and this is why

The last few days down on the green have been interesting. Well, the last week, really. Everyday when I would least expect it, God shows up in some way. And people keep asking why we are doing this, if we are part of an organization, etc...... I've been reminded of more things the last three days by the words of people I met down on the green than a slew of people over the last year.... maybe I just had better ears to hear, I don't know. But I heard this from people society tends to label outcasts, and I would have to say, there are some of them that possess far more wisdom than I do. (more on that later)
This morning we were talking before we headed over to the green, and we were talking about getting burnt out (we aren't really) ....although I have to admit, the only thing burning me out was cleaning up kitchen messes every morning....which is really kind of small and silly.

anyway, this has me thinking about quite a bit right now, but I have to run to work, so I'll leave this one thing for right now.... feeding people on the green, getting to know them, loving them, the only thing it is about right now is this:

"Seewhat kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him. 2 Beloved, we are God's children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is. 3 And everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure."

"11 For this is the message that you have heard from the beginning, that we should love one another. 12 We should not be like Cain, who was of the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own deeds were evil and his brother's righteous. 13 Do not be surprised, brothers, that the world hates you. 14 We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brothers. Whoever does not love abides in death. 15 Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him.

16 By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers. 17 But if anyone has the world's goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God's love abide in him? 18 Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth."

the day it becomes about anything else is the day we stop.

there's not any other good reason.

Today we had a very large crowd. I'm guessing 35-40. We expected to have that many people in August, because several places that people rely on for breakfast are closing for the month of August. Now, I'm thinking the crowd in August is going to be much bigger than expected. The large numbers of people coming with empty stomachs has not come without provisions. God is providing the food proportionally to the people. Our friends at the Catholic worker house in New Haven are closed for August, and are giving us many of their donations. Churches have started to help by giving us some food.

Today, one of our new friends who is new to new Haven really needed to talk about something that had gone wrong. We were so busy that I wasn't able to give him more than a minute or two. Now, I think I should have ignored the crowd and listened to him instead...but I didn't.

We've been working on getting more people to come down to the green in the mornings, or even just one morning a week, but we've been unsuccessful so far.

Friendship

Today we had many more people than expected and ran out of food...so we ended up taking 2 friends I'll call Steve and Tom out to breakfast.
Here's a paraphrase from Tom, a struggling carpenter who has been without a place to call home for 2 months:
"No one has ever done this for me before, I mean taken us out to eat". "Really?" "Yeah, people look down on us, like we're lower than them. I guess no one wants to get to know us...I never imagined I'd ever be in this situation".

If I didn't have the loving family that I have, I could be in the same situation. Steve and Tom told us about their families. Both come from violent families, and no one gets along.
Are those who are without a home really lower than those who have a shelter to stay in? Are they lazy? Unwilling to work? No, this is not the case and they are just as human as you and me. What they lack is friendship. I once watched a video, that I wish I could track down again, but basically the plot was this:
A man walks around a city asking random people to define poverty. Most say its a lack of money, a job, maybe a place to live. Then he asks how long it would take them to find food if they were suddenly out of a job, money and a home. The answer was around 30 minutes. Then he asked, how long would it take you to find shelter? Most answered, several hours. How long would it take you to find a job? A few weeks. Ultimately, what the poorest of the poor are lacking isn't a place to stay and a place to eat, it's someone to offer them a room and someone to invite them over for dinner, it's friendship. They are lacking friendship.

My heart aches for Steve and Tom. They are not below me, not any different from me. What they lack is friendship.

