Show me the path where I should walk, O Lord
To you, O Lord, I lift up my soul. I trust in You, my God! Show me the path where I should walk, O Lord Point out the right road for me to follow. Lead me by your truth and teach me for You are the God who saves me. All day long I put my hope in You. Remember O Lord your unfailing love and compassion which you have shown from long ages past. Forgive the rebellious sins of my youth…Archive for poor
show me where love and hope and faith are needed…
Awesome day earlier today… what I had expected to be a pretty good trip down to Monroe Park to distribute clothes, blankets and serve some food sure was something more… thanks to a major helping of generosity and giving by over 20 people from our church family.
Before moving out to go downtown, we made sure everyone knew each other and said a prayer or two; mine was one I read a day or two ago on this Church for Men Florida post:
God,
Open my eyes that I may see the needs of others;
Open my ears that I may hear their cries;
Open my heart that they need not be without succor;
Let me not be afraid to defend the weak because of the anger of the strong,
Nor afraid to defend the poor because of the anger of the rich.
Show me where love and hope and faith are needed,
And use me to bring them to those places.
And so open my eyes and my ears
That I may this coming day be able to do some work of peace for thee.
AMEN. Read the rest of this entry »
Serving Values
Donny remembered love (CHURCH FOR MEN FLORIDA related post)
Before I get to “Serving Values” let me say that what seemed really interesting was that a guy (picture above is not him – but another guy and another story…) who has lived on the streets for the past 3 weeks is walking around the parking lot; his name is Al. He apparently found a little card about our church and came on over. He is looking for a job. Not so much stuff, but he needed a pair of pants and hadn’t eaten yet. He sleeps outside (did I mention we had a freeze last night? ). His birthday is this Saturday too – he will be 50. Didn’t sound like he has any family and not really anyone around the area that he knows. We talked a fair amount before and after church gathering, and then for a few hours while I drove him around the area. He really just wanted to talk with someone.
Alright – “Serving Values”. The message was a rehash of a recent seminar (testimonies) by Peggy Schaub. Here’s the main points with links to the related Bible verses:
- Love God with All Your Heart
- Prayer
- Unity
- Excellence
- Attitude
- Not About Us
- Loving Others
- Serving is our response to God
There was a point said at the beginning that this isn’t a matter of salvation through “works” if you’ve heard the statement, but a matter of loving God for our salvation and serving Him by our works. As Steve put it it – “not a set of rules but a standard to which we believe God has called us.” So don’t serve because you want to feel good about yourself, don’t serve to check off for the week in some sort of “checkbox Christianity”. Do it out of love and thankfulness to God. I know there are many who do not feel as I do on this and many that have a different calling and different purpose; which is fine and good . Follow your God as you feel led to but I really feel like I must leave you with what resonates with me:
“But when the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit upon his glorious throne. All the nations will be gathered in his presence, and he will separate the people as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will place the sheep at his right hand and the goats at his left.
“Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the creation of the world. For I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger, and you invited me into your home. I was naked, and you gave me clothing. I was sick, and you cared for me. I was in prison, and you visited me.’
“Then these righteous ones will reply, ‘Lord, when did we ever see you hungry and feed you? Or thirsty and give you something to drink? Or a stranger and show you hospitality? Or naked and give you clothing? When did we ever see you sick or in prison and visit you?’
“And the King will say, ‘I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!’
Then the King will turn to those on the left and say, ‘Away with you, you cursed ones, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his demons. For I was hungry, and you didn’t feed me. I was thirsty, and you didn’t give me a drink. I was a stranger, and you didn’t invite me into your home. I was naked, and you didn’t give me clothing. I was sick and in prison, and you didn’t visit me.’
“Then they will reply, ‘Lord, when did we ever see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and not help you?’
“And he will answer, ‘I tell you the truth, when you refused to help the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were refusing to help me.’
“And they will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous will go into eternal life.”
Chesterfield homeless
I’ve been a little off in la-la land for oh over a month or so when it comes to blogging (I marked my second blog as done due to it and a total lack of interest in that topic anymore). A bit here, a bit there… and life has just been busy, leaving not a lot of leftover time. Even still tonight, but …
I felt obliged to write a bit and link to three recent articles in my local newspaper, the Chesterfield Observer, on a topic close to my heart over the past year – homeless. To read the articles directly, here are the links: Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3. Not bad reporting – I’m happy to see the topic get local coverage.
This came to mind because one of the people from New Venture who I’ve gone to Monroe Park with mentioned this series – in particular part 2 and the guy who lives in a tent off Jefferson Davis Hwy. Maybe we could change direction and focus on homelessness in Chesterfield? Somewhere in the 3 part series it talks about Chesterfield only making up a very small percentage, but we do know that there is less concern and focus on people experiencing homelessness in this County than in the City of Richmond, where most stay… time will tell where we go. If you will, say a little prayer for guidance on this.
great news, homeless
I just got back from volunteering from Homeward’s Point-in-Time Count (written previously about) at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church at one of the end of the State Capitol grounds. I had volunteered to perform surveys to those that come for the free meals. Doesn’t make a difference if you’re homeless or not for the meals or for the survey.
That’s not the good news (although it is good news…) though; I got to see again my two friends Mary and Bill (see them here). That is good, but what’s great is that she said through the Daily Planet and Virginia Supportive Housing she was able to get a home about 2 months ago! She’s still in need of several things, but Embrace Richmond (they have a blog too!) did provide her with quite a bit of furniture and other items, along with her case worker providing a few things as well. I’m hoping some people I know might be able to collect a few things she mentioned needing, including:
- lamp
- toiletries
- laundry detergent
- full-size sheets
I know we have some of these things that we don’t need (like some laundry detergent I bought that wasn’t high-efficiency so we can’t use it for our washer…), but this is exactly what a lot of the Richmond homelessness organizations are all about: getting the homeless into a home. But also staying there, and here’s a chance to help someone stay there.
While talking with other volunteers, I also met someone who coordinates CARITAS for her church, which is quite close to my church (I believe it’s Providence United Methodist Church… but I have her contact info). I was wondering if it might make sense for our church to help out a “member host congregation” with certain needs, since we don’t have any facilities to actually host a shelter for a night. I’ll be forwarding this contact info to this gal who is interested in CARITAS as well.
Point-In-Time Count Summer 2008!
Homeward is conducting this survey July 24th! From their site:
This annual count of men, women and children experiencing homelessness will need volunteers to help in many ways including to conduct the surveys. To sign up to volunteer for the Summer 2008 Point-in-Time Count, please click here.
Donations needed: socks, white t-shirts, new underwear (men’s and women’s), lotion, toothpaste, toothbrushes, combs and brushes, lip balm, baby wipes, sunscreen, deodorants.
Please bring donations to 408 W Franklin Street — Basement level by July 18, 2008.
[H/T to Embrace Richmond]
Not sure if I’ll be there, but I definitely plan on mentioning it to a few people I know who are concerned and interested about the homeless around Richmond. I’d like to see again some of the guys and gals I’ve met and see how they are doing…
