I’ve been at Grace for a little over three months. I’ve repeatedly said, during my interview with the Vestry, and when people have asked me about my attraction to this church, that chief among the things that appealed to me were the presence of the homeless shelter and the food pantry.

Like so many people, though, it’s easy for me to pay lip service to those important ministries, without actually taking the time to get to know them, or to get involved with them. OK, yes, Corrie and I did volunteer at the shelter meal soon after we arrived in Madison, and in the last few weeks, Corrie has become volunteered at the food pantry as well. And yes, I did meet with staff from Porchlight, who actually run the shelter. But the fact of the matter is, I have allowed other things to take precedence over these outreach efforts.

That’s about to change. It may be because of the change in seasons. As of November 1, the shelter observes winter hours, which means that if I leave the office around 5:00 pm, I will encounter guys standing in line, waiting to be let into the shelter. I’ve seen the line before, in the alley, on Fairchild St., but encountering them as I leave is a very different thing.

A couple of days ago, Russ came up to the office and mentioned that the previous night, there were three calls to 911 from the shelter between 8 and 9 pm. That’s outrageous, but a little reflection provides some perspective. They start queuing up around 4:00 pm. They are allowed in the shelter at 5:00; dinner is at 8:00 pm. That means that they are standing around waiting for about 4 hours. Plus, while there is room for around 50 guys at Grace, in fact most nights more than 100 men are housed, including at the two overflow shelters. That means there are roughly 100-150 men waiting for dinner for three hours in a space that can comfortably accommodate 1/3 of that number. It’s a recipe for disaster, which is why disasters occur so often.

As a church, we have a responsibility to see to it that programs we support treat human beings with dignity, and if that doesn’t happen, that we do everything in our power to see that it does. Matthew 25 includes Jesus’ famous words about feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, etc. “Inasmuch as you did it to the least of these my brothers and sisters, you did it to me.” We are not treating the homeless, or indeed those who visit our pantry, as if they were Jesus Christ. We should.

I have already said a great deal about hospitality in the time I’ve been at Grace. I am going to have to say more.