Dear Friends,
If you are reading this, you are one of a few friends, past supporters and folks I know who have expressed an interest in finding out more about what I do with the homeless here in Raleigh, NC. With this in mind, I decided to put out a monthly newsletter to keep all of you informed.
This being the first issue, I am going to try to bring everyone up to date. Future issues will be more timely and more informative (that is the plan, anyway!).
ADMIN STUFF
I set up this newsletter using a nifty piece of software to manage my mailing list. This way, the administration is all handled by the software, so you can sign up to get the newsletter, you can give a different email address, ask to be removed, and so on. Of course, I value your privacy and I will never share your information with anyone. If you want to change anything at all, please see the links at the very bottom of this email.
I had some trouble getting some email addresses for some folks I thought would be interested in reading this, so I am sure some people who would like to have read this did not get it. If you can think of anyone who you think would be interested, feel free to forward this email with my blessing.
WHAT I DO NOW
Some of you know, and some of you do not. Long story short, I spend all my free time working with the poor and homeless on the streets of Raleigh, North Carolina. With the help of some other very cool people, we work to bring the love of Jesus to the poor, the downtrodden, the marginalized.
On Sunday mornings we are in the park feeding the homeless. We feed around 100-150 people a week, depending on the weather. We give them a good solid meal and just love them, sit among them, learn their stories, listen to their pain. No telling them they are bound for hell (they feel like they are in hell already), no trying to “fix” them, just showing them that we see Jesus when we look at them. You know, they are dirty, filthy, some smell, some are drug addicts, some are alcoholics, some are transvestites, and every one of them is Jesus (Matthew 25:40).
Some of us started asking questions. We found out many of them lived in shelters, but had no coats for the winter, so we try to find them coats. We found out they had children, but no toys, so we get them some toys. We have helped stranded people get home, we help people find jobs, we have had people on the street tell us they love us. We tell them that Jesus loves them too.
Some of my more fundamentalist friends are no doubt wondering what when we share the gospel with them. Most of them know the “gospel” better than we do, after all they have had to hear it at the mission just to get a sandwich. However, very few of them see the gospel being lived out. I try to keep in mind the words of St. Francis of Assisi:
“Preach the gospel always; if necessary, use words.”
Many days, I eat lunch in the homeless soup kitchen. As I enter their world, I learn their struggles, see their problems firsthand and gain some credibility with them.
Eating with them matters to them. If you close a big business deal, it is usually over lunch. If you want to get to know your neighbors, you invite them over for supper. At church, you have potluck dinners to get to know each other. I eat with smelly crack addicts for the same reasons. By eating with someone, you affirm their dignity, show their worth, open yourself up to them. Eating together is such a very intimate thing…
By learning their stories, by interacting one on one, the love of Christ is communicated far more effectively than if I opened a soup kitchen. Not that there is anything wrong with operating a soup kitchen…
I am not a social worker; I am a follower of Jesus Christ. I am commanded to love my neighbor, not to eradicate poverty (I should say, however, that if all of the followers of Jesus did the former then the latter is inevitable). As such, I work with individuals whenever possible.
Raleigh has a huge homeless problem. Some statistics estimate 2000 homeless each night in the capitol city of North Carolina. Just six blocks or so from the Governor’s mansion, people sleep on the steps of abandoned buildings. I cannot believe that Jesus would be content with the status quo.
In short, I work with them, love them, care for them for two reasons:
- I believe with absolute certainty that this is what Jesus would do.
- I believe with absolute certainty that the poor are Jesus in disguise.
WHAT THE FUTURE LOOKS LIKE
To use a bit of Biblical allusion, the harvest is thick, but the workers are few. There is so very much to be done, and the existing systems in place do little more than encourage the perpetuation of poverty. Many want to help but do not know how to, or whether any “help” they give is really helpful.
Some problems I have had so far have been structure related, such as:
- Someone wanted to donate 10 boxes of bread and meat… where would we store it and distribute it?
- Often the homeless have problems that take time to solve. As I am self-employed right now, that takes time from my business (and food from my table… literally). How do I balance the need to pay rent with the needs of the “least of these”?
- Where do we put the coats, blankets and such that people donate every week? Right now, they are being drug around in the trunks of cars, but surely we can do that more effectively.
- There are hundreds of churches here in Raleigh; how can we mobilize them to help in this work?
One big issue right now is whether I should attempt to move into full time ministry/mission work. It is quite frustrating to not be able to spend the needed time with folks. Instead, they get my leftovers. I think that God could make use of my efforts and gifts in full time service to the poor; the question is whether God thinks so.
Right now, my living expenses amount to about $1200 a month; is God willing to provide that $1200? I have no experience in fundraising, no experience in raising “support”, as it is euphemistically called. Mother Theresa often said she had no money worries. “We are doing God’s work – if he wants it done, he will have to pay for it”. I have to confess my faith is not yet on that level. (My pastor tells me that comparing my level of faith to that of Mother Theresa is probably not the most inspiring thing I can do.)
The decision to seek support is one I am struggling with; Ultimately, it comes down to fear and my own weakness. I covet your prayers as I try to discern what God wants for me to do here.
I talked a good deal about my fears and concerns last week on my website, located here:
http://needingagape.com/homeless/something-must-change/
As you can see, there is a lot of prayer and a lot of uncertainty about the future. However, one thing I am absolutely certain of is that God does have a plan for the homeless of Raleigh; after all, he don’t make junk.
STAY INFORMED
I have ADD and as such, long letters like this are a struggle to write. I plan to keep them down to once a month or so. I am much better suited to doing periodic, spur of the moment updates on my website at http://needing agape.com, where I talk more about day to day operations and what life is like here.
IF YOU WANT TO HELP
More than anything else, I need your prayers. I need you to remember me and the people I work with, many of whom are not sleeping indoors at night. Please ask God to stay with us, to watch over us and to keep us centered in His will.
I am not looking for financial support for me right now (see above) but there are always needs that only money can solve; blankets, socks and shoes, hats and gloves. Sometimes as little as $20 makes the difference in someone getting a bus ticket to go home to their family or their being able to cover this week’s rent at the rooming house.
If you want to partner with me for these financial needs, make the check or money order out to “merge community church” and send it to me at
Hugh Hollowell
Box 18142
Raleigh, NC 27619
Please put the words “Moore Square – Hugh” on the memo line. We will get you a receipt and all for your taxes.
If you feel called to do this (and you are under no obligation; this is purely between you and God) then know that I thank you and the lives of a bunch of people who feel very unloved are made a bit better because of your generosity.
TIS THE SEASON
As I write this, it is Advent, a time of anticipation and hope for the planet. You know the story; God became flesh and gave the world a second chance.
I pray that this year you will remember that when God became flesh, he did it as a homeless man. He did it as someone who was forced to become a refugee in Egypt. He did it as a son to an unwed teenage mother. He did it as someone who came from the “bad part of town” (can anything good come from Nazareth?).
I think Jesus was trying to tell us something.
I hope we are listening.
Love Wins. Always.
Hugh
