The Face of God

A few years ago, there was a television show I loved to watch each week. The concept was intriguing and thought provoking and each week, I felt I learned something (or at the least, had my thoughts pushed in new directions). The name of the show was “Joan of Arcadia”, a cute (?) take on Joan of Arc. The premise of the show was that God talked to this young teenage girl through the people she met in her daily life. Sometimes it was a bus driver, sometimes the janitor at her high school or a homeless teenage girl she met on the bus. Once it was even a little girl, who spoke clearly to Joan about whatever moral issue she was dealing with that week. God helped her to see who needed help, how to help them, or just how to sit up and notice other people. I loved the idea of God speaking through random human beings at random times about life.

In real life, working at Hope House has increased my faith exponentially and the giving I receive from my clients has helped me to understand a radical concept. Are you ready? Because sometimes I think my views are “radical” to some—anyway, here goes:

“I have met God face to face!”

Wow! Yes, I am still here—no lightening struck, I am not blind and God has not forsaken me (at least, He hasn’t told me He has!). Radical or not, this statement is perfectly true, both for me and for all of you. The truth is we meet God everyday in the faces of those we interact with (heck, we meet Him even when we don’t interact with someone---which is why we should all pay closer attention to each other, but that’s another blog). We are all part of the Body of Christ, we are all members of the family of mankind and we are all fellow travelers on this journey we call life. So let me introduce you to some of the faces God has shown to me:

·       A newborn baby girl, sweetly sleeping in her mother’s arms.

·       A 3 year old boy, peering around my office door, offering a “fist bump” and a grin.

·       A pregnant teenage girl, face showing both fear and wonder.

·       An exhausted young single mom, carrying one child and holding the other tightly by the hand.

·       A migrant worker, hands stained purple from the raspberries he was picking all week.

·       A homeless teenage boy with three tattoos and 4 piercings.

·       A bewildered middle aged father who has never not had a job—until now.

·       A mentally ill, confused and difficult young woman.

·       A grizzled, smoky smelling homeless vet, grateful for a hot cup of coffee and some dry socks.

·       An elderly widow, leaning heavily on her walker.

·       A young disabled man in a wheelchair, unable to communicate clearly to the world.

These are the faces of God I meet—all of them with one common trait—they are all God in disguise. How would you treat Him if He presented himself to you in need? Perhaps in a less than attractive body or personality? If we believe we are called to be Christ present to each other here on earth, where and with whom do you draw the line?

How many times have you met God today?

 

St. Peter is watching you.

On walks through the cemetery, or even our church garden, I often admire the beautiful statues erected in memory of a loved one. Angels seem to be a popular theme, and in our church garden is a beautiful statue of the Blessed Mother, in memory of a lovely woman I remember fondly.

If I would have a statue in my honor or on my grave, I would pick St. Peter. Why Peter, you might ask? The answer is simple, as simple as the man who loved Christ so much and trusted Him so much that he actually stepped out of a boat onto the water with Him! From what we know about the disciples, Peter was most often right out in front, asking questions, swinging swords and yes, denying Christ. However, I don’t believe any of the disciples loved our Lord more than Peter and I think Christ knew that when he put Peter in charge of His church. Jesus knew Peter would work hard, keep things and people together and lead with common sense and compassion. I identify with him because I see a lot of the same characteristics in the two of us: hard workers, hands on workers, passionate about what we do, speaking without always thinking first, and not always as patient as we should be.

So all of this is leading up to me speaking out without patience and with passion on a subject that has me a little riled up.

It recently came to my attention that some in our congregation are “uncomfortable” with the lines of people waiting outside our gym on the last Sunday of each month for a free Community Meal. While this meal has nothing to do with Hope House, I often see looks slanted towards our clients waiting in line on weekday mornings for diapers and clothing. Same looks, same attitude, same people. So here I go—St. Peter be with me!

