Root Causes of Homelessness forum at Chain of Lakes Church

Last night Chain of Lakes offered a very important event for the community.  The event was “Root Causes of Homelessness.”  Four outstanding speakers shared their perspectives on what leads a person to become homeless.  The speakers were Richard Bahr, co-founder or Threshold to New Life and author of “Those People: The True Character of the Homeless,” Robin Burge-Ross, Social Worker for the Anoka-Hennepin School District, Lisa Jacobson, Executive Director of HOPE 4 Youth, and Julie Jeppson, Executive Director of Stepping Stone.  A special thanks to the Blaine Ham-Lake Rotary for being a co-sponsor for the event.

This event reflects the desire of the people of Chain of Lakes Church to be part of a movement that ends homelessness in the north Metro.  The congregation I serve has gone to extraordinary lengths to partner with organizations to help end homelessness.  Chain of Lakes runs three food shelves at local High Schools; has partnered with  Blaine High School to share a Box City event on the tennis courts of the school for the past five years; has raised a significant amount of money for HOPE Place, the only residence for homeless youth in Anoka County; served at Stepping Stone multiple times; provided Spring Break Bags and Christmas bags for vulnerable youth at Anoka Regional High School.  If you want to be part of a church who is committed to ending homelessness, Chain of Lakes is the church.

In our work to work against homelessness, we are often asked the question, “What leads a person to be homeless?”  This question generated last night’s forum.

The event was outstanding.  A large number of people came to listen; the speakers were outstanding; and KARE 11 sent a camera and are showing a segment on their morning show this morning.

Pictures of the event can be found on the Chain of Lakes Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/chainoflakeschurch/

or my Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/hmoorepaul

A video of the entire event is on the Chain of Lakes Vimeo page
https://vimeo.com/326324356
and the Chain of Lakes Facebook page
https://www.facebook.com/chainoflakeschurch/?ref=bookmarks

The reality that hung over the gathering last night is homelessness is increasing.  Last week the Wilder Foundation presented their triennial report on homelessness.  The results were not encouraging. 

·         The number of homeless adults age 25-54 is up 20% in 2018 compared to 2015. 4,382 compared to 3,637.

·         The report shared that 10,233 people experienced homelessness in 2018 in Minnesota – a 10 percent increase from 2015.

·         Children and unaccompanied youth make up almost half of the homeless population in Minnesota. Come Sunday evening at 6:30 at Chain of Lakes to learn more!

A lot of work needs to be done!

In addition to sharing information, many very touching stories were shared. 

Robin Burge-Ross shared a story of a student who has experienced homelessness who is only two credits from graduating from high school; Lisa Jacobson shared a new program that HOPE 4 Youth is doing with high schools to provide connections to students who are at risk; Richard Bahr shared how

What is the answer to stopping homelessness?  All of the speakers emphasized that no “single-bullet” exists.  But a plethora of responses will make a difference.  They include:

·         Creating more connections with vulnerable adults and youth.  Often when an adult or youth experiences an incident that could lead to homelessness they don’t have the connections (whether through people or through a program) that can help them overcome that incident.

·         More shelters.  HOPE 4 Youth has the only shelter for youth in the north Metro.  Stepping Stone has a waiting list of over 300 people to use their shelter. 

·         Increasing the minimum wage and lowing costs of entry-level apartments.  Julie Jeppson shared that to work a minimum-wage job a person would have to work over 60 hours a week to afford an apartment.

Everyone has a role to play to ending homelessness.  There is no doubt in my mind that if Jesus was alive he would have sat by a sleeping homeless person on Metro Transit last night.  He would be encouraging his followers to advocate for a higher minimum wage and lower rents.  He would be encouraging all people to share an attitude of grace towards a person who is homeless.  And he would be saying, “whatever you do to the least of these my brethren, you do it to me.”  The same thing that he said when he was alive.

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Mass Shootings Do Not Have To Be The New Normal

I refuse to accept a “new normal” where mass shootings are common place and refuse to accept a “new normal” of mass shootings of people who have gathered to worship. 

I would expect that the shootings at two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand this past Friday to disturb all humans. 

And though I don’t have the answer to what will stop such horrific acts of violence, I know that a “both/and” approach is needed. 

We need people to speak out; and we need laws that make it very hard to purchase semi-automatic weapons; and we need resources for mental health; and we need law enforcement to be equipped to perform surveillance on hate groups while protecting civil liberties; and we need the media to stop pitting groups of people against each other.  No one of these actions will stop mass shootings; and one action does not mean another cannot happen.  It’s “both/and” not “either/or.”

It seems like we need a miracle.

History does teach when humans get to the point of saying, “enough” that miracles can happen. I would hope that this most recent mass shooting in New Zealand has led enough people to this place of “enough.”  Perhaps this shooting will reignite the desire for change.  A movement needs to happen. 

The Presbytery of Twin Cities area passed a statement at their meeting on Saturday condemning the shootings in New Zealand.  I read the statement in worship yesterday at Chain of Lakes and then prayed that no more mass shootings will ever happen again.  I’ll be personally taking the statement to the Islamic Resource Center in Blaine this week.

