From Don Fornoff, Bishop’s Task Force on Homelessness:
Good morning, Dear Ones. I trust your day is happy and productive. Please remember that this day has not been happy or productive for many of our neighbors. Our mission with the Task Force is to serve others who need a hand-up. Through the Task Force and within and outside of Convention, we are trying to establish lines of communication with all parishes in the Diocese of Olympia. Living into our Baptismal Covenant, we are attempting to serve the poor and seek justice for all.
I would like us all to consider thoughts from my recent daily meditations and from a homily I was privileged to hear. It strikes me that in all we do, we should keep these thoughts in mind as a guide to how we do our good works.
From Forward Movement Daily came questions to ponder. Is your mission compassion-oriented, or is it justice-oriented? Do you feed people, or do you find out why there are so many hungry people so you can restore them to the community? Both are meaningful actions. As I thought about it, it is so important to feed them. Churches are good at doing that. Yet, it can be necessary to find out why they remain hungry and what continues to cause that. That action takes courage to ask hard questions – of them, our leaders, and ourselves. Then, determine what actions are needed to be in community with those served. Another action is to ask for names. We can’t ignore those whom we know by name. It is the first step to knowing and loving your neighbor. Names are humanizing.
Feeding our neighbors, advocating for them, helping them obtain proper identification – this is what restoration looks like.
The homily took me deeper into restoration. To restore is to have respect for all. To restore requires the contribution of all and not just preferential treatment for the poor. For all to contribute, it is necessary to create so that all can create. To do this acknowledges we all are part of God’s kingdom. So, to act creatively, make space for God’s kingdom – for all.
Be well, do good works, love one another,
Don Fornoff, Member of the Bishop’s Taskforce on Homelessness