Did these people go to the same Mass I did? Did they receive the Body of Christ? Of course they did. So why after receiving our Lord and His grace in one space, do they feel it is ok to be “uncomfortable” with other members of the Body of Christ waiting patiently for a free meal? The people in line are poor—they are not criminals, they are not gang members, they are not here to hurt anyone, they would appreciate a smile and a word of welcome. Does anyone think it is easy to stand in line for free food? Do any of you think most of them would rather be home cooking their own meal? These are your neighbors, part of our community, and human beings in this world of ours. Times are tough, or haven't you heard?

I would ask that you take a moment next time you see this line or when you see clients outside of Hope House and just say Hi and smile and make eye contact. You may find out how very nice “these people” are!

Don’t make me send St. Peter to lecture you!

In Service to Others.....

So the reading last Sunday was the often controversial verses from Ephesians 5. You know, the one that tells wives to be subservient to their husbands? Yes, I thought you’d heard of it.  All through the church, there were nudges and smirks, as usual.

But what does this verse really mean? It actually goes on to tell husbands to love their wives as Christ loves His church—and how much more loving can you get than that? In my humble opinion, this verse is all about how we as human beings and parts of the Body of Christ, should treat each other.

The clue is in the use of the word subservient. Looking up the actual meaning of this word led me to the following: “servile, useful as a means or an instrument”. St. Francis famously prayed “Lord, make me an instrument of Your peace.” We often ask Christ to make us His hands on earth—why? To serve each other as He serves us. The greatest witness we can give, the most important role model we can be and the best way to show Christ to others is to serve them! Our faith is all about service to others—without that service, we have an empty faith.

So what does that mean? It means we:

• Offer compassion and acceptance in all we do for others.

• Step outside our comfort zone to share with others.

• Sacrifice from our first fruits, not our leftovers.

• Always remember that those we serve are fellow members of the Body of Christ, fellow children of God.

• Realize that we are all a huge family and everyone is our brother or sister, deserving of our love.

Mother Theresa knew how to do this, and she is our hero!!

Homeless with Children

Sometimes I carry my clients’ home with me in my heart and on my mind. Today is one of those days. The afternoon started with a rush of people through our doors, as Fridays often do. It was standing room only, but one young woman stood hesitantly in front of me at the front desk with one toddler on her hip and one standing holding her hand. When I asked her what we could do for her, she said she wasn’t sure, but she needed a place to stay for her and her children, perhaps a hotel voucher. I explained that our limited resources did not allow for this kind of expenditure and started explaining where else she could try. As she tried to keep them back, tears started forming in her eyes and I could tell she was losing control in a crowded room full of strangers. We quickly took her and her children back to a quiet area to discuss her options and make some calls for her while she took some breaths and got her emotions back under control.

The problem is that the Agape House was full and another women’s shelter was not answering their phone; no agency had the wherewithal to buy her a hotel stay, and her family was not willing to take her in. As we sent her off to Agape to see if they could fit her in anyway, I felt so useless and helpless.

An hour later, a young man with his 3 year old daughter waited patiently in the waiting room for their turn. We were unsettled to learn he also needed a place for himself and his daughter. His situation was even worse, as there is no place in town that takes men and children.

I really dislike this continuing problem, and I regularly speak up about it at community group meetings when the problem of shelters comes up—we need more family shelter space! We need a place for emergency shelter for men, women and children to be together. Why is it that we have a men’s shelter, a women and children’s shelter and a battered women’s shelter, but no family shelter? While we are on the subject, what women’s shelter could turn away a woman and two toddlers? Surely you could find a corner or a couch for them to sleep on.

I usually don’t like to rant about public policy or community resources, but I cannot tell you how awful it is to look a young mother or father in the eye and tell them you have no idea where to send them for a place to get their children off the streets. They continue to live in your heart for quite awhile. What does it say about our society and our community when we have so little regard for families who need a little bit of help to make it through?

This kind of day brings home to me in a very personal way how blessed I am in this life, and makes me wish I had all the money in the world, because I would make sure families had a place to live!

