About eight years ago, I started volunteering for the overnight shift at Simpson Housing Services. When volunteering overnight, you are with another volunteer. In the wee hours, you take turns sleeping while the other sits up in case of an emergency and to watch over the building and other folks. I usually read or did school work when I was in seminary. I would sit there while folks would sleep on their mat with their blankets. I equate it to a big slumber party for adults that don't know each other well and don't want to be there.
In the last year, one hundred and thirteen people died while living on the streets. Tonight, many people will gather at Simpson United Methodist Church and memorialize each person. Their name will be read aloud and a candle lit for them.
This service has become a tradition for me as it is the most important part of my personal Christmas celebration. It is a powerful service for me because it shows that the lives that have been lost were not meaningless. Dying in a snow bank or under a bridge is not the end of their life, but rather they are remembered for their personality, for what they have brought to others, and more. They each have a story and each is made in the image of God.
Christmas is about bringing light to the darkness, about Jesus the light coming into a world of suffering ask calling all of us to help alleviate each other’s suffering. Isn't this where Jesus would be is he was alive today? Marching down Nicollet Avenue with the name of each person on a sign. Wouldn't Jesus be weeping over the 2 year old little one that died?
This service inspires me. It keeps me grounded in knowing that Jesus and Christmas are not about presents or about yummy food we eat, but about the relationships we have with the people we love and the people on the fringes of society.
This service has become a tradition for me as it is the most important part of my personal Christmas celebration. It is a powerful service for me because it shows that the lives that have been lost were not meaningless. Dying in a snow bank or under a bridge is not the end of their life, but rather they are remembered for their personality, for what they have brought to others, and more. They each have a story and each is made in the image of God.
Christmas is about bringing light to the darkness, about Jesus the light coming into a world of suffering ask calling all of us to help alleviate each other’s suffering. Isn't this where Jesus would be is he was alive today? Marching down Nicollet Avenue with the name of each person on a sign. Wouldn't Jesus be weeping over the 2 year old little one that died?
This service inspires me. It keeps me grounded in knowing that Jesus and Christmas are not about presents or about yummy food we eat, but about the relationships we have with the people we love and the people on the fringes of society.
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