...a really witty, intriguing, intelligent, insightful, progressive and contemporary idea for a blog post.
Then i woke up.
Isn't it amazing how we can have something all sewn up in a dream and it vanishes upon awakening?
This seems especially true when i head downstairs to face a howling-for-her-breakfast KidaMosquito and dirty dishes in the sink.
So what was this post about that in my dream was so witty and etc.? If i'm remembering correctly, i had come up with the key that would have solved all the world's problems, and it had something to do with the leftover oranges from the homeless ministry outreach on Sunday.
It made sense in the dream, whatever it was.
This past Sunday, though (unless i dreamed it) i went to the parking lot where Pastor M preaches to the homeless at noon and found we were not just bagging up our usual offerings of fruit and water and whatever had been donated. There was also a huge amount of fruits, veggies, eggs, healthy frozen entrees -- in short, it looked like a small grocery store. The local food pantry had been most generous.
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| In the foreground, 250+ bags of food, and under the two tents, a mini-grocery. |
The people who attended were thrilled, and i didn't even pull out all of the bags of oranges i had brought, deciding instead to bring them for the outreach at church that evening.
When i went back for that evening outreach, we had 15 chicken spaghetti casseroles and sides and oranges and cake, enough to feed many people.
Not too many showed up, however. Pastor M took a lot of meals to go, and everything was consumed or brought to a family that needed it, so there was no waste.
One of the men who did come to eat, however, said something i'd never thought about.
"This area is very generous," Lee noted. "I've lived in a lot of places, and in many of them, they won't deal with the homeless, they just put you in jail. They tell you to move along, they won't feed you or anything. Here, though, there's no reason you can't get a meal every day, even if you are homeless. The people are so generous it can cripple people!
"And that's the problem. See, people here are too generous. For example, the ones out on the streets who are on drugs. Why should they save what money they get for food when they know that there is food available? Some church or homeless outreach or someone is feeding people every day. They don't need to save their money for food, they can spend it on their drugs, because they know they won't go hungry for long. If they went hungry more, they might spend the money on food and be motivated to drop the drugs.
"And the other thing," he continued, "you have this meal on the first Sunday of the month, when people still have money and food stamps. If you have it on the third or fourth Sunday, instead, when nobody gots any money left, this place would be busting at the seams!"
He gave me a lot of food for thought, and when Pastor W gets back from his vacation, i'm going to bring it up with him. We might do better to move our evening outreach to a time later in the month. Helping Pastor M won't change, there are two different churches assigned to each week of the month.
Whether anything will come of it or not, i do not know, but it is worth contemplating --
the idea that too much help is crippling people and keeping them down.
Today is
Arbegnoch Qen -- Ethiopia (Patriots' Victory Day)
Arrival Day -- Guyana
Bevrijdingsday -- Netherlands(Liberation Day)
Bonza Bottler Day™
Cartoonists Day -- celebrates the first color cartoon ever published, The Yellow Kid, on this day in 1895.