Sometimes God just reaches down and slaps me upside the head. Now, if this statement makes you wince, stick with me and trust that I know what I’m talking about! He’s not making me wait until I see Him in the afterlife to keep me in line, He just keeps teaching me here on earth as I go along my very imperfect, human way.

So what prompted this slap, you may ask? Well, here, to my shame, is my story. Keep in mind that the first thing we do at Hope House before we open every day is pray for kindness, patience and compassion to shine from each of us (this is where I got in trouble).

So the story starts earlier last week, when “Tommy” came in to Hope House looking for help paying his rent to some friends who were letting him crash at their house. Tommy is a regular client, is usually homeless and often slightly inebriated when he visits us. Let’s just say he is one of our more challenging clients. When we explained we don’t help pay rent, he became very upset and yelled about how no one cares about him, etc., etc…….then he left after getting a bag of food.

The very next day, Tommy stopped in to let loose with a loud verbal outburst about how it is our fault he is homeless, and he hates the Catholic Church and us especially. After yelling this at me, he left the room and then came back in to ask for some clothing, which we of course gave him.

Flash forward to a busy Friday afternoon—lots of people at Hope House for assistance, so many that they were spilled out onto the lawn waiting their turns. We were doing double intake duties to keep up, so when I came out and saw Tommy’s name was next, I just sighed. It had been a long week with Tommy, and I was not in the mood for him at all. I called his name, looked around—no Tommy. Someone said he might be outside, so I went out and called again—no Tommy. I came back inside, smiling in relief that I didn’t have to deal with him again. Just then, someone said “there’s Tommy out there with his bike”. So I again went outside, hoping he was heading out and didn’t want to come in again. When I called out to him, I asked him if he still needed to check in. he immediately said yes and almost ran into the building, with me and my poor attitude following. Upon getting into the privacy of the intake room, Tommy told me he didn’t need anything, he just came by to tell me he was sorry for his behavior all week.

SLAP!! That sound you hear is God asking me if I really mean what I say when I pray each day, or am I just being a Pharisee. You see, it didn’t matter if I let Tommy or anyone else know how much I did not want to help him—what mattered was my inner impatience and lack of compassion for this fellow human being. What mattered was my commitment to Christ to treat each and every one of the parts of His body as I would treat Him.  This is the whole focus of Hope House, and it is what makes us special.

SLAP! That’s God saying “don’t make me stop this car!”

Rest in Peace, Don

It is with great sadness that I tell you all of the loss of another valued volunteer from Hope House. Don Anderson was confined to a wheelchair after 2 strokes left him partially paralyzed and with limited speech abilities. Don’s mind, however, was wonderfully active and curious and he loved being around people from all walks of life.

Don became our client several years ago, wheeling through the neighborhood in his motorized wheelchair on his way to visit us. We noticed he often came in asking for nothing but a cup of coffee and some cookies (Don LOVED his cookies!). So one day, I told him he was welcome anytime, and he didn’t need to be there to receive services. After that, he became a regular every Tuesday and sometimes more often. We made him an official volunteer about a year and a half ago, complete with his own nametag, which he prized.

Every Tuesday morning I would arrive at Hope House to find Don sitting in his chair by the back door ramp, usually smoking one last cigarette before coming in to work. He then would join me inside to get everything ready for opening: setting out the full coffee carafes, putting the cookie basket on the desk, refilling any sugar, creamer, stirrers, etc. that needed it. He would then motor around putting things on the shelves for me as I sorted them.

When we opened our doors, Don was the official greeter, making sure everyone knew to sign in and to help themselves to coffee and cookies. He loved to sit and watch the children play; listen to the men talking and the mothers sharing resources. If it got too crowded and noisy, he would leave a little early, but usually Don was there for the morning—reveling in his “job”.

Don’s wife, Dianne, stopped by today to tell me about his death. She thanked us for offering him a place to feel useful and needed in his final days. She said he loved to come to Hope House, and loved the people he worked with there.

