Respect

Not sure why I'm always surprised.  Maybe "reminded" is the better word.

But every time I have the opportunity to interact with my extremely "poor" neighbors I come away realizing that what is needed most in our relationships is respect--respect that bumps hard up against the kindness of genuine friendship.

It happened again just yesterday.

The United Way of Metropolitan Dallas showed up with maybe a hundred volunteers to serve a "North Texas Giving Day" dinner.  The music blared.  Folks were dancing!  The event chased hunger away for a few hours, as men, women and little ones filled up on a hot meal at the end of a chilly day.  It looked like over 200 passed through the service line.

I decided to walk the line and simply welcome as many individuals as possible.  By the time I had greeted 10 guests, it hit me again:  people need respect, people need to be seen and acknowledged, people need to be the single focus of attention routinely.

As I shook hands, making my way down the line, smiles lit up.  People re-positioned themselves so as not to miss my greeting and handshake.  It was all very natural.  Just an expression to guests that I was glad they came by and their various expressions of gratitude and a bit of surprise that anyone would care or should be grateful for their presence.

Many asked about our housing programs.  [Get ready Bldg. 100--folks will be showing up today to get their names on the priority list!]

But mainly, we all enjoyed a few moments face-to-face with one another.

Respect carried the day.

My friend Terry, the entrepreneur

After weeks of above average temperatures in Dallas, the cold snap whipped us hard last Tuesday night.  I mean, from over 70 to below 40, that's a real snap!

Upon arriving at my office Wednesday morning, I found this note taped to my door.

Terry and I have been friends for a few years.  We met on the street when he approached me offering to do a couple of card tricks.  I obliged with a $5 tip.  He wowed me and others who gathered with his 1/2 magic, 1/2 stand up routine.

He's never been much of a beggar or panhandler with me.  Too proud and independent.  Only when really pressed to the edges does he ask for help of any kind.  Last Tuesday evening at the end of the day, he stopped to see me to ask for special assistance as the note reflects.

I was busy when he came in, and he was gone when I got free.

This note shook me a bit, as I thought through what the night must have been like for him outside.  I had seen him the day before, and finally convinced him to make an appointment to see our staff who could really help him head in a new direction.  We talked several times that day, actually to the point of distraction.

As I worried about him on Wednesday morning, he showed up for a cup of coffee!  It was a relief to see him.

I asked him if he had made the arrangement with his friend to stay in out of the weather.  He told me that he had solved the problem himself.  He then went on to tell me how he had found shelter back of a restaurant dumpster.  He went into great detail about how he used scrap lumber and tin siding to construct a warm little home that blocked the wind that forced him to bed down around 9 p.m.

"That little house made me happy," he told me.  "It was just too cold to stay up, so I went to bed when I finished building it.  I got a good night's sleep, Larry!" he exclaimed.

When I commented about my amazement at his creativity and toughness, he simply replied, "Well, Larry, you know me; I'm an entrepreneur at heart."   

Well, Terry, that's one way to look at it for sure.

Just one snapshot from a guy I count as a friend. . .and, we're working on finding real housing for him. 

Nouwen on community. . .

Prayer and Compassion

Many people tend to associate prayer with separation from others, but real prayer brings us closer to our fellow human beings. Prayer is the first and indispensable discipline of compassion precisely because prayer is also the first expression of human solidarity. Why is this so? Because the Spirit who prays in us is the Spirit by whom all human beings are brought together in unity and community…. In the intimacy of prayer, God is revealed to us as the One who loves all the members of the human family just as personally and uniquely as God loves us. Therefore, a growing intimacy with God deepens our sense of responsibility for others.

Henri J. M. Nouwen
Source: Compassion by Henri NouwenDon McNeilDon Morrison

Flowers for mom. . .

The "native Texas" plant (read here "weed") in full bloom appeared on our makeshift communion table/altar at Church at the Square last Sunday. It had been carefully prepared for the occasion of Mother's Day by one of the fairly regular members of the church. 

Planted in a disposable coffee cup, wrapped carefully in tin foil, with pieces of bark and black earth, the gentleman placed it carefully among the symbols of our faith arrayed on the table of the Lord.

