Expectation, longing, hope…

In the season of Advent, we talk of anticipation, expectation, longing, and hope.  As a kid, I remember intense anticipation of Christmas Eve, waiting patiently (or not so patiently) for Santa to sneak his way into our home.  As a college student, the beginning of Advent marked the beginning of the end of a semester—papers [...]

My Journey at the Downtown Welcome Table…

My journey at the Downtown Welcome Table began when my neighbor, Shelly Arnold, asked if I might be interested in volunteering to help with a community meal downtown.  I believed this invitation was an answer to prayer, and definitely the Holy Spirit at work in my heart.  I had been feeling a tug, a restlessness, [...]

“You are the face of Jesus”

I can’t explain the rush of joy I feel when I serve a meal at the Welcome Table or sit in the pews with my spoons in hand during the worship service each Wednesday.  All I know is that I’m fully present and filled with God’s spirit in those 5 hours each week. But, today [...]

23¢…sorry that’s all i have

Every Wednesday after the worship service at Haywood Street I go through the offering cards. It is just a little administrative task to check and see if there is anyone new who would like to volunteer or if anyone needs to be contacted. After getting everyone’s contact information I then hand them off to Brian. [...]

Bed #34

Door hinges a final time at 4.  Steely latch engages with authority after the deadbolt deadens, opens only from the inside with special permission.  There are no windows.  A wooden crimson cross hangs above the shelter entrance. In the florescent and linoleum hallway, Jesus has been calligraphied half a dozen times.  Primary colors with peculiar [...]

Sleeping in Church

Chronically tired, exhausted from the daily stagger to the soup kitchen, to D.S.S., to the clothing closet, to the Emergency Room, to the bus stop, to panhandling corner, to the bathroom bush, to the courthouse, to the empty labor pool, to the stale coffee, the homeless are never rested. Never restored from a good night’s [...]

Laziness in Motion

“The homeless are lazy, sucking the clean money from altruistic agencies, cashing unearned checks from the government, lining bags with middle class taxes, palming another handout, ripping off the corner church’s charity, stealing from someone else’s pulled weight, angering the citizenry of hard work.”  It is a perception I’ve heard ad nauseam.  A core belief [...]

Brian’s Blog

“Michael, man of God” By 10pm, the doors of “lock down” at the shelters have long since hinged shut, the rusty bridge eves have temporary residents, and the burrowed out space between urban bushes have tenets until morning.  The “homeless corridor” of downtown Asheville has closed its heavy lids on another day. By this time, [...]

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