Sometime last year, the Kansas City Star had an article about this church opening its doors for the homeless. The church had removed their wooden pews and replaced them with unattached chairs. These were moved aside and beds for those homeless and those in the cold were put in their place. This year, they expanded with a shelter in some building near the downtown area that will hold 100 beds.
I don’t know if you can call this church a Christian Church as their beliefs are unlike most Christian Churches. They believe God is within us and seldom do you hear them speak of Jesus. They don’t preach how we are all evil and in need of salvation from a person who they don’t believe was hung on a cross. Although this may be what they believe because they have a diverse congregation. Their worship services will have as many people of color as whites, a truly unusual occurrence among Christian Churches. They welcome all. they even invited me to publicize my book “JayWalkers Shouldn’t be Shot”, knowing I am an atheist. All religions are welcome and they just welcomed a lifelong convict into their church. They have a coat drive each year, give food out every month, and raise their own vegetables in raised beds on their property.
They have a Facebook site at www.facebook.com/… and a website at unitysoutheastinkc.org. and I am sure they would appreciate any Chrismas Cheer you have to spread, Especially if you are like me and have a problem driving by vacant churches when homeless people are sheltering under the underpasses. We had a new church build a large building on a parking lot that would suffice for a Walmart. The location was next to an Interstate and within view, under the overpass, homeless camps existed. The week before the church opened its doors, the homeless were moved to a new home somewhere. I am sure that the church had something to do with the removal. Either they talked to the authorities or maybe, just maybe, they invited them into their new sanctuary.
I know that several years ago, there was an article about a cab driver who was doing a coat drive. The church I was attending worked with me to start collecting coats. The pastor presented the project to the neighborhood church association. Even though the area is an upper-middle-class neighborhood and I am sure many closets held extra coats, they declined to join us. I took the carload of coats down to where the cab driver had an address. He was outside engaged in a conversation, so he motioned me to a building. Inside the building were racks and racks of clothing, He had his own Goodwill except there were no cashiers.
I spent time with the American Red Cross and in the three months I volunteered, never once was there a mention of god, a mealtime prayer or any reference to Christianity. They just fed, sheltered, clothed, and treated the sick. I know there are churches that do lots of good deeds. We have one down the street that gives food once a week. We have another one who sponsored a shelter for those families facing abusive relationships. Then I drive down a blvd with church after church on it, I drive down the street where they didn’t collect coats, and almost anywhere in the city and see church after church standing empty all week long while homeless families search for a place to keep warm when the temperature drops below zero.
Then I wonder “What do you call this Church? Is it Christian?”
I have all the respect in the world for this church. I am trying to say they are more
Christian than those who proclaim so
I have a group on Daily Kos called Lingering Impressions’. I have had some very unique experiences that you might enjoy.