"I brought this for Mother's Day," he declared with a smile on his face and a compelling twinkle in his eye.  "I wanted us to remember our moms on this special day." 

After the morning service concluded, the church enjoyed breakfast brunch prepared by culinary arts students from CitySquare. 

When the morning concluded, the man retrieved his plant and went on his way--back out on to the streets of Dallas, his only option.  No doubt, he intended to enjoy the beauty of his and God's creation for a while longer. 

A sweet gift offered in appreciation for mothers, including his and mine. A respect for what's good in life and the world. 

I'm thankful for my brother who brought new meaning to the day and to our communion together.

Reciprocity

In Both Directions

The church has a long history of serving people at the margins…. At the same time, however, an older problem has been intensified. The modern self’s blindness to the other as part of the self has led to an increasing perception of charity as a one-way street, something that originates with the charitable self and leads to handouts for those in need…. Fresh encounters with people on the underside of history introduce a critical change. In solidarity with the marginalized, the modern one-way street gradually begins to bear traffic in both directions.

Joerg Rieger
Source: Remember the Poor

Sound theology

The Litmus Test

The religious traditions were in unanimous agreement. The one and only test of a valid religious idea, doctrinal statement, spiritual experience, or devotional practice was that it must lead directly to practical compassion. If your understanding of the divine made you kinder, more empathetic, and impelled you to express this sympathy in concrete acts of loving-kindness, this was good theology. But if your notion of God made you unkind, belligerent, cruel, or self-righteous, or if it led you to kill in God’s name, it was bad theology. Compassion was the litmus test.

Karen Armstrong
Source: The Spiral Staircase

"You remembered!"

A couple of weeks ago some of our volunteers from "the Corner" organized a fairly amazing event. 

We offered an old-fashioned foot washing service, not in a church, but out in a vacant lot. 

The event combined the spiritual and the utilitarian about as perfectly as any experience I've ever witnessed. 

Think about it.

If you are homeless, you walk a lot.  Your feet remain perpetually tired from the parade march that fills your days.  Your shoes may not fit.  A major challenge is finding some place where you can sit down to "get off your feet."  Having your feet washed is like a little taste of heaven, just for a short while. 

What made this event special was the fact that homeless people returned the favor.  Some of our homeless neighbors washed the feet of their housed friends. 

Special stuff.

In the midst of the activity, over at the edge, a friend of mine showed me the blisters that plastered his feet.

His foot is size 14 extra wide!  He has a big foot.

The shoes he wore were about size 11.  They were worn out.  They rubbed the top of his feet raw.

"Brother, Larry," he said, "do you think you could find me a pair of shoes that fit?  That's all I ask."

Of course, I said, "Sure.  I'll work on that." 

Later that day I learned that a size 14 extra wide shoe has to be special ordered! 

About a week later, after the shoes arrived, I found my friend out on the street. 

I pulled up beside him at the corner and presented him with new socks and a pair of 14 extra wide, New Balance walking shoes.

The first words out of his mouth stunned me.

"You remembered, brother Larry, you remembered!" he almost shouted.

I thought to myself, well, sure I remembered. 

Not a big deal.

But to him it was the whole deal.

He turned to a buddy standing behind him on the sidewalk at the corner and said, "They remembered me!  They didn't forget me!"

The shoes were nice.  They fit and everything.

But the great learning, the big take-away for me was the importance and the power of being remembered. 

Like I say, utilitarian:  sore, hot, blistered feet placed in comfortable new shoes.

But, also so spiritual:  "Do this in memory of me"--spiritual in a real world way.  A sacrament of the street.

Let's not forget to remember.

Risking vulnerability

There is much to consider in this TED Talk. 

 Certainly, as we relate to people, including "poor people," dealing honestly with my own life struggle will be essential. 

Vulnerability is a real challenge, but so worth it if change and transformation remain our objectives. 

Watch. 

 Comment.

"Like a human being"

Last Thursday afternoon, as we shared a cup of coffee, I stood with a young man in the howling, freezing, biting wind. 


He didn't take a meal, he just wanted a hot cup of coffee.

He went on about how good it was of us to come.

