I've been hearing about this for a while now but didn't think they were going to actually do it. I don't quite understand the rationale but apparently NYC is ordering churches to stop providing beds to homeless people. Here's the story I got from 1010wins.com:
NYC Churches Ordered Not to Shelter Homeless
NEW YORK (AP) -- City officials have ordered 22 New York churches to stop providing beds to homeless people.
With temperatures well below freezing early Saturday, the churches must obey a city rule requiring faith-based shelters to be open at least five days a week -- or not at all.
Arnold Cohen, president of the Partnership for the Homeless, a nonprofit that serves as a link with the city, says he had to tell the churches they no longer qualify.
He says hundreds of people now won't have a place to sleep.
The Department of Homeless Services says the city offers other shelters with the capacity to accept all those who have been sleeping in the churches.
Showing posts with label New York City. Show all posts
Showing posts with label New York City. Show all posts
Saturday, November 22, 2008
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
NYC - A Holy Place, II
On Sunday after spending my first few hours thinking about Jesus, God, and the vineyard, we hopped on the Subway to head to our Kickball game. On the subway platform about halfway to our destination, I turned to my wife and said, "NYC is a holy place!"
I was inspired to say that just based on my experience that morning: Church, Coffee hour post-service with friendly folks, and the rush to make sure we got to kickball on time. Nothing overtly-holy in all that, more like an internal feeling. I tend to think NYC is a holy place anyway.
Just then, the Holy wanted to make itself "present." Next to us was a young man drinking a cup of Starbucks coffee. He stood up and walked over to a lady selling churros and asked for a bag of churros. He pulled out a $20 bill, but the vendor didn't have change. He was about to walk away from the vendor when a middle-aged woman enjoying her own bag of churros took out a dollar, paid for his bag, and gave it to him. He looked at her curiously, said "thank you," and sat down to enjoy his snack.
I looked at my wife, Wendy, and smiled. "See, we live in a holy place."
When the train came and we got on, the same young man got on with us but dropped his headphones and didn't notice. A gentleman who had gotten on behind him picked them up and brought them over to him. The young man smiled and said, "thank you."
The gentleman went back to stand next to his pregnant wife who was seated. An older woman got up from her seat and offered it to this gentleman so he could sit with his wife. Wendy and I were seated across from him, his pregnant wife, and what we assumed was her sister and the sister's toddler baby girl. The two women talked about babies, cooed, cuddled, and kissed the toddler girl. The little girl kissed her mom, played with her aunt, and the gentleman looked on at his family with a huge grin on his face. They sat there, a blessed family, enjoying each other's company on a Sunday subway ride.
Just then, a trio of older men walked onto the subway and began to sing. They harmonized, beautifully, some old gospel tune asking Mary to bless us, to ask her son Jesus to bless us and watch over us. The family across from us tapped their feet, with the mom dancing with her toddler in her lap.
As we got off the train at our stop, the trio still singing, I contemplated what we had just experienced -
- an Asian man getting the gift of churros from a Latina woman
- a white tattooed man returning headphones to the same Asian man
- an older Black woman giving up her seat to the white tattooed man so he could sit with his pregnant wife
- two heavily tattooed white women, one with baby in lap, one with baby in womb, showing a tremendous amount of love to the child
- three tattooed white folk tapping their feet and dancing to the gospel tune of a trio of older black men
In that moment, the race actually didn't matter (I bring it up only to show my love for the diversity of this city), the gender didn't matter, the socio-economic class didn't matter, the sexual orientation didn't matter, the faith or creed didn't matter. Here were New Yorkers being New Yorkers.
I looked at my wife, and she looked at me with a smile on her face. She knew what I was going to say. And she agreed.
"It's a holy place," I said.
"It totally is."
I was inspired to say that just based on my experience that morning: Church, Coffee hour post-service with friendly folks, and the rush to make sure we got to kickball on time. Nothing overtly-holy in all that, more like an internal feeling. I tend to think NYC is a holy place anyway.
Just then, the Holy wanted to make itself "present." Next to us was a young man drinking a cup of Starbucks coffee. He stood up and walked over to a lady selling churros and asked for a bag of churros. He pulled out a $20 bill, but the vendor didn't have change. He was about to walk away from the vendor when a middle-aged woman enjoying her own bag of churros took out a dollar, paid for his bag, and gave it to him. He looked at her curiously, said "thank you," and sat down to enjoy his snack.