don't just feed my stomach

I've been thinking a lot after this morning. I can't stop thinking about the conversation we had with one guy. He was telling us that pretty soon the police plan to crack down on people sleeping or loitering on the green after dark...... I've already heard other stories of how the police tend to hassle the homeless during the day, just for sitting around on the green (doesn't seem to stop the majority) And for anyone not in New Haven, the green is located right next to Yale's main campus. This had Erin (Erin M.) and I wondering what exactly the motivation is behind this apparent cleaning of the green....... if you catch my drift. Anyway, I don't know when this is all supposedly supposed to take place, or even if it will happen, etc.... I need to look into that and try and find out why they are wanting to do it in the first place. I don't really want to jump to conclusions on either end.
But the main thing I keep thinking about is that sooner or later, I can't (and don't want to) be just another person doling out food to people. I mean there's nothing wrong with that, but I think the point for all three of us from the beginning wasn't just to feed people, it was also to be-friend them, also to be Jesus to them, also to learn that..... we are all hungry, and essentially, regardless of the lines society draws around us, we are all human....and all on the same line, whether we have some sort of delusion about that or not.
I don't want to have some sort of thing set up where I feed people, and then go home with my conscience sated because I have done 'my part'. I want to be compelled by the things I hear these people, my new friends, talking about. I want to be concerned for their welfare. I want to love these people, not just feed them. I guess that is where my heart is at right now. I just know that we are all severely hungry for a lot more than just food.

Rain or Shine

This morning it was raining and we almost didn't go to the green, thinking it would just be a repeat of the rainy mornings in June when there wasn't anyone on the green to share our food with. Well, we went just in case there was one person waiting for us. There were 20.
Just when we think we have things rationally figured out, God surprises us.

love.

So I was thinking after breakfast this morning how amazing it is that two weeks ago, no one really even knew we were on the green....... and today, we had people waiting for us.
I've also been thinking a lot about love........
Mainly, that so often we play it safe with our love, and I'm wondering if that is really what we were intended to do. The kind of love God shows never stayed in a realm with labels of 'safe' or 'practical' or whatever word we can fit there to try and conform love to a level of comfort that feels ok to us. So I've just been thinking and hoping that this will stretch the way I love others; far too often I shy away from the dangerous sort of love (in the sense that it goes way beyond the sort of love we are typically prone to give) and I'm hoping this will challenge wherever I have placed my invisible boundaries.
There's that verse that talks about perfect love not having any fear in it. No fear of what people think, no fear of danger, no fear of losing...... just the knowledge that I am in my Father's hands. I want to learn that love, what it means to be loved that much, and how to return that love with no room left for any sort of fear in it.

Also, if anyone has an excess of 'picnic-able' blankets of any sort.... we could use them. or even if you happen to know where we could get some.

We're growing!

I guess the word has spread because this morning we had lots of eggs and hash browns and actually ran out of food. I stopped by the homeless resource center and they gave me enough canned fruit cocktail for the entire summer, and 2 turkeys. So, we will have to find a breakfast recipe for turkey. Any ideas? We are continuing to scope out resources for food as we expect breakfast will continue getting larger.

Hungry

After what seemed like a slow start, word has spread of our breakfast on the green. This morning we had a group of ten eat breakfast with us, and several others who wanted to eat by themselves. We had a genuinely good time hanging out with a group of really fun people, some told us their names, and others had only nicknames such as Flee and Bird. We also found several people were willing to help us. They know of resources for food that just needs to be cooked and told us where we can go.
Today I was reflecting on something I think Erin C. said, that we are all hungry for something. So far we have met a very quiet man I will call Bob. He has been on the green since we started last week and comes just to take breakfast, but prefers not to talk. We have also met a woman I will call Di, who has joined us several days for breakfast. She pours her heart out to us about the things that cause her to suffer, while occasionally peeking down at her untouched breakfast. Everybody is hungry, some in their stomach, but everyone in their heart.
One especially friendly guy, I'll call him Rob, asked us if we are trying to become a non-profit. We are just some ordinary hungry members of the community helping other hungry members of the community.

Breakfast on the Green

After lots of rain and cold weather we have finally started Breakfast on the Green (BOG). The goal now is to provide a basic need (breakfast for those who are hungry) and companionship for those who are lonely and looking for a friend.
We are cooking breakfast and providing a free picnic Monday-Friday on the green (near elm street) from 8-9 am.

Why? Active Love. We are trying to love the New Haven community by filling a basic need for so many people who are without food and friendship. Basically, we love because Jesus first loved us. (1 John 4:19)

Come join us! Eat, volunteer, build relationships!