Faith Works 2-10-07
Jeff Gill

When Verses Collide!

Well, your faithful scribe had some well-timed St.
Valentine’s week observations on love and marriage
and relationships. Then reality happened, as so often
occurs; can we pick up later, in the wake of all the
cupids and red doilies getting packed away? Thanks.

This past week saw a classic collision, for Christians,
of two well-known, clearly stated, much honored
Scripture passages. In Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus says
in chapter 25: 31-46, of acts of charity and assistance to
the needy that "Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of
the least of these my brethren, you did it to me. . . Truly, I
say to you, as you did it not to one of the least of these,
you did it not to me."

Paul says to the fledgling church in Rome, capital of the
empire which oppressed and jailed and killed
Christians, at chapter 13: "Let every person be subject
to the governing authorities."

So what’s a Christian to do when the governing
authorities close down a homeless shelter?
Roger & Marilyn Morgan have been working hard on
Newark’s East End with Last Call Ministries (see
www.lastcalloutreach.org ) for some years now, and
they’ve long hoped for a chance to open a shelter for
single adults. Between New Beginnings for abused
women and their children, and the Salvation Army’s
logistical challenge of three spaces, which could hold
eighteen or so, but if there’s a parent and child in each,
only six (it’s actually more complicated than that, but
you see the problem), there’s a clear lack of shelter
space for individuals who’ve hit a crisis point.
In a county of 150,000 souls, the idea that more than
one or two adults on their own, particularly men, might
need emergency shelter at any given time, is no stretch.

For a compassionate community, downtown
dumpsters don’t cut it, and churches and groups like
the Saint Vincent dePaul conferences at local Catholic
Christian parishes are spending money when they can
at hotels for such folk, but it’s not an ideal use of
benevolence money.

So when their plans weren’t a hundred percent set, but
as a near-record cold snap set in, the folks with the
Morgans at Last Call Ministries decided to step up and
open quick this winter.

Then the city of Newark found itself between a rock and
a cold place. With one entrance, the building was not
technically habitable, and when the "governing
authorities" became aware of the situation, they closed
the shelter down.

On the coldest night of 2007.

I actually see two dilemmas here, that I’d hope all
people of faith and anyone of good will would consider.
On the one hand, I believe the city when they say they’ll
get people off the street in harsh weather, whatever it
takes. I’m guessing the jail plays a role in that, but I’m
still not clear. What makes my trust useless to those
who may be homeless, is that they don’t trust the city
enough to follow the process, ask for help, be willing to
wait at a counter or desk until the mills of civic life start
turning.

Some might say, "well, if they’re so ‘impatient’ they’d
rather sleep out and maybe die, that’s not taxpyers’
problem." I have, really, nothing to say to that person.

But the other dilemma is that the city knows, and we
should be aware, that the moment an exception or
"pass" is given to us as Christians, to do what we
believe God calls us to do, there are unscrupulous
landlords, developers, and outright predators who will
jump in and say "me, too!" And that most certainly
includes little things like second doors, let alone toilets
that flush, or walls that you can see moonlight through
on the corners, with snow puffing into the bedroom
around the outsides of the windows.

Roger told me on Wednesday that, at that point, he
needed prayers, and a plumber, "…but in that order!" In
my opinion, Last Call Outreach is trying to house the
folks who tend to drop through the holes in our system
of care in this community, that are no less inexcusable
than gaps in the wall of a rental house.

The dilemma of connecting the broad spectrum of
services available, to people who aren’t always well
equipped to find or use them, is on the worktable of a
great group of people, right now (I’ll have more about
them soon!). They’re working hard, and fast, but when
the thermometer hits –5 below, we still find there are
still gaps.

Give Last Call your support (check the website for more
info), and The Salvation Army as well, along with
providers of emergency and transitional housing
across the spectrum. Your church is probably doing
something already; get involved.

Jesus and Paul didn’t mean to start an argument, and
the apostle takes a back seat when governments are
actively evil. This situation is one where everyone is
working towards the right in their own way, but we’ve
got a ways to go to get to the Promised Land.

Where the temps are more in the high 70’s, I hear.

Jeff Gill is a writer, storyteller, and supply preacher
around central Ohio; tell him a story at
knapsack77@gmail.com.