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Methodist church slates Christian mission
conference
Inspiration Point: With God's help, something
good did happen for Jose
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Nightstrike: Lending an ear |
Youth group, pastor tend to Portland's homeless
population |
By Laurent
Bonczijk, Newberg Graphic reporter
E-mail Laurent at
lbonczijk@eaglenewspapers.com
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Youth pastor Josh Reid was
walking the Portland waterfront and feeling down on the night of
June 29. He was feeling low even though the weather was balmy and
his youth group was behaving well, even considering the boundless
energy of teen-agers.
Reid was bummed because a guy didn’t think he could shake the
pastor’s hand and introduce himself. He thought he wasn’t worthy.
He thought his name didn’t matter. He thought all that because he
had accepted a free sandwich from Reid and his group.
The evening started out well enough. Reid’s group met with other
church group volunteers in an old church building in St. Johns, a
gritty blue collar neighborhood of north Portland.
More than 100 teen-agers ran around the building, helping ready all
that was needed to minister to the homeless that night.
Finally, around 6:45 p.m., Marshall Snider took the stage. He
brought quiet to the pews now filled by the previously busy
teenagers. Worship started with the singing of “Lord, prepare me to
be a sanctuary,” with the congregation soon jumping as if at a rock
concert during the singing of the chorus. After a couple more songs,
Snider preached humility: “We are just the vessel that God chooses
to reach,” he said before inviting the audience to “let God use you
tonight.”
They did just what “Jesus told us to do in the scriptures,” he
said. “Just allow the Holy Spirit to guide you, live tonight, live
what you were created to be.”
Immediately after he concluded preaching, Snider started a safety
briefing. “Ladies, make sure you are covered,” he said, advising
boys to do the same. He warns them that among the people they will
minister tonight there will be “vampires, pimps and prostitutes.”
There will also be people there who came solely because they know
young men and women will be present under the Burnside Bridge.
Then the time came to select volunteers for the different stations:
barber, foot washer, food server.
After the volunteers departed in their different groups to be
briefed there were still plenty who have been assigned no specific
duties. Niser was quick to reassure them that there will be plenty
to do, starting with unloading the trailer containing all the gear
necessary for the mission. More importantly, maybe, was for them to
go around and talk to the people who came for the services.
This is what Reid and the remaining five Friends chose to do. They
walked the waterfront giving away sandwiches and small brown hygiene
bags. Most people were grateful and more than willing to share their
story.
Brian had a house and was self-employed in the construction
business. He got injured and couldn’t work, then started taking
drugs and drinking. He lost his home. Eventually, he said the Lord
appeared to him and he sobered up. He rides around the country on
his bicycle now, but mostly stays around Portland because of his
love for the city.
The group appeared to be having a good time, listening to the men
(the homeless were almost entirely men), goofing around
occasionally.
Still it nagged at Reid’s heart that a man could see himself as
nonexistent because he accepted a sandwich instead of going hungry. |
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From
July 7, 2007, Newberg Graphic
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