Hospitality for the homeless

Hosting homeless families overnight in their churches and sitting down to meals with them has changed mindsets of people in Spokane congregations about who is homeless and why.

“While some in the general population may wonder why people would let themselves become homeless, that attitude is minimal among the helpers,” said Madelyn Bafus, Family Promise director.

Through Family Promise of Spokane, formerly the Interfaith Hospitality Network, members of 12 host churches and 17 support churches gain insight into how people caught in a web of circumstances can become homeless.

Changed views

Pam Emery, coordinator of hosting at Spokane Friends Church, which she has attended for 30 years, said that when she first became involved, she thought homeless people were lazy.

“Now I realize each family has a different story about the situations that happened in their lives,” she said. “I have respect for families in Family Promise, because they are coping and trying to hold their families together.”

Spokane Friends Church became a support church about 10 years ago, and seven years ago, they became a host church.

The Rev. Nick Block, pastor of Spokane Friends, said the church’s involvement has helped many members develop compassion and understand that “these are good people, not second-class, and it takes courage to enter this program.”

A church mission

The Rev. Gregg Sealey, pastor of Covenant United Methodist Church, said that the ministry of opening church doors to let people stay in the building involves vulnerability.

“It is now part of the fabric of our mission. It’s not just opening our doors, but staying overnight and cooking meals,” he said

He said the experience has significant impact on families. For one family, Covenant was their first host church. They continued coming to worship after they moved to other host churches and are now in housing.

Last summer, on a church campout, they were baptized and now are among the servants helping with the program.

They told Sealey that they had not been exposed to a faith community before, and they felt so warmly welcomed and their eyes were opened to what a faith community could mean.

“I encourage people to put their faith into action, because people can share the stories of transformation that interest people in being involved,” Sealey said. “Stories touch people’s hearts and minds more than talk of religious platitudes.”

A way to help

The Rev. Craig Goodwin said that in the five years Millwood Community Presbyterian Church has hosted, people in the congregation have appreciated having a tangible way to help people struggling with homelessness.

“It’s an overwhelming issue that Family Promise brings down to earth,” Goodwin said. “As we provide a meal and sit down to get to know people, it’s a powerful experience.

“There’s something about welcoming people into our space, rather than going to help in a shelter,” he said. “The act of hospitality is a good challenge.”