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My Sunday morning radio religious educator (not a pastor by any means) used a similar analogy while making a point about the meaning of "eclisia" to the early Christians as opposed to how modern Christians use the word "church".
His eclisia argument is too complex for me to try to repeat here, but his point was that the early Christians had a much more communal or familial view of their faith that we do here in the modern world, and therefore the early Christians would have been more inclined to engage the homeless and work with them to get them back into being productive members of the community.
I get that homelessness is more complex than my radio guy implied. Mental illness, drug addiction, joblessness all play a part, things that were far less common in the early days of Christianity. Still, he has an interesting point.
My Sunday morning radio religious educator (not a pastor by any means) used a similar analogy while making a point about the meaning of "eclisia" to the early Christians as opposed to how modern Christians use the word "church".
His eclisia argument is too complex for me to try to repeat here, but his point was that the early Christians had a much more communal or familial view of their faith that we do here in the modern world, and therefore the early Christians would have been more inclined to engage the homeless and work with them to get them back into being productive members of the community.
I get that homelessness is more complex than my radio guy implied. Mental illness, drug addiction, joblessness all play a part, things that were far less common in the early days of Christianity. Still, he has an interesting point.
Who is your radio guy? He sounds interesting. I am not aware of any homeless in my area. I do pick up people walking and give money to those going through dumpsters.
My Sunday morning radio religious educator (not a pastor by any means) used a similar analogy while making a point about the meaning of "eclisia" to the early Christians as opposed to how modern Christians use the word "church".
His eclisia argument is too complex for me to try to repeat here, but his point was that the early Christians had a much more communal or familial view of their faith that we do here in the modern world, and therefore the early Christians would have been more inclined to engage the homeless and work with them to get them back into being productive members of the community.
I get that homelessness is more complex than my radio guy implied. Mental illness, drug addiction, joblessness all play a part, things that were far less common in the early days of Christianity. Still, he has an interesting point.
Zero. I walk next door. But I would hazard to guess that no one in my church drives by a homeless person on a regular basis. We are in farm country -- we don't have homeless on street corners like in a city.
Having said that, I absolutely agree that we need to be reaching out to the needy in our community. By its nature, the rural areas tend to do that pretty well without me telling them to. People around here tend to share from their gardens, or a couple dozen eggs from their chickens, or a few roasts from their freezer.
By its nature, the rural areas tend to do that pretty well without me telling them to.
Hmmm... I can't say I've ever known people who have to be told to give. It's my experience that most people, be they religious or not, are capable of knowing that there are people in need and give because they want to help. I've witnessed great generosity from all sorts of people of all faiths and none.
But I've never lived in a community where the local pastors have to tell people to help. Thankfully. I can't imagine what that would be like.
My Sunday morning radio religious educator (not a pastor by any means) used a similar analogy while making a point about the meaning of "eclisia" to the early Christians as opposed to how modern Christians use the word "church".
His eclisia argument is too complex for me to try to repeat here, but his point was that the early Christians had a much more communal or familial view of their faith that we do here in the modern world, and therefore the early Christians would have been more inclined to engage the homeless and work with them to get them back into being productive members of the community.
I get that homelessness is more complex than my radio guy implied. Mental illness, drug addiction, joblessness all play a part, things that were far less common in the early days of Christianity. Still, he has an interesting point.
I know I pass a number of homeless. My church is two miles away. Between us is an Army fort that closed in 2010 and is under redevelopment planning. Meanwhile, the homeless vets organization, "Soldier On", successfully made a case for allowing homeless local veterans to live in the now-empty barracks at the fort. I'm not sure how many are there. Some members of our parish have talked about reaching out to that community, so that is something we may do.
I don't pass it on the way, but there is a cheap motel not far from us where homeless people are often housed. In this area we are still dealing with the plight of homeless people displaced by hurricane Sandy in 2012. Last week our church picnic got rained out and we put a sign out front saying the picnic would be in the parish hall (also known as the basement, lol) instead. A homeless lady from the motel saw the sign and came to church. Afterward she asked if we could spare her some food for the week. We always have way too much food at our potlucks so we stocked her up and someone gave her a ride back to the motel.
