Perspective

This past week I spoke with a local firefighter as part of the ongoing Community Conversations Project. I asked him the three simple questions: What is going on in our community? What is the biggest challenge facing our community? How can a church respond? What I heard was eye opening, and I learned some new things about my town that I never would have otherwise.

In our community, firefighters often respond to every 911 call, so they are all over the community each day. They see people at times of crisis, when they are at their most vulnerable. What a valuable perspective he was able to share!

Just by asking these questions, I heard about the homeless camps all around my town, where hundreds of people are living invisibly in different areas I pass by every day. I wasn’t aware that in a vacant lot I drive past weekly, up to 50 people are living in the shadows and far from resources available to help them. I also heard about the families in our community who are living in on the edge, and how over the years firefighters see the children of these families grow up without being able to break the cycle of poverty. But I also heard how people help each other more than is ever reported in the news. From this firefighter’s perspective, when faced with crisis most people do as much as they can to come to the aid of their neighbors.

We did not come up with answers to the challenge of homelessness, but the conversation revealed many opportunities to serve as Christ’s hands in the world, in ways large and small.

What have you learned from conversations you have had?

Kelly