of you needs… Let no one leave any of it over until morning.” Exodus 16:4, 16, 19
“Is this not the fast that I choose: to loose the bonds of injustice, to undo the thongs of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke? Is it not to share your bread with the hungry, and bring the homeless poor into your house; when you see the naked to cover them, and not to hide yourself from you own kin? Then your light shall break forth like the dawn, and your healing shall spring up quickly… Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer, you shall cry for help, and God will say, Here I am.” Isaiah 58:6-9
“I was a stranger and you welcomed me.” Matthew 25:35
“Let mutual love continue. Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing so some have entertained angels without knowing it.” Hebrews 13:1-2
“Be hospitable to one another without complaining. Like good stewards of the manifold grace of God, serve one another with whatever gift each of you has received.” 1 Peter 4:8-10
“The stranger requires much attendance, much encouragement, and with all this it is difficult for him not to feel abashed; for so delicate is his position that whilst he receives the favor, he is ashamed. That shame we ought to remove by the most attentive service, and to show by words and actions, that we do not think we are conferring a favor, but receiving one, that we are obliging, less than we are obliged.” St. John Chrysostom, Homily 14 on 1 Timothy
“If you cannot relieve, do not grieve the poor. Give them soft words, if nothing else. Abstain from either sour looks or harsh words. Let them be glad to come, even though they should go empty away. Put yourself in the place of every poor person; and deal with him as you would God should deal with you.” John Wesley, in Christine Pohl, Making Room, 71.
“You will find that charity is a heavy burden to carry, heavier than the kettle of soup and the basket of bread. But you must keep your gentleness and your smile. Giving soup and bread isn’t all that the rich can do. You are the little servant of the poor, the maid of charity, always smiling and in good humor. They are your masters, terribly sensitive and exacting as you will see, but the uglier and dirtier they are, the more unjust and bitter, the more you must give them of your love. It is only because of your love that the poor will forgive you.” St. Vincent De Paul (1581-1660)
“Those who offer hospitality are not so much providing a service as they are sharing their lives with the people who come to them.” –Christine Pohl, Making Room, 71-72.
What We Offer in Hospitality at Manna House
Manna House located at 1268 Jefferson is a place of hospitality in the Madison Heights neighborhood of Midtown Memphis. It is a place of welcome for homeless persons and others in need. At Manna House we welcome each guest with respect and compassion.
Many of those who come to Manna House live nearby, either in modest homes or on the streets. Others come to the neighborhood to eat a meal at the St. Vincent de Paul soup kitchen (called “the radio station”), located just a few blocks away. Manna House is a place to sit and visit before or after a meal there. It is a living room for people from the streets.
Manna House is open for hospitality every Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday from 8:00a.m. to 11:30a.m. Our hospitality takes a variety of forms. We offer a place where people can come inside for conversation or rest. (In warm weather our guests enjoy our backyard with picnic tables). We offer something to drink (coffee, and in warm weather kool-aid and water). We offer use of a bathroom. We offer use of a phone for local calls. We offer showers that include a change of clothes. We offer some personal hygiene items and limited clothing items (such as T-shirts and socks).
Our Vision of Hospitality
In offering hospitality we affirm that hosting our guests involves not only providing needed material goods, but more importantly honoring our guests’ humanity and personhood. We are not a social service agency; rather we are persons welcoming other persons to share ourselves, our gifts, and gifts we have received from others. We seek to know our guests as persons with names, histories, and hopes. We seek to be stewards of God’s graciousness, not possessors of power and privilege dispensing charity from above. We seek to build relationships and we are not out to “save” people or remake them in our own image. We recognize and repent of our racism, classism, sexism, and heterosexism, and we seek to create a community of hospitality in which all are welcomed as children of God. We recognize our own vulnerability and brokenness as we minister with our guests who are also vulnerable and broken.
We are committed to providing a place where everyone is treated with respect, both guests and volunteers. In engaging with each other as persons we refrain from the posting of rules. We do not ask for identification. We reject racist, sexist, and any other form of denigrating language. We respond to conflict in a spirit of peacemaking and nonviolent conflict resolution. We sometimes have to ask a guest to leave who has become disruptive or abusive.
We abide by the vision and practices of Manna House that are necessary for the good order needed for hospitality. Among those practices is the recognition of the need for boundaries and limitations on what we can offer and when. We affirm that sometimes it is necessary to say “no” to a request from a guest in order to continue to say “yes” to those forms of hospitality to which we are committed for the long haul.
Before we open at 8:00a.m., we gather for a brief prayer. To prepare for the day and to make time for this prayer we ask volunteers to arrive at 7:45a.m. We also gather at the end of each morning at 11:30a.m. for prayer and reflection. We consider this time together after we close to be crucial to our practice of hospitality as it allows each volunteer to share his or her experiences, to examine how we may improve in our practice of hospitality, and to bring all that we have done to God in prayer.
Areas of Practicing Hospitality at Manna House
Hospitality at Manna House revolves around two main areas: the clothing room and the living room/dining room/backyard. A long-term volunteer guides the hospitality in each of the two areas. Other volunteers should rely upon the long-term volunteer for direction, and to answer any questions or to respond to problems that may arise. It is important for volunteers to work as a team that offers hospitality in ways consistent with the vision and practices of Manna House.
