Do You Know What I Know?

Said the shepherd boy to the mighty king, “Do you know what I know? In your palace wall mighty king, do you know what I know? A child, a child shivers in the cold. Let us bring him silver and gold.”

Lately, I’ve thought about the fanfare, the trumpeting angels, the spectacular birth announcement of Jesus Christ that terrified shepherds in the night.  The Star of Bethlehem, the Angel Gabriel, all of these fantastic signs.  It only now has dawned on me, that God had to do this, what with Jesus being born in the margins and laid in a feeding trough.  How else would anyone know that the words of ancient prophets were being fulfilled?  Had he been born in an earthly palace, there would have been parades and pomps and circumstances with all the trimmings.  But, Jesus was born in the outskirts, and the heavenly and celestial birth announcement was noticed by the poor shepherd boys, out of town.

 

And, then, as this song that we hear in every shopping mall in every city every December, the news of Jesus’ birth had to also come from the bottom up, in terms of human hierarchy.  The shepherd boy asks, “do you know what I know?” to a king.  And what’s amazing, in this song anyway, is that this earthly king listens.  Listens, and spreads the word of this upside-down Kingdom.

Listening.  Do you hear what I hear?  Do you see what I see?  Do you know what I know?  Maybe 2013 we can work on listening, that we might know what others know, see what others see, know how one another live.  There is a flurry of discussions right now, rightfully so, about gun controls and safety and mental health and why, why, why?  And I’m impressed, actually, that people are talking about having real, civil, discourse.  Talking about it, anyway.  But to do this, we will have to not only spout our mouths off, but we will have to listen.  2^nd Amendment die-hards need to listen, really listen, to the voices of people affected by gun tragedies.  Anti-gun folks ought to listen to histories of hunting families, especially those that do so with respect and a sense of balance.  Anglo folks, especially those who believe racism is over, ought to listen to what it means to not be white in today’s United States, from those who have to think about that day in and day out.  People adamantly against Mexican immigration ought to listen to a father doing anything he can to provide for his family, and try not to refer to him as an illegal alien.  Christians ought to listen to the ideas of Jews and Muslims, which doesn’t mean we adopt the same beliefs, but dear Lord, we should be able to listen.

 

I ought to listen to my wife, what it means to be the mother of two, more than I currently do.

Do you know what I know?  Do I know what you know?  Is there a place we can sit down and listen to one another?

Thankfully, Jesus has already set that table. 

Merry Christmas Everyone,

Matthew

Thoughts on Welcome, by Callie

Harvest Festival at the Community House!

For Thanksgiving our house hosted a party for the neighborhood and any friends and church people who wanted to come. We made tons of food and everyone brought goodies to share. We did a cake walk, doughnut eating competition (pictured above), and pinata! Lots of people showed up including some young folks who are involved in similar programs like DOOR around the city. We all had a wonderful time!

Getting to know the neighbors and neighborhood here around Gregory Ave. has been one of the most fulfilling and enjoyable aspects of my time here so far. From the moment I walked through the gate for the first time, our neighbors welcomed me with open arms and warm hearts. Our mission as Dwellers is to create a space of openness and hospitality for the people we live alongside. Since coming here, though, the sweet people of this neighborhood have done more to make me feel at home than I could ever do for them. I am so grateful for them and for the hard work and dedication of past Dwellers to make this place what it is and build the reputation of this house as a place of welcome. 

Posted on Nove

No Person is Illegal, by Savanah

To sum up the past two weeks in a blog post would be impossible. I felt so many emotions and saw so many things that it is overwhelming to go back and try to summarize. Here are a few things I got to experience:

I got the opportunity to go to Tuscon, AZ and meet young adults taking a year similar to mine from all over the country. I learned about the injustices that surround migrant workers; I visited Nogales and met people that had so little, but had such big hearts. I heard and attempted to understand a language so different from my own. I met a man running for his life from horror to hope and felt the pain when he felt he had nothing left. I met a girl my age who instead of getting the opportunity to go to college, works at a factory making items that I use and don’t appreciate. I watched as seventy people were chained together, belts and shoelaces were removed and they were walked to the front of a room to simultaneously hear their fate and sentence. I watched so many people in the past week ignore the problems that were in front of their faces, yet I also met a small few that were facing them head on. I cried, I laughed, I experienced and I changed. And I am still changing and still struggling.