I would encourage everyone reading this blog to take one step to creating a world where mass shootings don’t exist.  What can you do this week?

The statement from the Presbytery is worth reading.  I’m proud to be part of a denomination who easily and without question will condemn a mass shooting.

The Presbytery of the Twin Cities Area stands side-by-side with our Islamic brothers and sisters in condemning the March 15 attack against women, men and children at two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand. This cowardly, hate-filled action during a time of prayers is an attack on all people of faith and an assault on the bonds of shared humanity and peaceful coexistence which unite us all. The Presbytery of the Twin Cities Area further condemns the hateful and dangerous ideologies that stand behind this action and re-commits itself to work intentionally with all people of faith to seek means by which we can live together as one humanity, with a common desire for peace and justice. May God’s blessings cover you in this time of sorrow, and give you strength for the days ahead.

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The obsessions of the weather[man]

No one can live in Minnesota, or anywhere for that matter, without developing opinions and a relationship with the weather.  This past weekend the topic in the Twin Cities was the snow storm that was going to come, came, and then left.   The storm was the topic because of the incessant information that was blared from every media outlet. The weather forecasters had a field day.

The weather reveals our human desire for control. When I was young, weather seemed much simpler.  It could be described in one word phases—hot, cold, sun, rain, wind.  It didn’t seem that important to know much more.

And though I do believe in global warming, the weather hasn’t changed too much since I was young.  What has changed is the large amount of information and opinions about what is happening, and what I should do.   

Weather and knowing weather falls into our human need for control.  Already this morning I saw a weather forecaster share that we won’t have to endure snow next weekend.  That’s good—I think.  I’m still figuring out my schedule for today and haven’t put too much thought into next weekend.  Now I know it won’t snow. 

Weather forecasters seem to be on a crusade against the idea that “ignorance is bliss.”  When I was growing up I frequently found myself in a car in a snow storm.  I don’t remember if we knew that a storm was approaching.  And I don’t advocate for ignorance.  But weather forecasting seems to be more about tapping into human fear then giving information and letting the listener make decisions.  If I parented like weather forecasters share information, my daughter would be in permanent counseling.

It snowed this past weekend. Blaine received between five and six inches.  It came down hard on Saturday night and early Sunday.  Driving at times was treacherous.  How much more do I need to know?

Instead the weekend was about the impending storm.  At one point I heard a forecaster share the precise time when the rain was going to start and when the rain would turn to snow as if the storm was an advancing army ready to obliterate anyone in its wake.

I actually enjoy snow storms.  And the high amount of snow since the start of February has tempered my joy.  Since receiving information about weather is now more about judgment than poetry it’s hard to appreciate the beauty.

Weather can take our breath away in awe. All of us have had experiences of watching a cloud formation come in, or enjoying a practically perfect June day in Minnesota, or seeing the delight of a toddler in experiencing the first snow of the year. And when it is frigid most have taken boiling water and thrown it turn into snow.  Wow.

The takeaway that I'll still carry in six months about this past weekend's storm was the beautiful picture [shared above] that another person from Chain of Lakes sent me.

Now weather seems to be more about inducing fear and the performance of forecasters.

When it rained more than anticipated on Saturday, weather forecasters either didn’t tell us that they weren’t a hundred percent correct or blamed the weather for not performing as predicated.  One laugh I received this weekend when I read a tweet from a forecaster that the weather was underperforming. 

It doesn’t bother me that a forecaster wasn’t precise with what was going to happen.

And I will give forecasters the benefit of the doubt.  Weather can generate fear and fear generates interest and interest in forecasts can generate ratings and ratings generate money.  As part of the public, I know this.

Times do exist when the public needs to know precisely what is happening.  I need to know if a F4 tornado is coming; I need to know if a river has flooded and I need to find higher ground.   But the precise time when rain turns to snow and when the advancing storm will hit?

Taking one look at the piles of snow leads anyone who can breathe to know that flooding will be a concern this spring.  Already forecasters are placing the seed of fear that flooding will happen this spring.  

The information I want to know about flooding is this: the potential for flooding is high; be aware.  Statistics and percentages and exact dates when rivers crest might be important for some, but I don’t need to know.  And yes I can turn off the television and radio and not read articles on the Internet.  But it’s hard to escape.

When it comes to the weather I’m happy to know the facts—and as few as possible.  Don’t give me opinions.  Like the rest of the public I’m capable of forming my own.

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My own road to accepting the LGBTQ community with thoughts on the Methodists

I normally don’t write about the issues over which other Christian denominations are wrestling; however I can’t help but share some thoughts on the decision of the Methodists regarding homosexual ordination and gay marriage.  Last week the United Methodist Church voted to continue its opposition to the ordination of gays and lesbians and its opposition to same-sex marriage. 