We loved him, too—rest with God, sweet man.

Some needs are more than basic....

This week was a meeting week for me—lots of time spent explaining what Hope House does and how we do it. Somewhere in the middle of explaining it all to others, it became clearer to me. So here is my explanation of what we are, as well as my “ah-ha!” moment.

First, do you realize that Hope House is a social service agency unto itself? A very successful one at that—although we are always trying to work our way out of a job! So, in explaining that we are a “Basic Needs Provider” in our community, it became necessary to explain what a basic need is. In 1943, Abraham Maslow defined a pyramidal structure of human needs, with the most basic on the bottom of the pyramid. Hope House meets these needs from the bottom level:

1.      Food

      2.      Clothing
      3.      Hygienic assistance

Simple, right? It is simple looking at it that way; however, Hope House meets needs way further up the pyramid than this. From the safety level, we meet the need of resources. One more level up, we offer friendship and sense of belonging to a family community. Finally, at Hope House we offer respect, we encourage confidence and achievement and we attempt to boost self-esteem.

So back to my moment—who is to say which human need is the most important? Does it truly matter where on the pyramid you are working at any given time? Or is your most pressing need your most basic need today?

Within the first year of opening Hope House, we had a young homeless man arrive needing some food and clothing. The next time he came in, we remembered his name and greeted him with a smile. Within a couple of weeks, Michael was stopping by every day, usually just poking his head in and looking at us. When I asked him why he was doing this without receiving services, his response was: “I just need to hear someone say my name once in a while so that I know I am still here.”

Basic needs aren’t always tangible items.

Of Debris and Donations.....

Just to let you all know that life at Hope House is not always glamorous; recently, I opened the cupboard under the sink and out toppled a LOT of debris. I do mean a lot and it was almost all garbage or junk—quite unpleasant to deal with! However, I try to never expect my staff of volunteers to undertake tasks I am unwilling to perform, so I set the afternoon aside for some cleaning on my knees. See the results?

So you may ask what this has to do with anything. Beyond the obvious fact that I spent some “quality” time on my knees (get it?); the element of service was overwhelming. Many of the staff avoid that cupboard because it is so unpleasant and it is difficult to find anything in it. I have made their lives incrementally (very small increments) easier while working in the kitchen area. This was a small gift from me to them, in gratitude for all they do at Hope House for our clients. They deserve so much more!

So on to the donations. Just a couple of days after this cleaning spree, I had one of those wonderful days in which everywhere I turned, someone was giving me money and checks. It was almost like it was raining down from heaven. One cash donation from a volunteer enabled us to help pay the water bill of an elderly woman who had just been released from the hospital, and went home to find her water turned off. Her anxiety level was so high we were afraid she would end up back in the hospital. Between the client, the donor, the volunteer who made the arrangements and the administrator at the church who wrote the check, the circle was magical. We call these “Godshots” at Hope House—direct, divine intervention in the lives of those we serve.

So we are back to “serving”—I can’t help but hope that there was a connection—a reward, as you will---for the clean cupboard. Truly serving others in His name is what we are about at Hope House.

Next, the bathroom!

Have you ever had a pet you loved beyond all reason? You know, the one you would tell your secrets to, the one you trusted to keep those secrets and give you unconditional love and acceptance. We all remember a dog (or cat) like that in our life—a companion whose loss we grieved when they passed on.

Animals are wonderful therapy for us humans—a sounding board that won’t talk back or offer differing opinions about our behavior. We pour out our pain and loneliness and receive in return a big lick, a wagging tail, a silky purr…..and lots of love.

For those of our clients who are without homes at the moment, their animals ARE their homes and their family. They also offer protection and warmth, companionship and acceptance to those who are often marginalized by society. One of my clients called his dog his “best friend”, and I think that sums it all up!

There are often judgments made about those who are either homeless or low income having pets; “how can they be so dumb as to add another mouth to feed when they can’t feed themselves?”, “that dog/cat is keeping them from a decent apartment”—these are all things I have heard said.