I responded with the truth, "I'm just here hanging out with good people."

As we talked, he thanked me again, saying, "The world needs more people like you, Larry."

I replied, "Well, thank you, but I could say the same about you. The world would be better off with more people like you."

He hung his head slightly, "I don't know about that.  I'm afraid it would be darker than it is."

Remarkably, he went on to tell me that he had just left prison and, like about everyone in his situation, was having a tough time finding a job.  He told me that he had completed 36 job applications with no job offer coming back to him.

Then he said the most startling thing.  "You treat us like we're human beings here.  That's not true in many places, Larry."

Later that evening I enjoyed dinner with a room full of physicians. 

When it came my time to speak, I told them about my young friend on the corner.  I noted that they treat and care for people as a professional pursuit, and that we all remain grateful for their skills and commitment.

But I went on to reference my young friend's comment, noting, "The most important thing for us all is to treat people like human beings in everything that we do.

The wisdom of "the Corner" continues to amaze, direct and inspire me.

 

No such thing as a "bum". . .human first!

Seeking "the common good"

Jim Wallis describes an environment that is antithetical to the realization of justice and community.

 Watch the video.

Buy his new book!
.

Terry

I wish I had asked for a photograph. 

His beard was magnificent! 

The slightly built, Caucasian man rode up on a nice looking bicycle just as I was unloading more water from my truck for distribution on "the Corner."

"Have anything to eat?" he asked hopefully.

"No, sorry," I replied, "just water today."

"That's okay," he said.

His name is Terry. 

"Nice bike," I observed.  "It looks new."

"No, not new, but in pretty good shape," he commented.  "A guy gave me this bike."

"Really?" I responded.

"Yes, he ran over my old one, so he gave me this one as a replacement," he explained as I admired his ride.

We talked for a long time.  He explained that he was a street entertainer.

"I do card tricks and tell jokes for tips," he informed me. 

"Where?" I asked.

"Deep Ellum," he replied. 

"So, you work the clubs on the sidewalks?" I asked.

"Yes, but I know which ones to pick," he beamed. 

He told me that he had staked out a private, secret place where he stowed his belongings and where he bedded down.  He didn't like the shelters because once in, you can't get out until early morning. 

"I don't have much stuff," he noted as we talked about securing belongings.

"Really, if you're happy on the inside and a pleasant person on the outside, that's all that matters," he declared. 

"Happy on the inside" and "a pleasant person on the outside"--hmmm. 

Sounds like a Rx for contentment. 

"I used to be materialistic, but I've gone beyond that," he told me. 

Wisdom from a new friend.  I'd never seen Terry before yesterday. 

I certainly hope to see him again. 

Intersections

Someone once observed "that the kitchen is the heart of any home, but the porch is its soul."  
I get that.

I've spent a good deal of time thinking about porches lately.

As I've reported previously, every Thursday that I'm in town, I sit on the porch of an old, abandoned house on Malcolm X Boulevard.  I try to bring an ice chest of bottled water to share with passersby, as well as those who choose to stop and sit a while for a visit.

Almost all of the people I meet on this porch live on the streets of Dallas.  Almost all are extremely poor.  Most face challenges that I can't begin to comprehend.  But we have a grand time.

Recently, I sat on another porch that appeared quite different.

This second porch attached itself to a beautiful lodge nestled beside the White River outside Harrison, Arkansas.  Six of us, some acquainted and some not, made the trip to fly fish and enjoy the beauty of the river and its environs.

What a trip!  And we caught lots and lots of trout!

Every evening before enjoying a great meal prepared for us by the lodge owners, we would retreat to the back porch to visit and recount the day's fishing adventure.

After dinner, we migrated back to the porch to look at the stars, listen to the river, enjoy a night cap and visit some more.

On the surface these two porches would appear to have nothing whatsoever in common.

Abandoned, old, decaying house with porch to match versus the luxury and comfort of a well-maintained lodge home with open air, covered porch.

Beneath the surface where things happen that really matter, the two porches share so much in common.

On each porch, men sit and talk and laugh and enjoy each other's company.

On each porch, men reflect on family, finances, dreams, experiences and life.

On both porches, men really connect.