Clothing Room
Persons offering hospitality in the clothing room area are responsible for offering showers, and sharing the hygiene and clothing items with guests who are signed up to receive these items. A volunteer will put the names of guests on two different lists. One list is for “socks and hygiene” and the other is for those who will shower. The person who “works the list” will begin signing up guests for the showers and clothing room when the doors of Manna House open at 8:00a.m. The person working the list will also call the names of the guests in order and bring guests to the clothing room, telling the volunteers in the clothing room if the guest is there for a shower or for “socks and hygiene.” No guests should be in the clothing room if their name has not been called.
Guests signed up for “socks and hygiene” may receive a shirt, socks, and hygiene items. We do not give out pants or underwear as these are reserved for persons who are showering. We do not have the resources to give out these items to everyone. Although it is difficult to say “no” it is only in saying “no” to some needs that we are consistently able to say “yes” in meeting other needs.
On Mondays and Thursdays showers are offered for men. On Tuesdays, showers are offered for women. Persons desiring a shower sign-up on the day Manna House is open before the shower day. Once a guest’s name has been called for the shower and he/she has been brought to the clothing room, other volunteers will assist the guest, giving him or her, a towel, wash cloth/face towel, razor, toothbrush, and assisting the guest in choosing clothes. Soap and shampoo are already in the showers. After guests shower and put on clean clothes, guests give us their dirty clothes. We launder these clothes and they are returned to the shelves of the clothing room to be used again.
There is also important work to be done in the “sorting room” which is at the back of the house. In this room donations are sorted and organized to be shared in the clothing room. Guests are not allowed in the sorting room. Shoes and coats are always stored in the clothing room, and these are given out on a by need basis after 10:00a.m. A long-term volunteer will typically direct the distribution of those items.
Living room/dining room/backyard
Persons offering hospitality in the living room/dining room/front porch/backyard areas are responsible for serving coffee or other drinks. We strive to keep a steady supply of hot coffee ready for our guests, along with any other drinks we are serving. Persons working in this area of hospitality also need to attend to the sugar, creamer, and number of coffee cups to make sure there is a steady supply. We typically do not prepare or serve any food as this is not a type of hospitality we are equipped to provide in the space that we have available.
In addition to preparing the coffee and maintaining the needed sugar, creamer and coffee cups, volunteers should attend to keeping these areas clean by picking up cups, cleaning the table, mopping up any spills, and emptying trash cans when full. It is also important to supervise the bathroom located off of the dining room, making sure it remains clean, and that guests who use the bathroom are using it for legitimate purposes.
Most importantly, volunteers working in these areas should engage in conversation with guests, getting to know them as persons. Please do not congregate in the kitchen, but enter into the living room/dining room/front porch/backyard areas to interact with our guests.
Closing Down, Reflecting, Praying, and Cleaning-up
At 11:15a.m., we begin to let our guests know that we will be closing soon by announcing “last call” for coffee. We ask our guests to begin leaving at 11:25a.m. so that we can close down and have time to reflect and pray before cleaning-up. By 11:30a.m. we seek to have all guests out of the house and the backyard. From 11:30a.m. to approximately noon., we gather to share our experiences from the morning’s work of hospitality, to reflect together, and to pray. This is a very important time for us to share experiences from the morning, to learn from each other’s experiences, and to gather our experiences up in prayer. Either before or following this time we turn to clean-up tasks: sweeping and mopping the living room and dining room, taking out trash, cleaning coffee pots, etc. We also clean the two bathrooms and the showers and sinks. Both bathrooms should also be mopped. Before leaving we need to make sure all windows are closed and locked, and all doors are locked.
Some Short “Do’s” and “Don’ts
Do welcome each guest with dignity and grace.
Do engage in conversation with guests.
Do learn names and stories.
Do keep a sense of humor and a sense of compassion.Do follow the leadership and direction of those experienced long-term volunteers running each area of hospitality.
Do ask questions.
Do be patient with yourself, with other volunteers and with guests.
Don’t give money if asked by a guest.
Don’t give rides to guests.
Don’t give out personal information such as phone number, address, etc. to guests.
Who Runs Manna House?
A nonprofit tax-exempt organization, Emmanuel House Manna, provides the funding for Manna House through donations from a variety of individuals, churches, and synagogues. Members of the Board of Emmanuel House Manna along with volunteers at Manna House set the vision and practices for Manna House.
Directions and Parking for Volunteers
Manna House is located at 1268 Jefferson. Coming from the East on Poplar, turn left on Cleveland and then right on Jefferson. Go approximately two blocks and Manna House will be on your right. Coming from the West on Poplar, turn right on Claybrook then right on Jefferson. Manna House will be on your right.
Please park across the street in the parking lot provided by Mississippi Boulevard Church. Do not park in the parking lot immediately next to Manna House. The owners of that building have asked us to not park in that area.
Manna House Phone: 721-2404
Kathleen Kruzcek: 219-2117
Peter Gathje: 826-5318, pgathje@memphisseminary.edu
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