Last edited by Mightyqueen801; 08-03-2014 at 11:27 AM..
My Sunday morning radio religious educator (not a pastor by any means) used a similar analogy while making a point about the meaning of "eclisia" to the early Christians as opposed to how modern Christians use the word "church".
His eclisia argument is too complex for me to try to repeat here, but his point was that the early Christians had a much more communal or familial view of their faith that we do here in the modern world, and therefore the early Christians would have been more inclined to engage the homeless and work with them to get them back into being productive members of the community.
I get that homelessness is more complex than my radio guy implied. Mental illness, drug addiction, joblessness all play a part, things that were far less common in the early days of Christianity. Still, he has an interesting point.
Including me it's easy to predict they probably drunks and crackheads to be homeless.
2 things I option to do :
(1) I tell them where a homeless shelter is close by
(2) I give a homeless shelter a hotel gift card worth $50.00 so if the shelter is filled up
with people somebody can use that hotel gift card at a local hotel for a day and be sheltered that way too.
I know the book of Isaiah 58 or so says to take in the homeless turned down but welcoming your home to a total stranger that might be a regular drunk or drug addict is not the wisest thing to do. Especially if you got children at a young age living with you.
Our Samaritian bible example is the gentile that took in somebody beaten and robbed and have half dead on the ground. They paid the hotel bill for them to be lodged for the day with peace from harm and the weather elements.
That's the wisest and most Godly way to care for the homeless if we don't have a homeless shelter for them at the moment.
My Sunday morning radio religious educator (not a pastor by any means) used a similar analogy while making a point about the meaning of "eclisia" to the early Christians as opposed to how modern Christians use the word "church".
His eclisia argument is too complex for me to try to repeat here, but his point was that the early Christians had a much more communal or familial view of their faith that we do here in the modern world, and therefore the early Christians would have been more inclined to engage the homeless and work with them to get them back into being productive members of the community.
I get that homelessness is more complex than my radio guy implied. Mental illness, drug addiction, joblessness all play a part, things that were far less common in the early days of Christianity. Still, he has an interesting point.
I know I pass a number of homeless. My church is two miles away. Between us is an Army fort that closed in 2010 and is under redevelopment planning. Meanwhile, the homeless vets organization, "Soldier On", successfully made a case for allowing homeless local veterans to live in the now-empty barracks at the fort. I'm not sure how many are there.
I don't pass it on the way, but there is a cheap motel not far from us where homeless people are often housed. In this area we are still dealing with the plight of homeless people displaced by hurricane Sandy in 2012. Last week our church picnic gotv rained out and we put a sign out front saying the picnic would be in the parish hall (also known as the basement, lol) instead. A homeless lady from the motel saw the sign and came to church. Afterward she asked if we could spare her some food for the week. We always have way too much food at our potlucks so we stocked her up and someone gave her a ride back to the motel.
Zero. I walk next door. But I would hazard to guess that no one in my church drives by a homeless person on a regular basis. We are in farm country -- we don't have homeless on street corners like in a city.
Having said that, I absolutely agree that we need to be reaching out to the needy in our community. By its nature, the rural areas tend to do that pretty well without me telling them to. People around here tend to share from their gardens, or a couple dozen eggs from their chickens, or a few roasts from their freezer.
Or a deer! My sister lives in a rural area of Pennsylvania, and it's the same. One hunting season she and her husband both got deer and the older neighbor up the road was unable to hunt due to a bad leg, so they gave him one. When she kept laying hens, she sometimes had too many eggs and gave them to a local food pantry.
You all do realize that many of the professional homeless know how to work the do gooder community, what to say, etc, God Bless. Give to the local shelter, not to the panhandlers direcectly. They just buy booze and drugs and trash our parks with their camps. If you want your community to become Roach Motel just make it nice nice for the homeless. There are organizations that actually help them get clean, get skills, and find a job. Many do not want to get a job. It gets in the way of their lifestyle.
I don't pass anyone on my way to church because I don't attend church. I do believe in helping the poor as I am able on a personal case by case basis.
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Good Post
