Here it comes again. The Great Season of Benevolence. From Thanksgiving to Christmas, good-hearted people come out of the woodwork to serve meals, donate clothing and wrap Christmas presents for “needy families.” (Urk, I hate that word ‘needy’ …) Such kindness is treasured by folks experiencing hardships. But ‘stuff’ during ‘the holidays’ is not an effective long-term strategy for helping kids, families and people achieve shalom (peace and well-being.)
I remember the Rotary meeting when I spoke about this. Afterwards, a well-dressed nursing consultant confided that she had been homeless herself. “When my daughter and I were living in a dive motel I didn’t need a ham, I needed a friend. It’s not too hard to find food. It’s near impossible to find somebody who will be there through the car break-downs, the overdue utility bills and the doctor visits. If someone had simply been willing to babysit my daughter when I was working two jobs and taking night classes for my nursing degree, I’d have become self-sufficient in two years instead of six years.”
She went on to say, “If the churches were serious about helping people get out of homelessness and other harmful situations, they would offer ongoing friendship in addition to the food basket.” It wasn’t a criticism. It was a heartfelt plea and a prophetic word for us all.
The good news: A decade after she shared her story, there are growing examples of churches extending more than stuff … and doing it all year long. A shining example is Church-@-the-Park, which is actually a partnership of eight congregations and missional communities who take turns ministering to folks living at Cascades Gateway Park in SE Salem. Twice a week—Sundays and Thursdays—friends gather to eat and fellowship together. It’s not ‘church people’ helping ‘homeless people’ … It’s neighbors helping neighbors. Professional services are needed and engaged, to be sure. But it’s people moving from “us-and-them” to “we” that truly transforms.
It starts with meals, but the secret sauce is relationship. People are moving out of the park and into housing (80 so far). People are getting sober and getting jobs. People are getting connected to social services and health care. Cars are being repaired; so are lives! Plenty of ‘stuff’—food, clothing and supplies—is being shared. But not for just six weeks at the holidays. It’s happening all 52 weeks of the year. The Gospel being shared with both lips and with lives.
The challenging news: ‘Stuff’ is still surpassing ‘Friendship’ out there. But stuff doesn’t heal and uplift. Stuff just meets short-term needs. If we are serious about loving our neighbor as ourself, we must go beyond mere charity and immerse ourselves in relationship. Love. Shalom.
