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Ohio congregation offers more than hotdogs when it throws a picnic By Cindy Kranz


he first time Chris Broas requested a permit to hold the H.O.P.E. Picnic for 150 people in a Columbus, Ohio, park, an official asked who was attending. Knowing that some might frown upon her “guest list,” she replied, “Some good friends of mine.” That wasn’t really a lie. She just didn’t mention her friends were homeless. “You get real creative when your feathers are in the fire, and mine have been in the fire several times,” said Broas, a member of Peace Lutheran Church in suburban Gahanna.


One early trial by fire occurred when picnic organizers neatly stacked bags of garbage near trash cans after the event. They were fined, but Broas wheeled and dealed so they could perform community service instead. The H.O.P.E. Picnic has since evolved into a well-oiled event. It draws nearly 2,000 homeless every year, not just for food but for fellowship and basic needs. Guests can get haircuts, eyeglasses, diabetes screenings, HIV testing, dental services, flu shots and other health care—all for free. This year’s picnic (with worship) is Sept. 14 outside Veterans Memorial Hall in downtown Columbus.


A need for more than food


The event grew out of the Homeless Outreach Programs and Events (H.O.P.E.) started by Broas and four other Peace members in 2004. With the blessing of their pastor, Kai Nilsen, the volunteers took food, clothing and blan- kets to homeless camps under viaducts and near the river downtown.


Broas soon learned the homeless craved something else. “They were always glad to get food, but the need was more for companionship and being able to interact with someone, that gift of human touch,” she said. The homeless also longed to hang out with their friends. But when they tried, it was called loitering and they were dispersed. “It’s an illegal gathering and, sud- denly, people are nervous,” Broas said. “So they wanted a chance to get together and connect.” And so the annual H.O.P.E. Picnic was born in 2005, and the heart-tugging stories followed. The first year that vision care was offered, a man got his free eyeglasses and sat down to read a magazine, just like in any doctor’s waiting room. A volunteer told him he was finished and could go. “He said, ‘Yeah, I know, but I haven’t been able to read in years because I haven’t been able to see,’ ” Broas recalled.


The picnic is a powerful experience for more than 125 volunteers who wash feet to screen for diabetes, give manicures, wash hair or help in other ways. Conversations


start, and they learn they have things in common with the homeless. Maybe they both have children. Maybe they’re both fans of the local Ohio State University Buckeyes. Maybe they’ve both lost a job.


“The whole picnic is there to promote the love of Jesus Christ, to show people that we are really all united. We are brothers and sisters. We’re not that far apart from one another,” Broas said. “It gives the volunteers a different perspective and unleashes some enthusiasm within them that they have not experienced before. And they want to do it again.” “What’s wonderful is that we have had phenomenal musicians from the homeless community walk over, take a spot at the keyboard and go for it,” Nilsen said. “They become their own entertainment for the afternoon.” Peace has helped the homeless for 15 years, starting with hosting the Interfaith Hospitality Network in which homeless people are given shelter on a rotating basis at participating churches.


“It was a subtle but very important shift ... we couldn’t just be suburban Christians anymore,” Nilsen said. The H.O.P.E. Team took the church out of its comfort zone to the next level: meeting the homeless on their turf. Sure, they’ve met those who were mentally ill or suffered from addictions. But they also met people with college and master’s degrees who were down on their luck, living in tents and camps. They met veterans, seniors and fami- lies with women who were nine months pregnant.


A holy craziness


Some congregation members thought the team was crazy. Some still do.


“One of our core values at Peace is service without condition, and I think the picnic and the team embod- ies that value,” Nilsen said. “There’s nothing coercive about it. It’s just an invitation to be part of the love of God through service. It’s been compelling for our people, who see themselves differently. [Others ask], ‘What are you doing?’ and ‘Why would you do this?’ [allowing] us to engage in a larger community conversation. ... There’s a certain kind of holy craziness about it.” One of Nilsen’s favorite stories is that of a volunteer who washed a homeless man’s feet: “She took off the nasty socks, washed the gnarled feet and they talked to one another, and they had prayer at the end. Then he said, ‘Well, now I need to wash your feet,’ and so they switched spots. He washed her feet, and it was remarkable. It was everything that we would want to have happen in that moment of Christ-like community.” 


For more information contact info@PeaceGahanna.org. September 2013 33


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