From Don Fornoff, Bishop’s Task Force on Homelessness:
I would like to reflect on the Diocese of Olympia’s Convention, as the Bishop’s Task Force experienced it. The Task Force made its presentation. It also peopled a booth with handouts and opportunities to discuss the homelessness issues of the day. Parish representatives met those who answered the call to serve the unhoused with the Task Force. As one who was at the booth both days, I was privileged to meet and speak with parish people who answered Christ’s call in their own community. Several folks expressed a willingness to connect with the Task Force.
Make no mistake, these tasks are not simple- difficulties can be beyond counting. Yet, there are rewards. Not the least of which is to share how and why we do it with each other. We want to do this task better and cause our community jurisdictions to do this better. Most parishes in the Diocese are engaged in service to the poor, which is most often being service to the unhoused or at risk of losing housing. The Task Force itself is engaged because we are activists who believe in the power of our faith, living into our Baptismal Covenant.
At our presentation, we opened with a prayer for homeless people. We immediately began to review how to address homelessness. We asked the assembled: Is your mission compassion-oriented or 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? Let’s be clear: the former is wonderful by itself. The latter lays out the harder questions that should be addressed in more comprehensive ways. Obviously, we believe the way of Jesus is what we care to follow.
We dove into the real issues of responding to local needs, concentrating on safe parking. Did you know that about 50% of all unhoused people live in their cars? We also talked about advocacy. We also touched on the forming of coalitions to increase the people-power for any action in your community. The sense was real that active faith will propel us into 2025.
If anyone cares to follow up with members of the Task Force, for any need, please respond to the E-news and you will be put in touch with someone who can help you.
The Mission of the Bishop’s Task Force on Homelessness
‘We strive to bring together individuals and congregations within the Episcopal Diocese of Olympia and the wider community to create and share practical approaches to reducing the burdens of living in homelessness through direct ministry, advocacy, and education.’
Be well, do good works, love one another,
Don Fornoff, Member of the Bishop’s Taskforce on Homelessness
