Yesterday, our community of faith made space in the busy-ness of our lives to stop for a moment and mark something important. Together with our new partners in ministry and an extended collection of supporters, we took time to claim God’s blessings upon our newly occupied Interim Sacred Settlement. The two tiny homes temporarily located on our campus and the shared “common house,” now located in a previously vacant classroom, have created a home for Valerie Roy, someone who has persevered with much less for so many years. Misha, James, & Avia Beary have also taken a little leap of faith, leaving behind the familiar comforts of an apartment in St. Paul, to build a base of support around Valerie, as together we experiment with a new kind of community.
Some might wonder why it would be important to claim a blessing for something intended to be temporary. I think it’s because there’s nothing temporary about God’s vision for the world, one in which all people might experience God’s unconditional love, even in some small measure. We all benefit from regular reminders that we’re not alone.
Also, an important distinction to make is that it’s God who has been blessing this unfolding process, helping each of us to experience the joys and challenges of the life of faith. The blessing of this ministry that we claimed yesterday, even if it only exists in this place for a little while, is still a manifestation of God at work, in and through us.
I had no idea the path we would be led down when, back in July, the Roseville Police asked us to help Valerie find a safer place to park her school bus shelter. But it was not hard to say “yes,” as we have done countless times before, to helping someone who comes to our door looking for help. A safe place to park was an easy thing to offer.
Each step of this path, we’ve been able to keep saying, “yes.” That has been the easy part. But it’s remarkable how each challenge that has cropped up along the way has found just the right solution. The next challenge in front of us I see as our next great opportunity. The City of Roseville wants to think with us on how this experimental community-first housing model might become one more tool for addressing the crisis of homelessness that only continues to grow. I’m hopeful our church will help lead this discernment, together with the other faith communities and caring neighbors who call Roseville home.
Could something temporary become permanent? This is an important question that we’ll be asking in the months to come, along with the on-going exploration of solutions for children & families also facing homelessness in our community. In the meantime, let’s reassure Valerie that the community-first housing she now has, supported by people who love her and surrounded in God’s love, is anything but temporary. No matter where her trailer may be placed, she has found a home. And it has been blessed.
May God’s hope embrace you this day. -Pastor Peter
Let us pray… God of love, you have blessed these tiny houses and this common house so that they might become a home. May this home be a place where your love flows. May your blessings continue to inspire us to share your love with the world. Amen.