One thing I have been having a lot of trouble with is trying to find love and compassion for people that honestly, I don’t want to love. People like the public defenders at Operation Streamline who ignored their clients, called them names like, “third to left” and used hand sanitizer after they even brushed by a client. People like the border control who racially profile, make sometimes questionable judgments and often do things that I do not believe I could ever do. People like the politicians that make laws like the Real ID Act that allows any law to be broken as long as it is for the cause of Homeland Security; even if it means making animal populations go extinct, tearing down national parks, and forcing migrants to go through the most horrendous parts of the desert just to make them struggle. I have a lot of trouble find love and respect and compassion for these people who seem so uncompassionate for others.

I am also struggling to ignore a terrible thing called “pity” and focus on a more beautiful thing called “compassion.” I have to stop thinking about the horrors I saw and the terrible things people have to live with and focus instead on fighting the injustices and also remembering the beautiful things others get to have that I don’t. I met a boy a little older than me in Nogales who had crossed the border many years ago and spent the majority of his teenage years in California. His family and friends are all there, yet he is here. I asked him why and he said, “Even though the city is ugly, it is still my home.” He understands the horrible things that go on and many of the difficult conditions that he has to live in, but he embraces it because he sees the beauty in living in a city with so much culture, fearlessness and hope. He sees potential in his city. And that is why he doesn’t need my pity, but he may like some compassion.

I have given you, reading this, a lot of vague details of my trip and not many concrete facts or stories. That is for a purpose. I think you have to see it for yourself and experience it for yourself to understand. I could write of injustices here and you may feel pity, but that’s not what people anywhere want. That’s not what I want for people everywhere. We all want respect. That is what everyone wants. We want change. But I am struggling with finding where exactly this change and respect can come from. I found so many similarities between the undocumented workers and the homeless population I work with every day. The fear (Border Control or LAPD), the lack of a home, the lack of respect, the lack of a voice, the feeling of unworthiness. I am not asking anyone who reads this to go advocate, or donate money, or spend a year serving or feel obligated to do anything. What I ask of each of you is to find a little love and respect in your life to people or a person that you have trouble loving and respecting. If that means undocumented immigrants, fine. If that means someone who is homeless, fine. If that means someone of a different race, religion, sexual orientation, or culture, fine. If that means someone with a mental, substance, physical or emotional disability or illness, fine. Just find a person that is hard to love and love them. That is what I ask. And that is what I learned this week. And am still learning.

The Center at Blessed Sacrament, by Rena

The Center at Blessed Sacrament

I love The Center at Blessed Sacrament (formerly known as Social Services at Blessed Sacrament before the name change last week). Last Thursday we held a fundraiser for The Center where supporters from across Los Angeles gathered together to share stories, eat hors d’oeuvres, munch on brownies that I made in the ovens at the parish building earlier in the day, and write a check to the organization where I’m a proud member of the staff.

I’ve had the pleasure of leading a few groups since my last blog post and I’m still in the process of training to be a regular leader of the Morning Mindset group. Last Friday, I co-led a group titled Weekly Wrap Up where we circled the room and discussed our highs and lows of the week. Participants who are homeless exchanged information with recently housed individuals giving advice about finding housing and jobs and I even witnessed the birth of a new friendship between two participants who realized similarities and agreed to meet up outside of the Center to hang out!

This past week I also witnessed my first serious altercation at the workplace that resulted in two participants being suspended from the Center for the week because of a minor fight that took place in the building.  Luckily, no one was hurt and I even had the chance to talk to a young woman, who I will call Daisy, who was somewhat involved in the event.  Daisy is 23 and is staying occasionally on the streets or crashing at friends’ places.  She does have a source of income and has mentioned a more permanent housing situation that seems promising. Daisy attends the women’s group and the art and imagination group, among others. Recently she’s received two tickets for sleeping on the sidewalks during the day while watching her friends’ belongings. I haven’t seen Daisy in over a week and I hope that means she’s been busy at work – regardless, prayers for this young woman would be much appreciated. The women that visit The Center at Blessed Sacrament are few and far between and those that are my age are almost non-existent. It has been exciting to see Daisy walk through our doors and I hope that I can touch her life in some way in the future and allow her touch mine as well.

