November 2019
This story begins almost a year ago. As a member of Faith Forward Dallas and Thanksgiving Square I have the opportunity to associate with many pastors and church leaders in the greater Dallas Area. Often this group is political and they protest in ways that make it so we can’t partner with them and it’s hard to find common ground.
In the past few years, an issue of caring for the homeless became something of concern for many faith leaders. A current Dallas City ordinance prohibits churches from opening their doors during inclimate weather. And our shelters are usually full even when the weather is nice. Unfortunately in recent years homeless people have died out in the cold. I watched as a single church, and their leader, Reverend Rachel Baughman, took up this cause with the City Council in Dallas and has effectuated change. In fact she knowingly broke the law and opened her church as a warming station and overnight shelter. And because of her efforts the city ordinance is being examined and adjusted.
I’d watched this pastor “walk the walk” of Christian Service and I was impressed. At the National Day of Prayer event, she was asked to speak and the Spirit told me that her church needed a grant from our church. This was May and nearing the end of school, summertime with children at home is busy so I didn’t immediately heed the prompting. Over the summer, our area had the opportunity to support asylum seekers from south of the border and, once again, Oaklawn United Methodist Church became ground zero for support of these families in need. I was impressed.
So in September, I finally got around to meeting with Reverend Rachel and she gave me a tour of their church and showed me their operation. I learned that every Sunday evening they offer a meal for the community for anyone who is hungry. We were able to secure a $2500 grant of food from our Bishops Storehouse and another $1000 for them to buy better tables to use at these events.
From this association I’ve begun a relationship with Reverend Rachel and even filled in for her as a panelist at our Religious Freedom Summit this past October and shared her story of how the City of Dallas was infringing on the rights of churches who wanted to live their faith by helping those in need.
One of the individuals we worked with at Oaklawn is named Cliff Bohaker and he attends a Cathedral of Hope down the street which is the largest LGBTQ Church in Dallas. And Cliff was touched by a video link I’d sent him of the “Mormon in America” that NBC ran during the Romney Campaign. He caught the line about us helping anyone at any time and he shared my information with Dallas Hope Charities, the non-profit run by Cathedral of Hope. “You have to meet this lady, she can really help you”.
So I went along with the Opinion Leader Specialist from the Dallas East Stake, Rachel Stillwell, to Dallas Hope Charities and met with Jason Vallejo. They do a lot more feeding of the homeless and we were impressed with their operation. Jason shared their concern that so many young adults on the street are LGBTQ and were homeless after coming out to their families and then being kicked out. I shared with him on a personal note that my sister is gay and that she was worried she’d be kicked out of the house when she came out, thankfully we didn’t.
As I left Dallas Hope Charities, I texted my sister and told her where I was and what I was doing. It really touched her, she couldn’t believe it. When my mom was killed in a car accident 5 ½ years ago she became angry at God and stopped going to her church. She softened at my gesture and association with Cathedral of Hope and mentioned she might try going there. This past Sunday she went to church at Cathedral of Hope. She posted this photo on Facebook: (attached).
She’d found a friend she knew from their worship band who she’d been in a worship band with back in Long Beach, CA years ago. I told her that God knew her and loved her and that he knew she’d need a friend at church.
The next day, I went with some friends to serve at I-Serve, their Monday lunch service for the homeless. We were recognized for our donation, we joined them in a prayer circle before the feeding began and one of our church members prayed. We were welcomed and made to feel welcome as we served. Tomorrow I will meet their executive director at our Bishops Storehouse to take a tour and he’ll take a $2500 donation. I plan to post 4 different service opportunities on JustServe to help them with what they do.
There are so many good things happening here. I felt the need to keep a record of it.
