Ann Morisy's argument - that the rich and comfortable need to journey out and encounter struggle - is very helpful when applied to the suspended meal scheme we run in our church coffee shop. One one level, this is simply a charitable endeavour whereby hungry people are fed. We are meeting a need, perhaps not in our immediate area, but in the Borough of Southend: a pressing need for the basic necessities of life among our homeless community. Morisy argues strongly that churches should not look at these projects simply as 'needs meeting' - there is something more profound going on.
If we as a church see the suspended meal scheme as only a way of providing food to those who need it, then we will seek to do so as efficiently as possible. Our current scheme could been seen as highly inefficient: hungry people need to travel to us to get the food; we are in an affluent area where costs are high; donating the suspended meal money to a homeless charity which already exists would seem to be a much more efficient use of the money. The suspended meal scheme has always been about more than that, however. Giving money is easy; having a meal alongside someone who is homeless is perhaps not quite so easy. It's perhaps a little awkward and embarrassing. Going further - maybe getting to know the person who lives a very different kind of life from your own - is harder still. How do I make conversation? What if I say something stupid? We don't have anything in common. Our coffee shop staff are naturals at making our homeless customers feel welcome, and genuine friendships are developing.
One interesting observation one of our managers made was that people tend to give more to suspended meals if they are in the coffee shop when one of our homeless customers is there. A customer will sidle up to the counter and ask discreetly, "Can I please pay for their meal?" 'The homeless' is no longer an alien group of people but someone I can see before me, eating the same kind of meal I am eating. The vague knowledge that there are people out there who are struggling has now become immediate and real. And there is something wonderful about acknowledging our shared humanity - our shared need for shelter, company and food - as we eat together in the same place.
It's not very efficient. It does meet many needs, however, and not just the obvious ones.
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