2014 Mission Trip!

“Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food, or thirsty and gave you something to drink?  And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you, or naked and gave you clothing? And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?’ And the king will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.’” Matthew 25:37-40

On Sunday, 7 youth and 3 adults will leave for Washington D.C. to help serve the homeless and hungry in our nation’s capital, and I, finally after 3 years at St. Barnabas, will be among them.  It is a joy to participate in a Mission Trip and I have no doubt that those involved with get out of the experience more than they expected, even though we won’t get as much sleep as we would like, it will be hot, and, at times, we will be dealing with people and situations that may be uncomfortable. 

Yet this is why we are Christian – to show our love for our neighbor at all times, not just when it is convenient or fun.  More importantly, we understand from the Bible passage cited about that whenever we extend ourselves to others, especially those in the most need, we are serving Jesus himself.

That is a very humbling image – Jesus as a homeless person.  Recently, St. Alban’s Episcopal Church in Davidson, North Carolina was in the news when they placed a life-size sculpture of a robed figure lying on a bench outside the church.  Upon closer examination of the figure, it is understood to be Jesus because of the nail marks on his hands and feet.  It has caused quite a controversy in the town as some reject the image of Jesus as being needy. However, the Rev. Dr. David E. Buck, the rector at St. Alban's, counters, "We're reminded of what our ultimate calling is as Christians, as people of faith, to do what we can individually and systematically to eliminate homelessness. Part of a faith commitment is to care for the needy." (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/04/17/homeless-jesus-sculpture-davidson_n_5167418.html)

While offering our help for a week will not end homelessness, it will allow those of us who do have somewhere to lay our heads each night, have more compassion on others who, for varying circumstances, don’t.  Moreover, our time together will give the other a name, a face, a real person rather than a problem to be solved.  Part of our ministry is to be in relationship with each other, to see each other as brothers and sisters in Christ and to honor each other as such.

An added benefit is that we will be meeting up with a group from my sister’s church, All Saints’ Morristown, TN.  We wanted our youth to see and know that there are other Episcopal youth very similar to them, though from another state.  We look forward to working with them and getting to know them better.

As we begin this adventure, we thank the congregation for all the support that we have been given and we ask for your prayers for a safe and awesome trip.  We look forward to sharing our adventures when we return.

In Christ,

Rev. Valerie+ 

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