HEALING RELATIONSHIPS
“What the Poor Have to Say About Responding to the Poor.”
Recently, a friend
sent me a blog written by Shawn Smucker titled, “35 Years in Church and I Still
Don’t Know How to Respond to Poverty.” As I read it, I was struck by its
candor, its honesty, and its heartfelt confession. Shawn writes about encountering multiple
opportunities to reach out to someone in poverty, but not knowing how. He said,
“Thirty five years going at least once a week…to a place where people meet who
have dedicated their lives to following Christ.
Yet, after all those years, I still don’t know how to respond to
poverty.”
I believe that Shawn’s feelings are shared by many people
both inside and outside the church today, particularly around the holidays. As a pastor who has served in an urban
setting for 7 years I sometimes struggle
with knowing the best way to respond even though the needs of the poor are right outside my
door. How should we respond to the poor?
I believe that the best answer to that
question comes from the poor themselves.
Here are some of the insights that I have learned from listening over the
years.
1 Relationships Heal--If you ask most middle to
upper middle class people, “What are the
biggest problems facing the poor and homeless today?” They will usually say,
“money, housing, and jobs.” And they
would be right. But if you ask the
homeless the same question, they will
say, “Loneliness, Fear, Depression, and Worthlessness.” Jesus knew that relationships heal. That’s why he did not just give handouts and
send people on their way. He took the
time to sit with them, to listen to their stories and to see their worth as
human beings. That’s why the seating at The Gathering is arranged with round tables rather than pews. Because we believe that relationships are
formed around the table. How can your
church’s outreach to the poor provide not just relief, but relationships?
2 Cash is Not King— Our church has adopted a “no
cash” policy when it comes to giving relief. Why? Because our downtown community, like many urban settings is plagued with addiction and cash is the currency of choice. Therefore, when someone asks
you for cash, respond with caution, but be prepared with an alternative. Consider carrying gas cards, bus tickets, gift cards, or coupons from local
fast food restaurants. In addition, once a month,
our church holds a special prayer service and takes an offering for the poor. All of the money collected from that offering
supplies our church office with emergency needs. And remember: Once you’ve helped someone, make sure to invite them to church or to the next event at
your church. Find a way to feed the poor
in your community both spiritually as well as physically.
3 Give the Poor a Way to Give Back—If we are not
careful, the church can become an enabler of dependency by not giving those who
receive assistance a chance to give back.
When Haiti was devastated by an earthquake in 2009, our church was new
and worshipping about 45 people in the basement of another church. Most of the people who came were living in
homeless shelters, were unemployed and were consumed with worry about how they
would get by. That Sunday, we looked at
the pictures of the devastation in Haiti and the tremendous loss of life
there. I told them, “if you have a roof
over your head, you have more than the people in Haiti today. If you have a hospital to go to, you have
more than the people in Haiti. If you
know where your next meal is coming from, you have more than the people in
Haiti.” Then I asked, “How
can we give of ourselves to help these people in such great need?” The rest of that morning, everyone at The
Gathering pitched in to pack emergency health kits to be shipped to Haiti the
next morning. The people who came to
church that Sunday with heavy burdens and worried faces, consumed with their
own problems, left with smiles, expressions of thanks and a newly found purpose. One man said, “ I never realized that I had
so much to give.”
Rev. Carrie Jena is the Pastor of The United Methodist
Gathering in Middletown, Ohio. She may be reached at ceesuej@aol.com. The Gathering worships 125 people from the
downtown Middletown community on Sunday morning and over 100 for
Christ-Centered addiction recovery on Monday nights. Donations may be mailed to PO Box 30
Middletown, Ohio 45042
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