Children's Day -- Japan (Kodomo-no-hi); South Korea (Orininal)
Cinco de Mayo / Anniversary of the Battle of Puebla -- Mexico, and anyplace that beer brewers want to make a minor battle into a big deal to increase beer sales today
Constitution Day -- Kyrgyzstan
Coronation Day -- Thailand (crowning of King Bhumibol Adulyadej in 1950)
Day of Adoration of Anubis -- Ancient Egyptian Calendar
Europe Day -- Council of Europe
Fairy Ring Day (Receiving) -- Fairy Calendar
Give Local America -- US (encouraging people to support local charities with the largest crowdfuning event in history)
Halfway Point of Spring/Autumn
Hidirellez -- Turkey (arrival of spring and a religious holiday of the Alevi peoples, celebrating the meeting on Earth of the Prophets Al-Khidr and Elijah; begins this evening and goes through tomorrow)
International Day of the Midwife -- in some places, they just don't get enough respect
Lusophone Culture Day -- Community of Portuguese-speaking countries
National Chocolate Custard Day
National Ferret Day -- UK (Ferret Education & Research Trust)
National Hoagie Day
National Teacher Appreciation Day -- US
Perfect Game Day -- Cy Young pitches baseballs first officially recorded perfect game on this day in 1904
Save Lives Clean your Hands Day -- WHO (the day gets its own web page)
Senior Citizens Day -- Palau
St. Judith's Day (Patron of Prussia)
Totally Chipotle® Day
World Asthma Day -- International (Global Initiative for Asthma)
Anniversary Today:
The American Medical Association is founded, 1847
Birthdays Today:
Harry Cavill, 1983
Danielle Fishel, 1981
Tina Yothers, 1973
Brian Williams, 1959
Richard E. Grant, 1957
Jean-Pierre Leaud, 1944
Lance Henriksen, 1943
Michael Palin, 1943
Tammy Wynette, 1942
Michael Murphy, 1938
Pat Carroll, 1927
Ann B. Davis, 1926
Alice Faye, 1915
Tyrone Power, 1913
James Beard, 1903
Nelly Bly, 1864
John Batterson Stetson, 1830
Karl Marx, 1818
Soren Kierkegaard, 1813
Debuting/Premiering Today:
"Damn Yankees"(Play), 1955
Today in History:
Rebel barons begin a chain of events that leads to King John of England's eventual signing of the Magna Carta, 1215
Kublai Khan becomes ruler of the Mongol Empire, 1260
Jews are expelled from Speyer, Germany, 1430
Christopher Columbus lands at Jamaica and claims it for Spain, 1494
In France, the Estates-General convenes for the first time since 1614, 1789
Citizenship is denied to Jews of Canton of Aargau Switzerland, 1809
Mary Kies becomes the first woman issued a US patent, for a method of weaving, 1809
The American Bible Society organizes in NY, 1816
Emperor Napoleon I dies in exile on the island of Saint Helena, 1821
In Belgium, the first railway in continental Europe opens between Brussels and Mechelen, 1835
The American Medical Association forms in Philadelphia, 1847
Cinco de Mayo in Mexico: troops led by Ignacio Zaragoza halt a French invasion in the Battle of Puebla, 1862
The first train robbery in the US occurs in North Bend, Ohio, 1865
Sitting Bull leads his band of Lakota into Canada to avoid harassment by the United States Army, 1877
The Music Hall in New York City (later known as Carnegie Hall) has its grand opening and first public performance, with Tchaikovsky as the guest conductor, 1891
Cy Young pitches the first perfect game in modern baseball history, 1904
Coco Chanel introduces Chanel No. 5, 1921
John T. Scopes is arrested for teaching evolution in violation of Tennessee's Butler Act, 1925
West Germany gains full sovereignty, 1955
Alan Shepard becomes the first American to travel into outer space, 1961
Bobby Sands dies in the Long Kesh prison hospital after 66 days of hunger-striking, aged 27, 1981
The government of Sudan signs an accord with the Sudan Liberation Army, 2006
Mass protests in Greece erupt in response to austerity measures imposed by the government as a result of the Greek debt crisis, 2010
i would trust his opinion as it sounds like he knows what is going on on the streets.
ReplyDeleteWe have the government to keep people down and they do a fine job. You on the other hand are really helping. I think that guy had some great ideas. Feeding is one thing, but teaching people to feed themselves is the real answer.
ReplyDeleteHave a blessed day my friend, and thank you for all you do. ♥♥♥
In spite of the desire to help people, it's often hard to know what to do without causing more harm than good.
ReplyDeletea tough call. you want to get people off drugs of course, but you cannot let them starve. since let's face it: if they are that addicted they will get them however they can, AND then possibly starve also. I think the answer can be found in what your group feels they are Called to do for these homeless. What is the ministry mission? If it's simply to help where needed, and to show love, than I say leave addiction problems to those called to handle that - and feed His people. :)
ReplyDelete