In the past several weeks as a community we have gone on several adventures outside of our workweek!  We have spent a weekend on an all-church retreat at Forest Home where we heard truth from Jim Edwards, spent an afternoon zip lining and rock wall climbing, and strengthened the relationships within our own house community. We’ve also attended a couple free comedy shows, a play titled The King of the Desert, were welcomed into several homes for dinners and desserts, and were part of a live audience for the Conan show. We may be living simply in the land of fame and fortune on our tight budget, but we are definitely afforded many opportunities by so many generous people in this community and beyond.

Hope For A Home, by Savanah

I have a lot I can talk about. Hollywood has been extremely challenging, eye-opening and important. Just this past week I have dealt with giant, difficult issues that have made me grow in so many directions and have changed the way I view the world. I want to share one story that I got to experience this week that gave me hope and happiness, while also made me question the traditional ways things are always done.

            I met Lonnie (not his real name) on Wednesday when I, along with two co-workers, went to bring him to the DMV to get a California State ID. I never realized how important identification was in a person’s life until I heard about it firsthand. To board a plane, use a credit card, rent a house, get a bank account, go to a bar, buy cigarettes or even get a library card, you need to have some form of identification. I assumed that this was an easy process and most people could simply stop by a DMV and the rest would handle itself. For those who are homeless or those who are in the US illegally, the simple process becomes immensely complex.

            At the DMV, I happened to sit down right next to Lonnie and for about twenty minutes, I was privileged enough to hear Lonnie’s story through his own slurred speech and crooked teeth. He explained that he was a veteran who fought in the Vietnam War. He was a father to two daughters he adopted as babies. He was a husband and an adulterer. He was a friend and a brother. He was all of these things, but who is he now? He considers himself nobody. He is homeless. For many years he slept in the same cardboard box in front of an old building just blocks away from our community house. I don’t know exactly how Lonnie got to this point, but it was a mixture of mental illness, lack of benefits and support from being a veteran and a nasty divorce. Lonnie would say hi to the outreach workers, but would never take in their offers to get shelter or receive services. That all changed on a really lucky day of a street sweep. During these “sweeps” the LAPD clears an area of homeless people and calls in PATH to help advocate for the homeless and help talk them into going into shelter. Otherwise, often, the LAPD will arrest them. It was during one of these days that Lonnie finally felt ready and trusting enough to get into shelter.

            After many months of working with services, receiving medication and working hard with a case manager, Lonnie was on his way to permanent housing. The first big step?An identification card. This card to Lonnie means that he is no longer nobody. He can now prove to others along with himself that he is a person with feelings, emotions, ideas and dreams. This identification card is also the next step towards housing.

            After waiting for about two hours, Lonnie fills out the paperwork and goes up to the front. You can tell he is nervous, but he has three people next to him to support him. It is extremely important that the three of us (A veteran worker, my co-workers and I) are there. It is very obvious that if he would have went alone, treatment would have been very different than when we all were next to him in our PATH shirts. He fills out all the proper paperwork and hands them to the clerk. The clerk look them over and tells us that he needs an official document that is stamped by the VA to be able to give him an ID. We all look sullen, thank him, and start to walk away, thinking, maybe another day. Just then, Lonnie pulls out of his wallet a tiny, shrunk up piece of paper folded multiple times. He opens it up and there he has the exact document stamp and all! The clerk takes it in the back for a long time, comes back and says that they’ll accept it. To boot, he waved the fee. Lonnie had a big smile when he took his ID photo.