The simple truth is that people need contact with another being, human or animal. Without that contact, it may be difficult to feel alive in this world. We honor this commitment between friends at Hope House by offering pet food and supplies when we can. Drop some by if you love animals!

In the meantime—go hug your dog or cat.

I'm surrounded and I love it!

I’m surrounded by Marys—literally! We have so many volunteers named Mary at Hope House that it gets confusing trying to keep track of them. What they all have in common is a wonderful dedication to serving those in need, and in this they share with all the non-Mary volunteers. We have the most wonderful volunteers ever! Let me share:

· “Little” Mary and Mary-Lou both take pride in “culling” the racks each week to keep the clothing choices up to date. They remove items that have been hanging there for quite a while, they check for missed stains and buttons and just generally keep our racks manageable.

· Mary W. loves to show new clients around and help them find everything they need. She has also cross-trained for several jobs at Hope House, so she is valuable everywhere!

· Mary S. spends hours filing records for us and is eagerly awaiting our new computers so she can do some data entry.

· Mary J. and Mary S. (a different one) both are hard-working sorters and hygiene distributors in our kitchen area.

·“Young” Mary is a college student who never fails to show up when she is home from school to lend a hand—often doing all the running up and down the stairs for us!

· Kathleen works quietly at Hope House in the afternoons and on weekends when we are not open. She is a master organizer with wonderful vision, and helps us keep things working efficiently.

· Ellen has been with us since the start of Hope House and has kept the infant/toddler clothing under control for years. She also works with Kathleen on keeping the upstairs storage under control.

· Don, John, Dick, Ricardo, Bill, Pug and Dianne are our “air traffic controllers”—they work the front desk, keeping track of who is coming and who is going, checking people out, answering questions, keeping the coffee and cookies replenished and just generally being the center of our daily life!

· Then there are the “shed pixies”, Ray and Jeanne, who keep our food bags packed, our donation bin emptied and just keep the storage shed organized—love them!

· Bonnie, Tim, Chuck, Ann, Jan, Judy and Carole have special jobs listening to those in need of financial assistance and discerning who and how they can help. God bless them for this ministry!

· Lynnette, Carole, Shirley, Ann, Chris, Sarah, Becky, Chuck, Maura, Evelyn, Kathy, Caroline, Keegan, Liz and more that I have probably forgot to name, all work very, very hard in our kitchen area, sorting donations, handing out food, hygiene and diapers to a never ending stream of clients. We couldn’t do it without them!

· Pat and Judy help with intake, as well as Becky, Mary S. and Bill. This is the position that takes time and sensitivity and it is not for everybody, but these volunteers make it look easy.

· Paul stops by Hope House a couple mornings a week to vacuum and empty the garbage for us. I can’t tell you how much it means to come in to a clean work area!

· The Street Outreach team—a unique and totally focused group of wonderful volunteers who go out in the dark and cold to bring food to the homeless where they live; Theresa, Bonnie, Sharon, Roland, Christine and Phil—you rock!

Speaking of the Street Outreach team—their backup crews who make lunches each week make it possible, both the team at Assumption and the wonderful Sandwich Brigade at St. Paul’s. Wonderful, wonderful people—each one.

Here are a few examples of how these volunteers make things nicer at Hope House:

· I come around the corner past a window where we often hang clothing. In the window I see adorable coordinated outfits; complete with tastefully arranged scarves, all in green (St. Patrick’s Day is coming). Someone has made sure we look like a store for our clients.

· I discover packages of cookies stored at the front desk—because “it sometimes takes too long to go back to the kitchen when people are hungry”. Enough said.

· Even with lines of people waiting, I cannot convince the kitchen crew that they don’t have to give people an option of what fragrance of shampoo they want—they like to make sure the clients get to choose.

· The lunch packing crews for the Street Outreach are uncompromising in their dedication to a quality lunch—they make what they would serve to Christ—fresh meat and cheese sandwiches, homemade cookies and fresh fruit!