The Methodists are the only main-line denominations that don’t ordain gays and lesbians and don’t permit congregations to celebrate same-sex weddings.  The United Church of Christ; the Evangelical Lutherans, the Episcopals and the Presbyterians can ordain gays and lesbians and celebrate same-sex weddings.  .

The decision by the Methodists has prompted me to share my own journey about accepting and celebrating the LGBTQ community. 

This acceptance is part of the policy of Chain of Lakes Church.  Last month Chain of Lakes celebrated a same-sex marriage. It might have been one of the first same-sex weddings celebrated in a church in Anoka County.  The Session of Chain of Lakes approved its celebration, and the people of Chain of Lakes embraced the moment.

However I know that for some accepting a gay or lesbian with a Rev. in front of their name is hard; accepting that a church would celebrate a same-sex wedding is just as difficult.  I understand how hard it is for some to accept these views. 

I have taken a long winding road in my own views about homosexuality.  I grew up in Worthington, Minnesota, a town of 10,000 on the southwest Minnesota prairie.  If you had asked me in high school if I knew any homosexuals I would have said “No, we don’t have homosexuals in Worthington.” How ignorant could I have been!  I discovered that some of my classmates are homosexual.  They just didn’t feel safe in coming out. 

In high school and college I spent a lot of time in locker rooms with other football players.  My sense of masculinity was initially formed in that environment.  In those locker rooms it would have taken a great amount of courage to admit a same-sex attraction.

           

In my early 20’s when I worked with the farm workers in California, I developed a friendship with two gay men.  I learned that they weren’t much different than me.  We just had a different sexual orientation. 

           

As I developed friendships with gays and lesbians I learned that their sexual orientation was not a choice.  Once in a conversation I was asked, “Did you choose to be heterosexual?”  The question startled me.  I had never thought about it.  “I have always been attracted to girls.  This is how I was wired,” I said.  “This is how it is for me,” said my gay friend.  “I’ve always been attracted to boys.  It’s how I was wired.”

           

My gay and lesbian friends would go on to tell me that they had experienced harassment because of their sexual orientation.  They had been called names that I would not repeat, or they had not gotten a job for which they were qualified.  They had moments of fear for their physical safety because of their orientation. 

           

My gay and lesbian friends would ask me, “Why would we choose a sexual orientation that can cause us pain?”  The answer is my homosexual friends didn’t choose.  My friends would ask me, “If you suffered harassment or were called names or were denied a job because you were heterosexual would you choose to stop being heterosexual?"  “Well, no” I would say.  “I can’t stop being heterosexual.  That’s who I am.”

A foundational teaching in Genesis is that all of us are created in the image and likeness of God.  The way we come into the world is part of God’s design.  We have no choice about our own gender and even our sexual orientation.  If we accept that we’re created in the image and likeness of God, then we believe that God didn’t make a mistake when approximately ten percent of the population came into the world as gay. 

Doesn’t the Bible say homosexuality is a sin?  There are five, maybe six passages in the Bible that talk about homosexuality.  Two of them are in the Old Testament and four of them are in the letters of Paul.  Jesus never talked about homosexuality.  It wasn’t an issue that concerned him. 

           

However Jesus spent a lot of time with people who the culture described as outcasts.  He loved them, he cared for them, and he went out of his way to defend them.  Of course, I don’t believe that homosexuals are outcasts, but throughout history the culture has identified and treated them as outcasts.  I believe that if Jesus was alive today he would spend time with homosexuals—he would eat with the, he would care for them, he would go to parties with them.  And most importantly he would love them.  He would have had a blast at the same-sex wedding we celebrated last month at Chain of Lakes.

The Scriptures teach that sexuality is a gift from God.  I believe that sex is meant to be enjoyed in a loving, mutual, and monogamous relationship.  If this is the case, it only makes sense to me that gays and lesbians can make a life-long commitment to another partner.  This is why my own personal faith led me to encourage the Session of Chain of Lakes to develop a policy where same-sex weddings would be celebrated. 

Some people believe that to celebrate a same-sex marriage is to deny the authority of the Bible.  This view has always bewildered me.  To celebrate a same-sex wedding means we’re throwing out the whole Bible?  Do we think the Bible is a big jenga game?  It all comes tumbling down if we celebrate a same-sex wedding? 

For me personally there’s not a book I love more than the Bible.  I’ve been preaching and teaching from the Bible for over 25 years, and I still want to learn more.  Right now I’m developing a video series on the gospel of Luke; I’m teaching a Bible Study on Sunday mornings on the book of Revelation.  My faith resolution of the year is to read through the Bible using Eugene Peterson’s, The Message.  I’m reading four chapters a day.  I own at least ten Bibles and would not hesitate to purchase more. 

My reading of the Bible does not lead me to exclude the LGBTQ community; instead my reading of the Bible leads me to accept, welcome, and celebrate the LGBTQ community.

The LGBTQ community is welcome at Chain of Lakes Church. You will be accepted and loved. Our faith informs our welcome.

I’m grieved that the United Methodists have not come to this conclusion. I look forward to the day when they do.

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