            That old building a few blocks from our house that Lonnie slept outside of for so many years is now turning into permanent housing through a partner organization of PATH’s. Lonnie is the first on that list for an apartment.

boundless compassion, by Kendra

i wanted to share a story about one of our guests at MFP.to respect him & his personal life, i will change his name.jimmy is a regular at MFP. always one of the first to line up outside of our gate for afternoon services.23 years old, been without a home & living on the streets for 5 years or so.truly a polite & respectful guy (which we don’t see too often),rarely causing trouble on the dayfloor & always up to chat.i connect with jimmy day one of work & we start talking about life.my life; his.he tells me (a number of years ago) that he’s been hit in the back of the head with a baseball bat & had some brain damage.still suffers from memory loss.unable to work & is in the process of collecting SSI.jimmy’s daily life is something unimaginable for me.the things he sees & feels.we talk abut him feeling like a reject, a loser, a failure.how people pass him on hollywood boulevard & think, what a waste of a person.when he collects SSI for the month, he gives what he can to his homeless friends.many of them older; he respects the elderly who just can’t seem to get themselves out of a rut.much of our time together, i’m a listener.jimmy might be one of the strongest people i’ve ever met, who has more value in this world than he will ever know; because he was made in the image of God & is loved.as he was leaving today; i left him with this, “not everyone in society thinks you’re a waste.not everyone walks by you & thinks you’re a worthless piece of crap.you’re a reminder for me to be kind.you’re one of the least selfish people i know.be safe & know that there is one person in this world who cares about you.” MFP is full of jimmys; young people who feel absolutely worthless in this world.

compassion is not about the healer & the wounded.it’s a covenant between equals.al sharpton always says, “we’re all created equal, but we don’t all end up equal.”

Robert, by Drew

The name used below has been changed to protect the individual’s privacy.

                I want to tell you the story of a young man named Robert.  Robert is a participant at The Center at Blessed Sacrament, a drop in center for homeless individuals to participate in community groups.  I first met him in a mindfulness meditation group and was quickly intrigued by his strong diction and sensitivity to others as the topic of having a positive attitude in negative circumstances was discussed. 

                Speaking with Robert after the group ended I learned he had been homeless in Hollywood for three months.  Coming from an abusive family in Georgia, he worked hard and achieved much in his young life with little outside support.  He was on a football scholarship at Missouri State University where he was pursuing becoming a medical doctor. 

                However, despite all this accomplishment, Robert still felt unfulfilled and decided to pursue his love of the arts in Hollywood.  Giving away everything he had, he moved to LA with $300 in his pocket.  He wanted what so many like him have come here for: to become an actor.  He later admitted to me that as his plane touched down at LAX and the gravity of his decision fell upon him, he knew he would sleep on the street that night. 

                It is now three months later and Robert is sipping coffee and eating donuts in our homeless care facility.  At 22-years-old and full of potential and ambition, his circumstance bewilders me.  I ask myself, “Isn’t homelessness reserved for the mentally ill, downtrodden, antisocial, unmotivated people?  How can someone like this fall so low?” 

                Robert has invented a theory I like to call Robert’s Hierarchy of Needs.  Unlike Maslow’s, which begins with life’s most fundamental components for contentedness, Robert’s works backwards, peeling away the excess down to what is most essential to be content.  Because he does not have bills to pay, work to be on time to, or money to manage, he is able to live more freely. Without these little human stresses, Robert is actually content in a way he never has been before.  Once all you have to worry about is finding food and shelter, your natural survival instincts take over and keep you alive, he says.

                While Robert is doing all right for now, the dangers of drugs, alcohol, and violence on the street has proven time and time again to be inevitable.  He is currently applying for jobs and searching for avenues to use his artistic abilities. 

                Life in Hollywood proves to be challenging for me as well.  This week, my computer was stolen from our house.  We have also had other major thefts and some illnesses.  But, amidst the hardship, there is a sense of peace.  Maybe I am better understanding my own hierarchy of needs. 

                This city is damaged and in need of healing and I am not sure I can do anything to help it.  But I can at least listen to someone like Robert share his story while he finishes his donut. 

Drew is a current Dweller in Hollywood.  More about the work he and his intentional community are doing: www.facebook.com/DOORHollywoodDwell

Our Dwellers are settling in and blogging:

http://savanahwalseth.thoughts.com/
http://kendrajoallen.wordpress.com/
http://khalicia.tumblr.com/
http://karenagoestolosangeles.wordpress.com/


 

Welcome Khali, Savanah, Kendra, Drew and Karena!

