A church is a church

November 24, 2009
When asked about my religion I am inclined to respond with "I believe in God ...I don't believe in religion." So you might ask why I attend church when I come into a new community. I do believe that the churches should represent the best cross section of a population. Is a congregation open and inclusionary or elitist and self serving? Is their Christian doctrine Grace based or Shame based? Often the churches who are "reaching out" to street people and the homeless are shame based. All filled with hell fire and retribution. Many good Christians quote scripture but fail to ask (and act on) the telling question "What would Jesus do?". I attended a street ministry run by the Mennonite Brethern last Sunday. It was a grace based service held in what looked like an old night club. Very inclusionary, the pastor asked (in lui of collection plate) for donations to a young family whose welfare had been cut because someone had been kind enough to give them a car. I was welcomed by a sweet lady about my age, she was fine with my homeless status and chatted warmly for several minutes. When she ask why I was living homeless I told her,"because God told me to." She disappeared immediately and didn't speak to me again for the rest of the morning. (Perhaps she couldn't find any Thorazine to slip into my coffee LOL) I find it odd that people who (very likely) spend a lot of time talking to God are so surprise and even skeptical when you say that God talks to you.
That evening I went to another church for a pot-luck celebration. All very lovely people who seem to be genuinely interested in the plight of our homeless and street populations. Still, too many myths abound and much work is needed to educating the population as a whole, that is of coarse what Angels of the Road hopes to change for all our sakes.
P.S Don't forget to order your Dream Catchers early... I can only work so fast and you'll want to give them to everyone on your gift list. Always a good cause, keeping Angels of the Road on the road.