I wouldn’t trade any of them for anything! I love them all.

Long enough?

Can someone tell me why January seems like the longest month of the year? I reasonably know that there are 6 other months with 31 days in them, but January seems to last foreverrrrrrrrr. Perhaps it is the cold, the gray, the cloudy, the letdown after the frantic pace of the holidays; but for whatever reason, it seems like it will never end.

Certainly that is true to our clients, many of whom come in 2-3 times during January, and often are completely tapped out by the 30th. Some of them come just to get out of the house; some come to see if they can get more blankets and warm clothing so that they can turn their heat down to save money. I think many come for the warmth: both the physical warmth of the building (and the coffee) and the warmth of human interaction. During this, the coldest time of the year, clients seem to chat with each other more, spend more time sharing resources and stories. The only other time we see this much interaction is during the middle of summer, when everyone feels relaxed and we spill out the doors to sit and chat on the grass.

It is when I see young mothers showing off their babies with pride, toddlers playing cars, men talking sports and cars, that I am so glad we rearranged our waiting area into a “living” area! Hope House community times are precious to us and part of our mission.

So back to the loooonnnggg month of January—I pride myself on my ability to treat people with warmth and love. It's why I work where I work! But sometimes towards the end of a long, hard month I find myself less than charitable in my interactions, less patient with those who are demanding and not as friendly as I like to be. I had one of these days recently and I did not like it—I told my volunteers that it was not a good day for me to be there.

Just when I thought I was going to have to go home upset over a wasted opportunity of a day, three things happened:

1. A homeless gentleman whom we have been working with forever, and who had fallen off the wagon a few months ago, came in. He did not want to talk to me, would not look at me, but just asked if he could have some food and socks. I replied that of course he could. Then I told him I miss him—not just once, but 12 times in the 5 minutes he was with me. He went out to get his food, and on his way out the door, he looked me in the eye and said “I miss you, too.”

2. A young woman came in who needed help with a bus ticket to Seattle for a seminar that would help her get into college. She has been homeless, recently housed by another agency, and all she needed was $9 more for the round trip ticket. We had no way to get her a check for that amount that day, but while I was talking to her, the volunteers had gathered up the money from among them, along with a packed lunch to eat on the way. She sat in the chair in my office and leaned forward, sobbing into her hands. She said she couldn’t believe we believed in her.

3. One of my long time clients, a young mother, came in to proudly show off her newest bundle of joy—the most beautiful little girl, who I was able to hold (those are the perks of this job!!).

So my day, and my month, ended better than I had anticipated; and I haven’t even mentioned several “Godshots” we had in the last week.

That’s another posting.

Making a Difference

“For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away .” – James 4:14

Every day at Hope House we have opportunities to make a difference in someone else’s life. Sometimes a profound and lasting difference, more often we just make another human being’s day a little better or brighter. A smile, a kind word, and friendship offered in a genuine manner—these are little things that can let someone know they are valued and important to us. A respectful conversation, remembering someone’s name and welcoming them back indicate they are considered part of our Hope House family.

I think this is why the volunteers at Hope House are so special, why they are so dedicated and why I am so particular about who volunteers there. This ministry is unique. Do we think we are earning our way to heaven? No, we consider our service the outward evidence of our deeply held faith. One of our early volunteers was a kind young man named Daniel Bartle. He came to us from his high school classroom twice a week for a year or so. He smiled, he laughed, and he made our days sunny and entertaining. You should have seen him trying to hang up baby clothing on little tiny hangers! He was a special volunteer who made a difference during his time with us.

Dan’s life was exceptional—he worked hard at getting into the Naval Academy at Annapolis, he was a congressional page and he was valedictorian of his high school class. When he graduated from Annapolis, he became a Marine officer and continued his education by learning how to fly helicopters. Dan was a man of honor and devotion to duty, dedicated to making a difference in this world, and he did. Anyone who knew him remembers him with much love and respect. Captain Daniel Bartle passed away when his helicopter went down in Afghanistan last week. Dan touched many lives in this world during his short time with us. We can learn from his passing that now is the time to reach out and make a difference. Don’t wait, look around you and see who you can “touch” today.