Another Dwell year begins, and we're off to a great start with this team of 5.  After two weeks of sharing testimonies, sharing Tamales and Pozole with many new friends in the neighborhood, drafting a house covenant, discussing cross-cultural ministry, staying grounded in Hollywood (the land of "it's all about me"), and connecting with local Dwell alumni and board members, Khali, Savanah, Kendra, Drew, and Karena ask for your prayers this weekend as they settle into life in Hollywood and prepare to start their agency work next week.  Each will be working amidst Los Angeles' vast homeless population in slightly different capacities.

Please keep up with the team this year at our facebook site where you can see all their personal blogs and photos.

The Matter of Covenant

I woke up a few days ago contemplating covenant, and why it matters.  With my check-ins with our Dwellers lately, there is a sense of being “done” already, moving on to the next thing, and that seems to translate into some things getting overlooked, ignored, etc.  While I very much understand this sentiment, the need to “get ahead” into the next thing (every spare moment I’ve got, I’m rushing to catch up on email, which means I sometimes forget to prioritize time with my family, suddenly with a new baby dynamic once again.  When I’m meeting with a Dweller, I sometimes find myself distractedly thinking about Discern orientation, or how to re-draft a Discover discussion based on some day’s event.  So, I’m just as deserving of any criticism!)

But, here’s what I recognize about Jesus: Jesus knew all along that his mission on earth ultimately led to death on the cross, then resurrection.  With that looming, I can only imagine that a feeling of “let’s get on with it already” would’ve been heavy in my thoughts if I were in that situation, as preposterous an imagining as that is.  But Jesus stayed present with the people he was with: healing, teaching, loving until the last day.  Loving within and beyond the last supper, showing God’s grace and forgiveness even along the death march. 

There is value, great value, in staying committed, even if things are inevitably changing.  All the people Jesus healed probably went on to get sick again, and of course, pass away.  But staying committed until the end, or the change, is what it’s all about.  For a covenant is easy to maintain when everyone feels invested, but it is of course more challenging, and I’d argue, most important, to practice when people are feeling less invested.  God showed great faithfulness to his followers even when they tired of following in the desert.  God showed great faithfulness to the world through Jesus, offering redemption instead of annihilation, and God asks us to stay committed to one another in the same sort of love.  Daily.  No matter what tomorrow brings.

Now is the time to practice loving transition, loving goodbyes, and building a new kind of commitment.   I will work on this with my new family structure, and I will encourage our Dwell team to do so with one another up until the last day together, and encourage you to look at your own commitments, too.  Where has God placed you right now?

Matthew

A Perfect World, is it Possible? by Nathan

One of the themes of this year of service and learning is that the world is messed up. I had always heard the phrase as a child, "Life isn't fair." That was always thrown around like it's no big deal. So if life isn't fair, why do we try to make it fair? Is it even possible? I'm not so sure it is.

     What sparked my interest in writing this blog is this trip we're on to Arizona and Mexico to learn about the border (Borderlinks).   I've never been opposed to illegal immigrants and I've always thought that our government should not make it so difficult for people to come here. Since we are mainly here to learn about why it IS wrong to have a border like this, I knew that part wasn't going to be the issue for me. What filled me was this feeling of hopelessness. Seriously, what CAN we do?

Nathan, Britney, Jenn, Eva, & Isaiah

     Another thing that I've been hearing throughout the year is about the food industry. Why we should be buying locally grown fruits and veggies and grass-fed meat. I completely understand this issue. What gets me is how expensive it is to live this way. Most people do not have the kind of money to eat ethically. It's pretty hopeless if you ask me.

