Happy weekend all!

How are you all enjoying your weekend? Hope you are all getting rested and recouped!

How would you react if a smelly, dirty, old man wandered into your church tomorrow morning? Be honest! Would you go up and greet him or would you try to ignore him? To be perfectly honest I would probably not go up and talk to him but only because I tend to be shy and never feel like I know what to say. I probably would give him a smile tho. That is something I really have to work on because in my heart I don't think less of him, I'm sure he's had a rough life, with lots of pain. Not to mention he is in the very spot he should be to better that life. I wish I could be more like some of the older folks (70's and above) that feel so free about talking to someone like him. There are several older folks especially men that would walk right up to him and say here why not come sit with me. I would feel odd doing that. It was a recption like that, that got us going to our current church. I need to work on doing that more often because Jesus did this on a daily basis he went where the lowest of the low hung out and reached out to hold them close. I think we can all pray to be more apt to reach out in life for those who are less fortunate in whatever way. Enjoy your weekend and remember to take time out for our wonderful Lord and Savior! God bless. Karen

Good Topic, Karen. 

I would have no trouble walking up to someone like the man, because my church has an outreach to the homeless right now, where they take them in off the street at night when it is going to get extremely cold, like this weekend.  I have spent ovenights with them, and worshipped with them the next day.  We also have a food pantry, and once a year, we invite all of the food pantry clients to a Thanksgiving service, and then give them a basket of food with a turkey dinner in it.  We meet up with one of the families and worship with them, and fellowship with them during the coffee time.  My church is very comfortable doing this, because our homeless outreach is four months during the winter, of getting them out of the encampments, and then during the rest of the year, there are people who go into the encampments and take food to them. 

Recently, we held a memorial service at our church, for one of the homeless who was murdered by her daughter.  We made sandwiches, and fellowshipped with the family and friends of the homeless people that came to the service. 

I guess my training in social work has helped me also.  I used to work part time at a psychiatric hospital, with the sickest patients, trying to do group therapy sessions with them.

Good topic.

Hugs,
Trish

Sounds like you belong to an awesome church! I gotta say that's the one thing I dislike about my church is that we are all middleclass, reasonably comfortable people and we really should be sharing our good blessings but we have zero outreach. There isn't a community around that can't be blessed with some kind of outreach. Some of us have tried to rattle their comfy box but to no avail. I feel like that is why we are put here in the first place. So I'm bi churchal and also get involved with the Salvation Army church here. We use our talents of knitting and crocheting to make hats and scarves for them to hand out to the homeless. Our little group of about 6 older ladies also adopted a young gal and her kids at Christmas because they were having a rough time. She asked if she could get some used PJs for her girls and we said Oh no that's not happening and the next thing you know we've got $100 or so to buy gifts and a gift certificate for a local grocery to pick up anything they wanted that wasn't in their dinner box. So that way I can do what God wants us to do. I feel very blessed, I've had a great life and never had to go without so I should share those blessings with others. My hat's off to your church sounds like they are doing a mighty work!

  Our church has a great outreach as well. I know that even when I can't personally do the outreach that some of our tithes go to outreach. We are blessed to be a church w/o debt so that helps. Good for you for getting involved somewhere else that has an outreach! I am shy as well and have trouble talking to new people as well, so I understand.

Have a Blessed Day!
Josie