On both porches, men envision a better life, discuss hopes and dreams, recall setbacks and laugh about some truly stupid mistakes.

On both, a group of men enjoy fellowship, community, mutual support.

On each porch things happen, things verbalized that build up and nurture self-worth and value.

As I reflect, the amazing thing to me is just how similar the two "porch experiences" really are.

Here's the challenge:  how do I get the lives of the people hanging out on these two porches to intersect?

I know in my gut that such gatherings, especially if they were frequent, would transform the participants and, even more, our community.

Hmmm.  Maybe we need to plan a fishing trip!

Communion in bread

Communion

Sometime in your life,
hope that you might see one starved man,
the look on his face when the bread
finally arrives. Hope that you
might have baked it or bought it
or even kneaded it yourself.
For that look on his face,
for your meeting his eyes
across a piece of bread,
you might be willing to lose a lot,
or suffer a lot,
or die a little even.

                    

                                      --Daniel Berrigan

We are all the same. . . (reprise)

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We are all the same. . .

The Same Inside

Walking to your place for a love feast
I saw at a street corner
an old beggar woman.

I took her hand,
kissed her delicate cheek,
we talked, she was
 the same inside as I am,
from the same kind,
I sensed this instantly
as a dog knows by scent
another dog.

I gave her money.
I could not part from her.
After all, one needs
someone who is close.

And then I no longer knew
why I was walking to your place.

Source: The Same Inside

Man or wireless connection?

It’s A Homeless Man. It’s a Wireless Connection. No, It’s Both!

by Robin Marty
March 13, 2012

When BBH Labs of New York decided to give homeless men in Austin $20 apiece to wander around the city during South By Southwest and offer to be mobile hotspot connections for the music fans and techies descending on the city, they knew they’d get a ton of buzz.

But it appears they didn’t expect it to be so negative.

Read the rest here. 

Reactions????

POTUS sings Al Green!!!

Forget partisan issues and perspectives.  Just enjoy the fun and the humanity! 

2012 image provoking reflection

Reflections on Poverty: A Photograph of a Desolate Man in Casablanca

Posted on December 27, 2011

By The Activists Photography Collective

Outside of the medina in central Casablanca, Morocco, a man rested shamefully with his back turned to the public whilst shoppers went about their daily duties, bags in hand, ignoring this man’s existence. His face was hidden, but it wouldn’t have mattered even if it wasn’t: globally, we have become so desensitized to the suffering of our fellow human beings that we walk past those perched on street corners, laying in the gutters, begging for money, or bundled up during fridgid weather without giving them a second thought. If they do something that catches our attention in any particular way, annoyed looks or words of disdain are usually cast in their direction. They are just like you and I and deserve to be treated as such, regardless of the amount of money in their bank account, the clothes on their back, or whether or not they have roofs over their heads. From Casablanca to Kalamazoo and everywhere in between, the revolution of compassion must start today. Be a revolutionary by honouring human dignity.

Occupy movement learning what homeless have long known. . .

Received the article summary below recently. 

Barbara Ehrenreich likely knows more about poverty, the decline of the working class and the growth of the underclass in America as anyone alive today.  Her article is significant, and rooted in very literal reality. 

Homelessness and the Occupy Wall Street Movement

The logistics involved in maintaining the Occupy Wall Street protests turn out to be some of the very activities that homeless people have been banned from doing in most cities for years.

Barbara Ehrenreich argues that there is common cause between OWS and the homeless; that the financial elites that have destroyed the middle class have also criminalized homelessness, and that, as a result, most of what constitutes survival in public spaces has become illegal.

"What the Occupy Wall Streeters are beginning to discover, and homeless people have known all along, is that most ordinary, biologically necessary activities are illegal when performed in American streets — not just peeing, but sitting, lying down, and sleeping. It is illegal, in other words, to be homeless or live outdoors for any other reason. It should be noted, though, that there are no laws requiring cities to provide food, shelter or restrooms for their indigent citizens...What occupiers from all walks of life are discovering, at least every time they contemplate taking a leak, is that to be homeless in America is to live like a fugitive."

To read the entire Ehrenreich essay click here. Reactions welcomed!