Tyler and ben adam in Nogales, Sonora

     We can stop the mass production of corn but then I'm sure there is going to be another issue. Can't say what it would be yet but I truly believe there is no such thing as a perfect world. I can't stand it when I try to be a good person and live ethically and then people tell me I'm not doing enough. Not to point fingers (okay, I'm pointing fingers) but I hear that a lot from two of my roommates.  I love them to death but that part of them kind of bugs me. They are good at making people feel guilty. But I'm not sure they have all the answers either. My prediction is that no matter how hard you try to make the world a better place, there will always be another problem that comes up. So do I sacrifice everything to try to make it better with the possibility that at the end of my life I realize it was a complete waste of time and I didn't accomplish anything, or not do a thing and be considered selfish? It is a lot easier to choose the second option because people want to play it safe and make sure that at least THEY are living life to the fullest. I feel like I'm gonna get a lot of flack for that one but I try to be honest. Let's just all be honest with ourselves.

Despite all that I am still trying to make the world a better place. I may not be doing enough but it's at least something. So why do I try at all when I'm pretty sure it's hopeless? I don't know. Maybe I would rather be considered just kind of selfish rather than selfish.


For more photos of the Dwellers trip to Borderlinks, click here.

Collage reflections on the week.

     

The Gospel of Interaction, by KC Wahe

One of my extracurricular ministry things I do in my life as well as pastoring a wonderful church of Christ followers in Littlerock, California, is that I serve as a board member of the DOOR Network in Hollywood. I’ve only served on the board for a short few months. I’m still a little wet behind the ears when it comes to the whole “board” thing. I have some cool history with DOOR that goes way back before DOOR ever came to Hollywood and some of that history stems from a church that I was part of for several years and that God used in transforming my life for Christ.

Eduardo at Homegirl Cafe

This past week I got to witness with my own eyes why the DOOR Network exists. Part of the DOOR mission statement is, “DOOR invites our Discover, Discern and Dwell participants to See the face of God in the city.” This was played out during a reflection time with a group of kids and adults who were from that cool place north of us here in the states called Canada. As Eduardo, our guest Director from San Antonio for the week, was leading the reflection time, (Matthew and his wife are about to have their second child), my friend Marvin, who is also a board member and I got to be observants of a group of kids who really worked hard at discerning what it means to truly see God’s face in the city.

As the students shared their experiences from the task they were given that evening, one student in particular stood out to me the most. As he was talking and sharing about his experience at an agency, I couldn’t help but notice this kids transformation right in front of my own eyes. It was as if God had come down and was holding this kids eyelids literally “wide open.”

This student was telling the story about a conversation he had with someone at the agency he helped at earlier in the day and how he was blessed by this conversation and how this particular someone gave him a gift that blew him away. As the student described the exchange, the student began to talk about his own “preconceived” notions about what homeless persons were like and that he just assumed they were all “jaded” individuals. As he finished sharing, he said something that sounded like, “I came to the city thinking I had nothing in common with the people I’ve met and I’m leaving knowing that I have lots in common.” (My paraphrase).

This is what DOOR does. It changes the gospel from being about just “fixing” to a gospel of interaction. Too many of us in the church hear the words of Jesus in John 13:34 as “A new command I give you: fix one another. As I have fixed you, so you must fix one another.” Groups  who have the chance to participate in something like DOOR, don’t come to a place like Hollywood just to fix homelessness. They come to interact with Jesus and to be in the presence of those who are just as broken and in need of God’s grace and mercy as we are. They come to learn what it means to go into the world and love as Jesus loved. They leave having learned what it means to also receive God’s love through the gift of relationships. This is life changing and has the ability to turn around any church and it wouldn’t cost a church a single dime to implement a gospel of interaction, a face to face, no holds barred kind of love that Jesus gave to us in the story of the cross and in the post resurrection story of how Jesus calls us to be in the world.

“Let me give you a new command: Love one another. In the same way I loved you, you love one another. This is how everyone will recognize that you are my disciples—when they see the love you have for each other.” John 13:34-35

-by Reverend KC Wahe, a member of the DOOR Hollywood Board.  Follow his blog here.

Life After Hollywood, by Alayna

Alayna, one of our Dwellers from 2010/2011, reflects on life after a year of intentional Christian community:


Since ending my year in Hollywood, I’ve been struggling to come to grips with “regular life.” I’ve learned this: I don’t really like “regular” that much. I sought out the challenge of moving to California to become part of an intentional Christian community in an effort to explore a different way of life. I fell in love with what I found there. It wasn’t the city or the excitement or the glamour of Hollywood. I fell in love with simpler life. I fell in love with a more communal way of living. I fell in love with work that put me in contact with hurting people every day. It wasn’t perfect. But for the first time in my life–even on the toughest days–I felt like I was exactly where God wanted me to be doing exactly what I was supposed to be doing.

