This year when the shelter was opened the response from the community has been heartwarming. Churches, Clay
County Emergency Management, TV stations and folks from the community have called or stopped by to offer help and to ask for help.  I want to thanks all those folks. Then someone told me that we were the only shelter in Clay County. I hope it isn’t true.

What continues to frustrate me, and many others, is the lack of support from Clay County for those in need. As relatively "new resident" of Clay County I have been surprised at some of the decisions made that you would think reflect our lack of compassion for some
residents of our community. I do not write regarding just the homeless, as theyare just one facet of our community, but everyone who is need in of help or support.

Why would the unemployment office be moved from Kingsley to one of the more prosperous areas of Clay County? In a
county that does not have mass transit, how are the folks who need that very assistance going to get there? I may not have all the facts but what I have heard is about the resistance to a homeless shelter in Clay County.  Why? Why are the churches and agencies required to conduct a head count of homeless people? Is there a question of their existence or their number?  With my limited knowledge of the homeless community in Clay County the number of homeless in Clay County, as reported on local TV stations, the numbers seem  too low.

I once served an affluent area of Maryland. Their position regarding new people in the area was clear and even became a joke in most of the county. The position was "we have it and you can't have it." Building permits were difficult to obtain even for churches. When that practice was tested and found to be ineffective, it was decided the size of new residential lots had to be multiple acres. As time went on just the cost of land became prohibitive for most people. I was then move by the Bishop to an even more affluent area and ran into similar issues.

You may be thinking "what does this have to do with the church, shouldn’t the church worry about the religious life of the community and not political issues?”  I am an old peace advocate and believe in the right of all people to equal justice.  It is my understanding how we conduct our business and political lives is a spiritual issue. When our actions or lack of action do not reflect the love of God thought Jesus Christ it becomes a spiritual problem.

How we responded to people in need is a display of our understanding of the basic teaching of our faith and the understanding of other groups. I see incongruences between our stated beliefs and our practices.

 What do you think, but more importantly, what do you believe?

Peace,

Rick