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Section A
Helping youth see What makes ‘I am second’ Homeless man gives
June 26, 2009
ministry potential | 4A so hard to live out? | 6A church a lesson | 8A
Vol. 157 No. 8
Churches find
Q&A:
ways to help
THE NEW
Motivated by
in hard times
compassion
for the poor
B Y B ILL F ENTUM
Staff Writer
poor
Richard Stearns says his work
as president of World Vision, the
Kristin Cohn hasn’t felt at ease since January, Christian humanitarian relief
when she was laid off by hardware giant Seagate agency, helped him realize that
Technology in Scotts Valley, Calif. Her husband’s job something was missing from
with the state is also on shaky ground, and they’re evangelical teaching.
falling behind on house payments. In his book, The Hole in Our
Her friend Linda Lininger, a technical writer, Gospel: What Does God Expect of
spent four months without work. She pulled money Us? (Thomas Nelson, 2009), Mr.
out of retirement savings to get by and landed a job Stearns talks about his passion for
in the spring. “But I’m so far behind the eight ball,” the poor—and what churchgoers
she says, “it will take me a year to recover.” can do to help. He spoke recently
One place has made a difference for both women. with managing editor Robin Rus-
They worship on Sundays with a small congregation sell.
at Boulder Creek United Methodist Church in Cali-
fornia’s Santa Cruz Mountains, and find support How did the church get off
from other members hit hard by the recession. track and not consider issues
It’s a common situation these days, as job losses of poverty, when even rock stars
leave millions financially at risk for the first time in get it?
their lives. Both the “new poor” and the chronically You’ve hit the nail on the head.
homeless are turning to faith communities for spiri- My frustration with the American
tual and practical help. church is palpable. And I’m like
Boulder Creek hosted workshops in March, invit- Paul—the chief of sinners. I’m just
ing neighbors to meet one-on-one with job coun- a guy who had a business career
selors and financial advisors. But attendance fell and went to church every Sunday.
short when local media failed to cover the events. Never really on a
“I’d like to see it build some word of mouth so we profound level
can develop the idea,” Ms. Lininger said. “Our little saw the bigger
church of 50 people is mighty powerful for its size, picture. But if
and I think God put us together for times like this.” you look at
The Rev. Brian Souza, pastor of “The River” Scripture you
United Methodist Church in Woonsocket, R.I., knows see that the peo-
the value of a little publicity. The River’s ministry to ple of God are
the homeless was featured in the 2007 documentary constantly miss-
Richard
Lost in Woonsocket. Local screenings drew attention ing the point.
Stearns
to the church and now people on the streets often I talk about
come there to worship. “culture blind-
“They’re not all unemployed,” said Mr. Souza. ness” that allowed our parents to
“Some were evicted when their landlords defaulted live in a society where African
on loans, and they lost their security deposits so they Americans could not eat at the
can’t afford a first month’s rent anywhere else. They same restaurants or sit in the front
end up stranded until they can get help.” of the bus. “How could they miss
In April the church pitched tents on its grounds that? How could they be so blind,”
to shelter six men before zoning laws forced them to we say? How could their grandpar-
leave. Then church members—many homeless ents and great-grandparents have
themselves—handed out an estimated 120 tents and lived in a world where it was OK to
sleeping bags in wooded areas around the city. have slaves and to own human be-
The congregation also distributes food, clothes ings? We tend as modern people to
and toiletries in a donated catering truck and serves say, “How terrible that the people
COURTESY PHOTO
two hot meals a week at their community center.
Homeless people in Wichita, Kan., are helped by United Methodist Open Door, a ministry
square6 See ‘Compassion,’
oor,’ page 3A of the Kansas West Conference.
page 2A
square6 See ‘The New P
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