I don’t feel like that anymore. Here, as I begin regular life again after a completely un-regular year, I feel sort of lonely, a little purposeless, and kind of sad. As I settle into a life of hanging out with friends, going to the gym, taking part in church activities…I’m overcome with a profound sense of “missing the boat.” Don’t get me wrong–I love being close to old friends again and beginning new friendships. I treasure those relationships.

I just can’t shake the feeling of discontent. It plagued me through college, and it haunts me now. I’m trying to figure out what it would look like to bring LA here–to rediscover the “New Normal” I wrote about here (http://alaynahyde.wordpress.com/2011/06/23/the-new-normal/) .

What do I miss most? What elements of that life made it so purposeful? What changes can I make to my new life here to find the same kind of fulfillment?

Getting "Ready" for the Academy Awards

(an excerpt of Tyler's recent blog, to read the complete article, view www.tamostul.wordpress.com)

I now work at a shelter in Hollywood, which is still a part of PATH just a different location.  There are two main functions that go on here.  Outreach and case management.  Outreach is where we go out onto the streets of mainly West Hollywood (which is the really nice area and its weird to see people suffering there), and talk to those who are living outside.  We ask them how they are doing, ask them if they would potentially be interested in shelter, and give them socks and a sack lunch.  Once someone chooses to come into shelter, or expresses an interest in housing, case management begins to help them get there.

At this point, I have been mainly just learning how things work.  I don’t have any direct responsibilities that are mine yet, other than to help out where needed and try to learn as much as possible.  Earlier this week, I went with the LAPD as they did a “sweep” through Hollywood, basically kicking all of the people who they deem not presentable out of the area because the Oscars and other award shows are coming up and the streets have to look nice.

My co-workers had been telling me about these sweeps that happened once in awhile.  Apparently, every year around this time before the Oscars the police tell all the people living on the streets to leave, they run their information and arrest them if they can find a reason to.  The police want PATH to be there to offer people services and shelter if they want it. 

I went with two of my colleagues to join the police.  We called and they told us where they were.  When we got there about 6 cops were surrounding two men, one was in handcuffs.  The cops told us to talk to the man that wasn’t in handcuffs.  He was either high on Meth, or needing to be I am not experienced enough to tell the difference.  He wouldn’t look at us when we were talking to him, and you could barely hear him when he spoke.  He was definitely not interested in services.  The cops then told us to talk to the man in cuffs.  They took off his cuffs when we spoke to him but made him keep his hands on his head.  His pants were around his ankles, because they didn’t fit.  We will call him Dave.  Dave smelled and needed a shower and something to eat, so he came with us.  I am not sure why he was originally in handcuffs, but he was now with us sitting in front of me in the van.  His choice to come with us possibly saved him from going to jail.

We then followed the police car to the next spot.  I also need to mention that with the police was a full blown garbage truck and a 5 man “Hollywood Beautification Team.”  We pulled up to an encampment where at least one person called home.  Nobody was there.  There was a lot of stuff at this encampment, whoever’s home this was had obviously been there awhile.  I then watched as the cops ordered the dumpster lowered, and the “Hollywood Beautification Team” which was mostly high school students thinking they were doing something awesome in preparation for the Oscar’s, proceeded to throw away everything.  Treating a person’s belongings as if they were worth nothing. 

As I was observing this horror, I saw a man with a dog walking down the street.  As he got closer, I realized that this was the man whose home and possessions were being thrown away at about the same time that he realized what was happening.  I was too far away to hear exactly what was said as he began yelling and flailing his arms.  I saw the cops point and tell him to go to the opposite sidewalk.  He then sat on the curb and started crying recognizing that all of his possessions were just thrown away by the police and there was nothing he could do about it.  As the man was crying, I couldn’t help but notice a woman who lived in the apartment complex across from this man’s now destroyed home and stolen possessions rejoicing and thanking the police for what they had done.  She no longer would have to worry about the eyesore, and the man would be forced to leave her direct view and be homeless somewhere else. 

