Sunday reflection: A call for help

A camp for the homeless behind where
the Community of Emmanuel meets

Today I had the privilege of singing "My Soul is Filled with Joy/Holy Is Your Name"* (Mary's Magnificat) for the Community of Emmanuel (God-with-us) at Inner City Pastoral Ministry. Farley played the chords of Wild Mountain Thyme on his guitar, and I did my best to lift up Mary's praise to the Creator:

"My soul is filled with joy

As I sing to God my saviour:

You have looked upon your servant,

You have visited your people.

And holy is your name

through all generations!
Everlasting is your mercy
For the people you have chosen,
And holy is your name."

Mary's beautiful prayer indicates that God sides with "the little ones" rather than the rich and powerful:

"I proclaim the pow'r of God,
You do marvels for your servants;
Though you scatter the proud-hearted
And destroy the might of princes.

To the hungry you give food, 
Send the rich away empty.
In your mercy you are mindful 
Of the people you have chosen."

In the inner city, where we often find small tent communities along fences near vacant properties, Mary's words come to life in a different way than in our suburban churches. As I handed out snack bags to some of God's chosen ones after our Community of Emmanuel service this morning, I marveled at the group lined up and waiting, most of them regulars who know each other from their time on the streets. Inevitably, when we get down to the last few snack bags, there's always someone who will give theirs up to the disappointed person who arrives just a few minutes too late to get one, or at least divide the contents of their own snack in half.

Once upon a time, I was afraid of the people of the inner city, probably because I was afraid they might want more from me than I could give, or because I sensed that they would pull me out of my middle-class comfort zone. But they have also showed me our Creator's presence in the ways they care for each other, and continue to remind me that Jesus encourages us to move out of our comfort zones to care for "the little ones."

At the end of August, our ICPM team is losing two very important people, Linda, our coffee-brewer extraordinaire, and Gord, our coffee runner, whose 200 caffeine-laden double doubles are extremely important to Sunday morning morale in the Boyle Street neighbourhood where we meet. Linda and Gord are moving on -- to care for people in other capacities, no doubt. So you can consider today's reflection a call for help.

If you or someone you know in the Edmonton area might be willing to take on coffee ministry for our Inner City Pastoral Ministry community, I'd love to hear from you. It's just a matter of joining us for our service on Sunday mornings, making the coffee, and delivering it down the hall to the front door so it can be passed out with our snack bags. The persons willing to do these behind-the-scenes tasks from 7:45 to 11 am fulfill a gentle and very much appreciated ministry in inner city life.

Consider this moodling to be a call to help the people God has chosen, our inner city sisters and brothers, in a very tangible way, by being a sign of God's everlasting mercy in the form of a cup of coffee made with love.

*original arrangement written by an anonymous musician and found in a 1978 UK hymnal, though David Haas re-arranged words and melody timing and took credit for it at some point...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vYzJNXcoLUg