I have been thinking about the topic of helpers and it is in our media a lot these days. I have struggled with what that meant for me at this time. When I began my year, I was placed with Eliot Presbyterian Church in Lowell and at Living Waters Center for Hope - a day canter for folks who are unhoused, in a shelter, or another vulnerable living situation. I had the opportunity to help people at Living Waters in intentional, one-on-one ways that seemed to impact the guests and certainly impacted me and my faith. I believe we are all reflections of God’s image and getting to see a diverse number of folks throughout my week was emotionally and spiritually stimulating. It was easy to feel helpful and see myself as a helper. But, then the pandemic reared up and suddenly, safe places of gathering like Living Waters and like church, were some of the most dangerous places to be. I have had the experience of feeling helpful and hands on with my work and then, suddenly, all of that being removed from my day-to-day. I am now working solely for the church as my work with Living Waters was effectively shut down. I have had some difficult days seeing the helper in myself. Luckily, I have been able to feel more helpful by being at the new Eliot Church Day Shelter. Starting in mid-May, Eliot opened a Day Shelter to reach out to the unhoused neighbors surrounding the church building and common across the street. I have seen the Day Shelter grow and flourish. Helpers came through the doors in some of the most unlikely of ways.I want to highlight a particular helper who I have seen be the one of the most generous, humble, and kind people I have met this year. For the purposes of his anonymity, I will refer to him as “Andy.” When the Day Shelter first opened, we saw very few folks come inside and had to contend with issues of cleanliness surrounding the church building. There were heaps of used clothing, bedding, human waste, needles, trash from food, and more. We were concerned with how the governing body of the church would react, not to mention how the city would feel if we had our doors open but our property not kept up. This is where another great helper, Tabitha, the coordinator of the Day Shelter and new-graduate from seminary came in. She has some of the most amazing gifts of relation to others and with her soft encouragement and firm belief that people are good, she reached out to our unhoused neighbors to help clean up. Andy, an older gentleman, took up the call and rallied with Tabitha to get others to help clean. Since then, Andy has come into the Day Shelter almost every day it has been open and helped us in its operations. This is so essential to our mission to engage our unhoused neighbors, get them to invest in the Day Shelter, and we have seen the positive outcomes of this almost immediately. We have now several guest-volunteers who are eager to be involved in helping those around. Andy, specifically, has helped in cleaning and mobilizing others to help clean. I have sat with Andy and we’ve discussed how God has worked in his life. We’ve talked about his addiction and how he desperately wants to be away from the temptation of alcohol that he encounters every day on the street. I’ve been witness to him praying for this church and how he feels called to help. Something he said touched my heart about why he sleeps near Eliot. He and others sleep on church property because they believe it brings them closer to God and that they will be kept safe in the shadow of the church building. There is no limit to how we can help others. I believe that the ways we can help the vulnerable folks in our community is as diverse as the people who decide to help. We are blessed with gifts from God. Anything from nimble fingers that can sew masks for people to compassionate writers sending notes to folks at home; gifts like being able to donate or tithe in this time because 10% isn’t as hard right now and gifts like feeling isolated or alone and still reaching out; gifts like recommending a good recipe or book to try and it’s gifts like engaging with the vulnerable in relationship. It’s doing what you love for the people we are called by God to love. So, look for the helpers. Look in your community, your lives, yourself. And find ways to be a helper.
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AuthorHi, I'm Sierra! I will be serving in Boston, MA as a Boston Food Justice Young Adult Volunteer for the 2019-2020 academic year. I graduated college with a major in Philosophy and minored in Classical Studies. Archives
July 2020
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