In honor of Dan, make a difference today.

All things important

Money, money, money! We never have enough of it, of course, for Hope House needs. It feels like a constant struggle to make ends meet in our mission of serving the poor of our community—both with goods and with the small amounts of money offered by Assumption Financial Assistance. I dislike focusing on the budget line items, the spreadsheets and the grant requests because it seems so much like the least of our mission.

But in truth, at Hope House we are stewards of all that is given to us by those who donate and those who fund us in any way. It’s a balancing act at all times to make sure our focus is where it needs to be. Part of my job description is to deal with budgets and grants, so at this time of year, I often start with a resolution that I am going to do a better job at it this year.

So meetings are already set up and the ball is rolling, but I also need to stop and think and pray about the other areas I need to focus on:

1. Volunteers---I need to make sure their needs are being met, that they are feeling as valued as they are. I always worry I am not offering enough positive feedback.

2. Clients---I need to make sure they are receiving the best of me at all times. No perfunctory greetings, I need to offer warmth and compassion always!

3. Donors---are they being offered the warmest thank you I can give? Sometimes it seems that they creep in the back door, drop things off and are gone before I have a chance to say thanks.

4. Community---am I attending as many community opportunities as I should to keep Hope House current and on the radar in our area? Does the community understand who we are and what our mission is?

The bottom line for all who work with Hope House is that we treat each other and all our clients with all the love and compassion we would reserve for Jesus Christ himself—for we are serving the Body of Christ each and every day.

Try putting that in a spreadsheet.

A Happy New Year

Today was our first day open in 2012. A new year, new challenges, maybe a perfect time to say thank you:

Thank you to all those who donate items or money to Hope House or Assumption Financial Assistance. Without you, we quite simply would not have anything to give to those who come to us in need. God bless you each and every day.

Thank you to those who pray for us, talk about us to others, and say nice things to those of us who work here. Your support is crucial!

Thank you to our clients—for being so patient, so thankful and so friendly and helpful to each other. It is not easy to be poor—the endless hours of standing in line, the bus rides with tired, cranky children, the long walks when you don’t have a bus ticket or a car---we wish we could make more things in your life easier.

Most of all, thank you to the dedicated and caring volunteers who staff Hope House. We have over 50 active volunteers on our list, performing many of these duties with love and compassion:

1. Sorting clothing and hanging it up.

2. Keeping shelves stocked and clean.

3. Carrying heavy boxes of hygiene items in and out of the shed.

4. Packing food bags.

5. Making lunches for the Street Outreach.

6. Taking bags of non-usable donations to Goodwill.

7. Vacuuming and taking out the trash.

8. Breaking down our cardboard for recycling.

9. Making cookies for the Street Outreach lunches.

10. Decorating Hope House for the holidays.

11. Doing intake interviews with our clients.

12. Checking clients out and bagging their “purchases”.

13. Helping clients find just what they need.

14. Listening to the needs of those seeking financial assistance, and finding solutions.

15. Offering hugs and prayers to those who need them.

16. Keeping the chaos of Angel Tree gifts under control at Christmas.

Our volunteers come from all ages and walks of life. We have teenagers, young mothers, former clients and retired persons from both Assumption parish and St. Paul’s Episcopal Church working at Hope House. What they all have in common is the right mind set for this job—the firm conviction that we are serving the Body of Christ as He would have us serve them. This is not a casual volunteer job—it is a calling of sorts, and we are a little picky about who serves here.

We have been closed since right before Christmas, but each time I stopped by Hope House to drop something off or check on things, there was always at least one volunteer in there, working on some project during our closed time. Dedication with a capital D!

So, in this New Year, may we be needed less, but be more helpful; and may you all continue to support us in whatever way you can!