Thankful.

I'm thankful that the night I was finally kicked out of the skyways at 3:00 am, was my last night in the streets. It must have been a shift change. An older man yelled and yelled. Then confirmed to a man Ina speaker, who had presumably found me in the security camera, that it was all taken care of.

I'm thankful for all the patrons who helped me on my wilderness walking. Thankful that after 3 and a half more hours I can hop on a plane an that tonight, I can sleep in my own bed!

Day Seven, August 23, 2009

Sleeping on the streets of a city and living with those in poverty connects you to them in a way that you will never forget. Having done seven street retreats in San Francisco of the past 8 years and living with the poor in the barrios and campo of Nicaragua, each experience has changed the way I live. Since living with the poor in Nicaragua and visiting the sweatshops who make "Cuban" cigars, I have a sense of the health risks of cigarettes and cigars that most people don't know exists beyond second and first hand smoke.

Living in the skywalks in Minneapolis has opened my eyes to the inordinate expense that churches spend, that could go for so much good. First, calling myself out, attending churchwide assembly and sleeping in a hotel all week would have been a legitimate expense in WELCOME's budget. Yet here would be the cost:

Visitor's Badge: $50
Plane Fair: $500
Hotel Room (7 nights): $1,155
Food: $350
Total: $2,055

Total spent by me on this trip: $140 --- Savings: $1,915

Now remember that the ELCA had $1,000 voting members (not including all the staff). So at least $20,000 was spent on getting people to the event. Think of the additional fees for renting out an entire convention center, 6 camera's, 2 techies, 1 captioner, and all the walkie talkie equipment.

Now think of the money that exchanged hands. Each of the 7 worship experiences brought about $10,000 in offering. I raised more than $3,000, with more than $360 dollars in inkind donations for my food and entertainment.

Complete strangers offered me the opportunity to sleep in their house, hotel or car. Yet, I wonder how many offered the same to any of the complete strangers that actually desperately need it.

I know that people feel more comfortable giving to an organization than individuals sometime. And knowing what I was up to certainly helped people to give. And I am soooooooo grateful for all the support for WELCOME and will continue to work to raise the remaining funds we need to feed all who will show up at our door this year.

Yet, how do we tap the generosity that people have - in the church and in their own wallets. How do we learn to share our resources so that people don't have to hit their rock bottom before they are able to get the help and support they need to live healthy lives.

I seek continually to work to be this bridge. And I imagine that that may be what I take from this trip.

I imagine I will continue to process this and discover that over time. But those are my thoughts for now. Tonight I spend my last night in the skywalk (God willing), before I head to the airport and back to San Francisco.

Sermon- Really, Really, Really, Really

Preached on my 6th day on the street. Click the triangle above to play. If you don't see a triangle find the sermon at www.sermon.net/sfwelcome
Date: 08-23-2009
Description: A sermon preached at the 8:30 Jazz service at Salem English Lutheran in Minneapolis.
Pastor : Megan Rohrer
Sermon : Salem English Lutheran - Minneapolis
Scripture : John 6:51-66

Sermon - The World Would be a Better Place if Everyone Was Naked!

Preached on my 6th day on the street. Click the triangle above to play. If you don't see a triangle find the sermon at www.sermon.net/sfwelcome
Date: 08-23-2009
Description: A sermon preached at the 8:30 Contemporary service at Salem English Lutheran in Minneapolis.
Key words: homeless,HIV/AIDS,health,justice
Pastor : Megan Rohrer
Sermon : Salem English Lutheran - Minneapolis
Scripture : John 6:51-66

Night Six - Hard to think

Sermon/Bible Study- Rocky Goodsoil

Press the triangle above to listen. If you do not see a triangle you can listen to the sermon at: www.sermon.net
Date: 08-22-2009
Description: Bible study and brief meditation the day after ELCA votes to have full inclusion of GLBT folk.
Pastor : Megan Rohrer
Sermon : ELM - Churchwide Assembly 09
Scripture : Mark 4:1-20

Day Five August 21, 2009

Today, I had my t-shirt instead of a sign. So I shouldn't get in trouble, right? Wrong. I got in trouble for having a cup with money in it on the floor. However, members who had heard about what I was doing told their friends and people gave me $83 with no sign or cup.

This may be a lot like the homeless individuals who have been on the streets in a neighborhood for a long time and have folks who support them and help them get the food and other things they need for their daily survival.

Yet, it's easy to forget about such things in the midst of such great change. One of the reasons I have called this venture begging for change is because the ELCA's was (as it has been for 20 years) talking about the ability for queer folk to get married and to be ordained. Both passed today. See the New York Times article I'm quoted in.

These issues are connected for me because so many of the homeless in San Francisco are actually from the Midwest. They fled the homophobia (real or perceived) in their communities, only to arrive in the most expensive city to live in and the city with the highest addiction rate.

The homeless called me pastor, during the time when I was unwilling to fight to become a pastor in the ELCA because of the discriminatory policies. My response would be to explain the carefully nuanced stance of the ELCA, after which they would simply nod their head and say: "whatever Pastor!'

Obviously I eventually gave in and became a pastor. And so believing in the priesthood of all believers (and to return the favor) I venture to the streets again and again reminding the homeless that they are pastors too. And even though the church too often only sends pastors to those who can afford them, or can afford a church building, they are very worthy of love and care.

In this my 8th year of working as the Executive Director of WELCOME, I confess that the homeless have taught me more about scripture, faith and humility than I feel I have been able to offer them.

So today I pray for all those who have not yet received the news that they are pastors. I pray for those who did not live to see this day. Good night sweet followers.