From Pastor Keseley's Desk: Church for the Sake of the World

Hopefully by now you’ve heard me talking the past few weeks about hypothermia shelter. Abiding Presence has signed up to host the Fairfax County hypothermia shelter the week of December 29, right after Christmas. Each week of hypothermia shelters, two churches sign up to provide shelter space for up to 50 individuals for a total of 100 hypothermia shelter spaces in the county.

As I preached last week, I’ve been clear and convicted in the decision that this what we need to do (even if might not be what we want to do). This past week, that clarity was reinforced in two big ways.

First, I drove into the church parking lot early one morning to find two unhoused individuals sleeping on picnic tables in the parking lot. They weren’t disturbing anything, just sleeping quietly with all their possessions around them. The goal of hypothermia shelter is simple - keep people from freezing to death. The need for this is far greater than most of us realize.

Second, I attended a community conversation with faith leaders this past week hosted by Representative Gerry Connolly. (See the picture below.) One of the big things we talked about was affordable housing and homelessness in our area.

While the theology of the people in the room was diverse, we were unified on the need to address the growing number of unhoused people in our area. While pre-COVID the number of unhoused individuals in the county was shrinking, post-COVID the numbers are growing. Sitting in that room, I was reminded that there are practical ways we can make a difference - like hosting hypothermia shelter, hosting coat drives, feeding people through our food pantry. There is also a need for us to advocate for policies that curb homelessness and hunger. It’s a both and approach.

We are the church for the sake of the world, the hands and feet of Jesus. Let’s get to work!