Minute for the Mission
I have always had a feeling of honor and gratitude each time I am invited to address a church congregation on Sunday morning. Such was the case in late October at Northminster Presbyterian Church. Being the recipient of their mission offering for the fourth quarter, a Resurrection House representative was invited to speak.
Upon arriving, I noticed in the program that my talk was to follow the sermon and precede the offering. The title of my talk was to be “Minute for the Mission”.
When my turn came, I gazed at the many faces in the congregation. My thoughts had already turned to trying to make what Resurrection House does relevant to those seated before me. My opening statement hopefully had the proper impact. “Each of you has something in common with the homeless individuals that we serve on a daily basis,” I began. “When your feet first hit the floor in the morning you have four basic human needs—a restroom, shower, food and clothes. Fortunately, each of you has a roof over your head to tend to these needs,” I continued.
While our homeless have the same needs, they lack their own facility to meet them. Resurrection House meets these needs with four showers, four restrooms, breakfast and lunch, and volunteers to wash, dry and fold 60 bags of clothes per day.
The Northminster Presbyterian bulletin did a good job of listing the other services available at Resurrection House. I highlighted the medical facility with a doctor and nurse two days a week, an attorney on Tuesday morning and a barber one day a week.
Other brief points included celebrating the start of our 28th year of operation on October 19. And I always mention that Resurrection House has never taken a penny from city, county, state, or federal governments.
In closing, I would be remiss if I did not tell of the overwhelming feeling of gratitude and pleasure derived from helping our clients on a daily basis. My final remark is that in helping them, they do more for me than I can ever do for them.
The homeless will always be among us and I hope there will always be a Resurrection House there to meet their needs. All said in a “Minute for the Mission”.
