Now, here's something I've never seen before - at least not in a Roman Catholic Church. In the photo above those are people sleeping in church pews -- and no one is preaching at the moment!
I found a link in a combox over at the America blog, In All Things, that led me to The Gubbio Project at St. Boniface Roman Catholic Church in the Tenderloin district of San Francisco. St. Boniface opens its doors to the homeless for "sacred sleep," Monday through Friday, from 7:30 a.m. to 12:15 p.m.
(Here's a short history and sketch of what The Gubbio project offers.)
I came across this link in a respose to Sidney Callahan's post on the value of reintroducing external markers (e.g., meatless Fridays) into Catholic culture. Her position raises some good questions and the combox picks up the theme.
Catholic culture... I was born in 1947 so I remember what that was. But I wonder what, today, might be counted as the external and internals markers of Catholic life.
Seems to me that The Gubbio Project has it just about right.
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Oh this is wonderful! I read the monthly reflection as well and was moved all over again.
ReplyDeleteThank you for this - a really interesting project. Added it to my wathch list.
ReplyDeleteI was hoping that Shannon had seen this - I knew that she would like it. Beautiful, moving.
ReplyDeleteThe Gubbio Project and St. Boniface rock!!! (As well as the St. Anthony Foundation, which is right next door to it) I live a few blocks away from that parish and they are a such a wonderful part of this community. Now THAT is what a parish should be doing! I'm a social worker in this hood and was working with homeless youth and kept hearing wonderful things from my clients about this place... to my surprise. I was surprised a church even let them in their door! Before I became Catholic a couple years ago I would often run into groups from the suburbs that would come into my hood to bible thump people... and it drove me nuts! (still drives me nuts... SO annoying!) We often get the people with bullhorns yelling hell fire damnation stuff. Then there are the others that make people pray with them and listen to their spiel before they will give them food. Ridiculous! I wanted nothing to do with Christians... especially if they were bible thumping me. But I ran across The Gubbio Project and instead of the bible thumping I was used to, they seemed to have a different approach. This bizarre approach involved actually showing Jesus' love by caring and helping people that are usually treated as outcasts. There was a true dignity and respect for them as a person no matter what their situation. This was NOT the typical thing I had seen from most of the American Christians I had known.
ReplyDeleteThis is one of the things that drew me to the Catholic Church (although the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist is what hooked me). Seeing this kind of kindness and compassion was very intriguing to me.
The first time I spoke to a priest I was very upfront about myself. I explained that I was a typical San Francisco liberal queer heathen social worker, but was a bit intrigued to learn more about this Catholic stuff. I figured I would put it all 'out there' at the beginning as to not prolong the impending judgment and rejection. My intent was NOT to become Catholic though. To my surprise he was very open to talking and we've become good friends over the past few years.
Thankfully I have been blessed with many caring and compassionate priests and lay people in my life. I am blessed to see ministries like the Gubbio Project in action... and have now become a part of ministries like it. I think I was blessed with this to counteract the crap I often read online... especially in the comment sections on Catholic blogs. Often the comment sections are worse than the guys on the corner with the bullhorns! I wonder if people realize that that approach doesn't inspire people to want to hear more. In fact, it pushes people away. I have not been one to engage in the comment sections and now pretty much avoid most Catholic blogs in general, but I enjoy posts like this one.
I like the idea of using church pews as a bed for the homeless people . The church is generous enough in opening its doors for the needy. By doing this, the church officials are adhering to their gospel teachings, they put into actions what they profess . They have proven to us that church pews are not only used as a furniture where one can sit while listening to the gospel, but a bed that can comfort the tired and weary people.
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