I looked at my wife, Wendy, and smiled. "See, we live in a holy place."
When the train came and we got on, the same young man got on with us but dropped his headphones and didn't notice. A gentleman who had gotten on behind him picked them up and brought them over to him. The young man smiled and said, "thank you."
The gentleman went back to stand next to his pregnant wife who was seated. An older woman got up from her seat and offered it to this gentleman so he could sit with his wife. Wendy and I were seated across from him, his pregnant wife, and what we assumed was her sister and the sister's toddler baby girl. The two women talked about babies, cooed, cuddled, and kissed the toddler girl. The little girl kissed her mom, played with her aunt, and the gentleman looked on at his family with a huge grin on his face. They sat there, a blessed family, enjoying each other's company on a Sunday subway ride.
Just then, a trio of older men walked onto the subway and began to sing. They harmonized, beautifully, some old gospel tune asking Mary to bless us, to ask her son Jesus to bless us and watch over us. The family across from us tapped their feet, with the mom dancing with her toddler in her lap.
As we got off the train at our stop, the trio still singing, I contemplated what we had just experienced -
- an Asian man getting the gift of churros from a Latina woman
- a white tattooed man returning headphones to the same Asian man
- an older Black woman giving up her seat to the white tattooed man so he could sit with his pregnant wife
- two heavily tattooed white women, one with baby in lap, one with baby in womb, showing a tremendous amount of love to the child
- three tattooed white folk tapping their feet and dancing to the gospel tune of a trio of older black men
In that moment, the race actually didn't matter (I bring it up only to show my love for the diversity of this city), the gender didn't matter, the socio-economic class didn't matter, the sexual orientation didn't matter, the faith or creed didn't matter. Here were New Yorkers being New Yorkers.
I looked at my wife, and she looked at me with a smile on her face. She knew what I was going to say. And she agreed.
"It's a holy place," I said.
"It totally is."
Friday, September 12, 2008
NYC - A Holy Place
In recent years I have come to believe that New York City is a holy place. My reasons are many and based on my own personal experience. I have seen such great good come from this place. I hope that someday we, as New Yorkers, realize how blessed we are to live where we live and to have one another as neighbors. I love this place!
On that note, I wish we had more Eucharistic Processions in New York City. Here's one in a Grassroots Films production:
And, while we're talking about being holy, remember to pray. There's a lot to pray about. Always.
God bless.
On that note, I wish we had more Eucharistic Processions in New York City. Here's one in a Grassroots Films production:
And, while we're talking about being holy, remember to pray. There's a lot to pray about. Always.
God bless.
Sunday, December 2, 2007
New York City helps the hungry
Unfortunately, as individuals, we sometimes fail to meet the basic needs of the hungry around us. It's at moments like these that government must step up to act as the compassionate force that helps alleviate the suffering of the people.
In last week's NY Daily News I read the following article about Mayor Bloomberg's initiative to eliminate hunger in NYC:
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/2007/11/26/2007-11-26_bloomberg_city_to_give_1m_to_soup_kitche.html
In last week's NY Daily News I read the following article about Mayor Bloomberg's initiative to eliminate hunger in NYC:
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/2007/11/26/2007-11-26_bloomberg_city_to_give_1m_to_soup_kitche.html
Bloomberg: City to give $1M to soup kitchens, provide hunger assistance
Monday, November 26th 2007, 4:00 AM
The city will give $1 million more to soup kitchens and food pantries and plans a new 311 system to provide information on hunger assistance, Mayor Bloomberg said Sunday.
"Basic human compassion fuels everything we do to eradicate hunger in New York," Bloomberg said on his weekly radio show.
The extra cash will help the 500 or so community groups keep up with inflation and provide more nutritious meals to the needy.
Most of the money came from eliminating fraud and waste in existing programs, Bloomberg said.
Bloomberg also said city workers will now staff a hunger hotline. Previously, callers would get shunted to an automated line.
He reminded New Yorkers they can drop off canned goods and other nonperishable items at any police stationhouse or fire station until Jan. 4. All donations will go to City Harvest
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