 

I was very overwhelmed by this experience.  I have never seen such blatant discrimination and dehumanization take place.  Hearing about things like this, and actually seeing it occur are two very different things.  The reason this was happening was so that the high profile actors and actresses, media, and the world wouldn’t have to see the poverty and hopelessness that exists in Hollywood.

I understand people not wanting to see poverty and people living on the streets, I wish I didn’t have to either.  We should be disturbed when we see people living in poverty, I wish there was no such thing as poverty and homelessness.  However, the reality is that hundreds of people in Hollywood have nowhere else to go.  When we complain about this, or the state makes people at least temporarily move from sight we are not asking why this person is living on the streets or helping him change that reality.  We are simply wanting them to go live on somebody else’s streets so we don’t have to see them.

May we recognize that events like the Oscars and the gentrification of our cities mean displacement and violence against the poor.  May our lives seek to liberate the oppressed, instead of celebrating and enjoying the accomplishments of the oppressors.  May we begin to spend money and resources on things that bring life and not death.  May our disgust for poverty lead us to compassion and change; not hatred, judgement, or worse, nothing.

Vocation Exploration in Seattle, by Britney

This weekend five of us from Hollywood attended a conference in Seattle called Volunteers Exploring Vocation. While it a was a short retreat, the time was spent doing some serious reflection and discussion on what vocation means and how to discern vocation.  Before the conference, I simply associated the word vocation with a career path. I expected to attend this conference and learn about different ministerial and social justice vocations. Instead, we discussed vocation in a way that I never considered. Vocation is more than just a career; it’s your lifestyle. Throughout the weekend, the definition of vocation revolved around this central theme: where your greatest desire and the world’s great need meet.

When I moved to Hollywood, one of my main goals was to find purpose. I thought if I moved away from home to do a year of service, God would illuminate the neon sign pointing directly to my “calling.” Honestly, I wanted to take the easy route…you know, let God make the decision of what I should do with my life, and then, I would just do it. I mean that is what we all think, right? God gives a calling. He grants us gifts and talents, which determine the path we should take. But, what if adherence to that mindset is just laziness? What if God’s call is for us to just do what we choose to do and do it with purpose?

Jenn and I at the original Starbucks!

I have decided for my life that purpose is not given to me. Purpose is a reflection of the praise and servitude that comes from being a follower of Christ and by doing what I am most passionate about.

While I’d like to say that the conference on vocational exploration concluded with that neon sign or an enlightened answer as to what I’m suppose to do with my life or what my life purpose is, I can only say that it reaffirmed this idea that I live in a constant state of discernment. It’s a lifetime journey that should NEVER have a conclusion.

This weekend, I began to truly reflect on what my vocation looks like at this moment. During my time in Hollywood, I am facing a lot of challenges. My job as the Neighborhood Partnership Coordinator asks me to step out into a very uncomfortable place that forces me to evaluate my own identity and awareness of intercultural competency. My intentional community asks me to be vulnerable and sensitive in ways that reveal my deepest flaws and my selfish demons. My city asks me to see the face of God in the not so glamorous and not so rich Hollywood that gets portrayed on television. All of these features collectively make this journey a place of discernment. In this place, I am forced to question, reflect, and discuss who it is that I am and who it is that I want to be.

Pike Place Fish Market

More than just the recognition of my present circumstances and the impact they have on discerning my vocation, VEV and the fellow volunteers that I met in Seattle helped me realize that this is not a journey I am willing to cease after one year of service. I want more, I need more, and God deserves more. If I am in search of an authentic relationship with God, then I must be willing to continue my devotion to seeking vocational discernment for the rest of my life.

Now, am I clear on what my deepest desire is? No. Am I clear on what the world’s greatest need is? No.

What I am clear on is my need to seek the answers to those questions whole-heartedly without ceasing.

Whether I become a teacher, stay a social worker, or join a circus, my hope is that it will  be done with purpose.

Just a side note: Pretty sure I fell in love with Seattle! Must get back there soon!