Matthew 25

Matthew 25: 35-40

35 for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, 36 I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.' 37 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? 38 And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you, or naked and gave you clothing? 39 And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?' 40 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.'

I like the call to action of Matthew 25: 35-40. This passage was the main part of my Advent Reflections. I wanted to open my eyes to my immediate world, lookout for God's opportunities to care and love your neighbour. It is demanding, it is challenging, it is rewarding to see faces and reactions to what is simply not a lot to expect.

I spent most of December highlighting homelessness in Trafford, recycling clothing, taking drinks and food, visiting the sick in hospital and at home.

Why don't you open your eyes to the world just outside you door, see whats going on and get involved. Imagine if more people took these sayings of Jesus on board how different the world would be.

John - Homeless 4

John left hospital, much better and looking well groomed. He went to live with his Mum away from Stretford. It has been difficult to find anything else out or to contact him. He has been seen in Manchester, still looking healthy and well dressed.

We continue to pray for him along with many others and hope that he continues to improve.

If I find anything out I'll let you all know.

John - Homeless 3

A quick update on John.

John is currently in hospital due to an infection. This is much better than being out in this severe weather conditions we have had recently. He is getting treatment and social services are now involved so fingers crossed he keeps to his regime and gets better.

I took him one of our homeless shoeboxes and he was over the moon with the contents and was very excited about having as have and putting on some smelly before his mum came to visit.

Till next time....

John - Homeless 2

John has been back from his journey to Birmingham for a few weeks now. He is staying with a friend sometimes and on the street other nights. His friend is also taking drugs and is an alcoholic. Staying with somebody in a similar situation isn't the best way to try to become clean.
He has a chance of staying at a more permanent place over Christmas, I hope this will happen soon, the nights are cold and worse weather is promised.
I'm not putting this down as a failure, that we as a church failed John in getting him treated and in a home. It has been a challenging experience and lessons have been learnt. Letting John stay in his tent, providing food and drink each day made John comfortable, condoned his drug and alcohol misuse. It's a dilemma, do you help or not. We are told to help, Matthew 25 35-40 tells us to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, provide a drink for the thirsty. Yet when you do this your not actually helping so this get's me thinking even more - How would Jesus actually help substance users?

Then the help arrived in the post, a newsletter from MCM with a two page spread on how Jesus would help drug users. I could have done with this a few weeks ago.
What is your image of a drug user? Someone injecting heroin or someone slipping a pill in their mouth.

Some stats for you;

40,000 people are addicted to "over the counter" drugs
250,000-300,000 problem drug users in England and Wales
Cocaine addiction has tripled in last 10 years
300,000 children have parents with serious drug problems
On average a heroin addict commits 432 crimes a year
40% of 16-24 year olds have used cannabis
In the UK 40,000 heroin users are taking methadone

So what would Jesus do and us do in turn?

Accept people for who they are, not what drug they use.
Work with drug and alcohol agencies.Be honest.
Set boundaries that you are comfortable with.
Cast your cares upon him, for he cares for you (1Peter 5:7)

Show John he is valued, support John in getting him to appointments, reminding him they are coming up, be open about expectations and perceptions, set boundaries on your time, money, possessions and relationships.

The work can be emotionally draining, the boundaries are there to protect you and help them.Pray tell God your needs with thankfulness.

I believe this is what I and Helen did and will keep doing. Just because John isn't staying in his tent doesn't mean he isn't supported.Another thing, the person also has to want to change and if they don't all you can do is keep doing the things above frustrating as it may be.

One day John will sort himself out....

All Saints Shoebox Appeal

All Saints’ Christmas Shoebox Appeal for Homeless People

Please help by donating

Toiletries
(Deodorant, Shaving Gel, Soap, Flannels, Toothpaste, Toothbrushes etc)
Unisex Socks, Woolly Hats, Gloves & Scarves
Bars of Chocolate
Biscuits
Cup a Soups

Matthew 25 35-40

There are over 200 people homeless in our parish, not all are on the streets. If you are under 16 the council has a duty to provide accomodation however if your are between 17 and 100 male or female you do not qualify for help. There are no facilities for these people to find a nights peace and warmth anywhere in Trafford. It may not be much but the little we can do is very much appreciated.

John - Homeless 1

Over the last 6/7 weeks we have had a challenging time dealing with a homeless person who decided to erect a campsite in the ground of our church.
To bring you up to date.....
His name is John. John pitched his tent at the back of church because he had connections in our parish. His sister lived across the road. John has been homeless for approximately 15 years and has drug and alcohol misuse issues. He isn't very healthy. It has been challenging because as a Christian you have an urge to help this person, to provide food and a warm drink. Reverend Helen and myself provided for him, we also kept him up to date with his probation officer and appts at the doctors. John's story was very said, he had a family and was part of the community teaching youngsters Kick Boxing then it all went pear shaped and he chose the wrong path. He has told us he is ready to change and sort his life out. I, we believed him and wanted to help him succeed. What John was good at is telling us what we needed to hear, playing each of us off one another, the drugs agency, probation, Reverend Helen, his sister.
Then a ray of hope, The Edge (Drugs) found John a place at Betel of Britain a Christian form of rehab in Birmingham. John's sister took him and got him settled in. 24hrs later and he was back in Manchester. In the mean time I had took his tent down.
John wasn't ready for cold turkey, he just isn't desperate enough to go through that sort of treatment. John set up camp again behaind church, we had told the congregation he had gone to rehab much to their relief and now he was back.
A couple of weeks has past now and I'm not sure what can be done, John doesn't seem to want to help himself, he doesn't attend his appointments with the people who can provide for him. I pray for God to intervene and sort out this problem. I actually wondered why John was sent to our Church and now I think I know why. It's not neccessarily to help John but to highlight what seems to be a growing problem in our area, homelessness, drugs and alcohol.