For our June Open Door gathering, many members of Connections went to the Mustard Seed (downtown Calgary) to make and share sac lunches. By the end of our few hours, we had made well over 200 sandwiches, packed 200 healthy lunches (sandwiches, juice box, granola bar, apple), and handed out 50-100 of them.
Here are some of my reflections; I’d love for you to post yours!
- Diversity: Rich and poor, young and old, many ethnicities, experienced and inexperienced.
- Learning: Deb Runnalls, street-level coordinator for the Seed, challenged my vision of poverty when she said, “People don’t choose poverty; poverty chooses them.” Though skeptical of her claim, I was humbled as she shared the story of an oil executive who went from riches to rags because his entire family was killed in a car accident. Shattered, he wandered the streets of Calgary, eventually freezing to death.
- Uncomfortable: Not only was I well out of my comfort zone, but to have my two older children along made our walk through downtown a little more stressful. (My son, however, had no problem giving a high-five to a man with whom we shared a sac lunch). I am discomforted by my blindness to poverty.
Hey Michael and Fellow Tribal Members; I just wanted to say that this is an awesome idea – the blog I mean!!
Expressions (www.expressionscommunity.org) is headed this Saturday to our monthly service at the Foothills Mustard Seed Shelter and I’m really looking forward to it! We have developed and made some really valued relationships while serving there over the last few years.
I can understand some of the fears you may have had Michael and I think your struggle with the above statement is valid. In the long run I think poverty is both and when it comes to choice. Many which we have encountered down there have made choices which lead to struggles and there are those who also have been unfortunately trapped by worldly systems (we should talk more about welfare & AISH systems later). I think our hope is that Christ’s love and presence not only can humble us to an understanding of the equity in our community but, also the freedom and redemption God’s Kingdom can offer to these people.
God bless friends and I pray you continue with many more ventures down at the Seed. May Jesus lead you to being salt of the earth and great trees which bear many fruits!!!
I have thought of the experience at the Mustard Seed often, since then, and have had several discussions about the experience. One of the things that stands out for me is the statement from Seed staff, (and I have heard it from other Professsions working in the homeless industry)”The problems faced by most of the homeless are too complex for the average person to get involved with.” I don’t quite know how to deal with that information, should I throw up my hands and walk away? should I become a trained homeless worker? should I live in my community and help the immigrant families on my street and ignore the homeless?
Abe, those are great questions. I’ve had similar wonderings as I have learned about the drought in Somalia and the thousands of people displaced from their home, without food and without water. Their overwhelming need, (and my underhwhelming resources), is paralyzing. And that’s not even including the needs of our local homeless population! Your question about serving your immigrant neighbours also highlights that there are other worthy needs worth giving our time and resources to.
That said, I’m not convinced that the complexity or immenity of the challenges should be used as justification for not doing anything (which I don’t hear you saying, by the way). What do you think about these?
Budget money specifically for those who don’t have. We each have different means at our disposal, but I think most of us living in Canada could spare a few dollars each month. And if a million people spare a few dollars, it makes a lot of dollars to support places like the Mustard Seed or Plan Canada.
Budget time for those who don’t have. One of the most novel suggestions I’ve heard around service is the time tithe. Basically it’s service that amounts to 10% of the time you spend at work. So, if I work 40 hours in a week, I spend 4 hours in service. I imagine that this kind of time, especially if it were invested in the same place (i.e., Mustard Seed), would give a significant return in terms of understanding and skills to tackle these challenges.