A situation at church...

[onthespot]

Only one lay's idea is sheer genius!

 

[Beekissed]

Sounds like an excellent opportunity to start a ministry! Like building a room off the back of the church for a shelter, soup kitchen.....get the community involved. Start an outreach program and enlist the help of the local mental health clinic.

When brainstorming, don't forget to include to implement the heart as well.

You may be entertaining angels, unaware.....

 

[nancysmith2]

Oh boy, do I really want to weigh in on this one? Jesus wants us to love the lost. Love them enough to not let them go on the way they are. " Go and sin no more". You can work with them but there has to be rules. Even Jesus set boundaries. Those that do not want help or are unwilling to accept boundaries will have to go. Spread seeds and see what grows.

 

[agnes_day]

its one thing to help others..but they are obviously taking advantage of the situation. i would call the police and have them hauled off for vagrancy. there is no excuse to do that and if they are that truly mentally ill, they need to be somewhere to get some help. what if a child were to see someone using the bathroom right in public? they shouldnt be subjected to that.

 

[Whispering Winds]

But what better place to lay your weary head than a church? I admit, the P & P and V needs to be dealt with, but the idea of a soup kitchen, chores for them to do on a rotation basis, and a portapotty might be a step in the right direction. Most of those people didn't ask to be where they are at in their life cycle, its just what life has dealt them. Some give up and others simply can't get back into society. Why? Because they are homeless and indigent and no one wants to give them a chance. If there is no other place on this earth for a chance to be given, its church.

I am appalled at what is happening in our churches today. It's all about looking right, and dressing right, and yes, making judgement on others who can't help it. I go to a little country Baptist, and love it. People are so good and kind, and genuinely love one another. Their prayers bring tears to my eyes and peace in my heart, which at this time in my life I greatly need and cherish.

Big Cities do not care about the word of God, or the good deeds that so many of these churches do without asking for anything in return. Shame on the cities for not helping the churches take care of the problems. It had to start somewhere, and passing the buck will not make it go away.

 

[Beekissed]

Quote:
I notice you have children. What if one of them grows up to become a person who has to sleep on the church steps? One can never predict the pathways one will take on this earth. Really.

What if that same child who saw someone take a leak in public were to also see a church respond to this by showing compassion and understanding?

The solution to this won't be simple and it won't be without work and taking chances. But...it's never wrong to do the right thing. The church clearly has an opportunity to show love and compassion as Christ did, or turn their backs and worry about the appearance of their vestibule.

I know what church I would attend....the one who saw a need, followed Christ's example and tried to help these people.

I bet, if that were a stray dog lying there, having left the same mess, people would be scrambling to get it to a shelter or a vet, give it food, find it a home.

 

[paulpig]

a client told me about a story in an inner city school where the children ( with horrible attendance) started taking care of chickens in coops on the playground. The scraps from lunch were the feed- the children solely took care of the birds, coops, and eggs. All of a sudden, attendance, self esteem, community involvement improved dramatically.
I wonder if this would work in a community soup kitchen?? Maybe your church can be the first!!!
The magic of an egg..............and the porta potty and possible tents would make a great solution for all........Best of luck.....

 

[OccamsTazer]

I definitely don't want to be a part of having them hauled off for vagrancy, it just feels wrong. This is an opportunity for us to do the right thing that is not easy. The church already gives out food, but clearly we need to step it up. I love the idea of inviting them to help out, I would think for someone in that situation, being given any small dignity would help.
Porta-potty is a great idea, but I'm afraid we have some old battleaxe southern ladies who would faint at "such an eeeyesore" :-/

 

[agnes_day]

Quote:
I notice you have children. What if one of them grows up to become a person who has to sleep on the church steps? One can never predict the pathways one will take on this earth. Really.

What if that same child who saw someone take a leak in public were to also see a church respond to this by showing compassion and understanding?

The solution to this won't be simple and it won't be without work and taking chances. But...it's never wrong to do the right thing. The church clearly has an opportunity to show love and compassion as Christ did, or turn their backs and worry about the appearance of their vestibule.

I know what church I would attend....the one who saw a need, followed Christ's example and tried to help these people.

I bet, if that were a stray dog lying there, having left the same mess, people would be scrambling to get it to a shelter or a vet, give it food, find it a home.

if my child were to become like that through being lazy, not really caring, or anything like that i would tell him it was his fault and he needed to pull himself together. i would gladly help if they chose to help themselves first. its not societies job to give everyone a handout.
i used to help care for homeless people but to be honest, there were very VERY few of them that were mentally ill and/or physically unable to work. they would brag about how they didnt want to work and enjoyed getting handouts. i have a very jaded view from that experience. it also doesnt help having them throw rocks at your car because you wont give them money..pull knives on you, call you filthy names just for the sake of it. i know there are some out there that truly need help, but by and large they are playing on peoples emotions and counting on them to get handouts.

 

[OccamsTazer]

And Beekissed, you are totally right about the dog! I guess I feel stumped about this because it's such a deep-rooted issue, it kind of makes me feel helpless.
I will be very upset if Southside decides to just run them off, but I don't think that will happen. Our leaders rock, they are very big on making everyone feel accepted exactly as they are. I don't think anyone will let that happen.