Dear Old South Church,
Throughout December, the Portico of Old South Church has become a sleeping place for unhoused neighbors. Area businesses are working with the City to banish homeless persons from neighboring parks and benches and doorways. Having nowhere else to go, some are gravitating each night under the shelter of our covered Portico. While the Back Bay Association is unhappy with us, Old South members have taken to ministering to them with food, warm clothing, and companionship. Maybe the Christmas story is happening right here?
In addition to food and material assistance, Old South Church hosted a meeting with the Street Outreach Workers and Pine Street Inn to ask if there is a better solution than the strategy of banishing homeless people, sending them to wander from one place to the next. With the help of David Albaugh and Debbie Leonard, both wearing their Boston Warm hats, we are working on it.
Under the leadership of Ralph Watson, Old Southers met each Sunday in December to prepare hot soup and sandwiches, brew strong coffee, and wrap gifts. These were placed on wheeled carts and rolled and carried out into the streets of Boston as gifts to our unhoused neighbors. Inspired by this, a group of young girls unrelated to Old South Church raised money for zero degree down sleeping bags and gave these out under our Portico.
Meanwhile Robert Higgins organized a toy drive for foster children in the care of the Department of Children and Families Services; and you, Old South Church, met the requests with unbounded generosity. You came through for over sixty-five children. Each child is receiving at least two wrapped gifts: one essential item and one age-appropriate toy.
To keep the shelves of the Allston-Brighton Food Pantry stocked, Ruth Ricker appealed for items of red and green (spaghetti sauce, kids' pasta meals, green beans, peas, cranberry sauce, jelly, etc.) and Lois Corman lugged them from here to the shelves of the Brighton Allston Congregational Church.
Katie Swayne-Gerrish and Liz Olson collected from Old Southers new warm coats for Boston school children and Erin Hull appealed for baby carriers to help Syrian families with small children as they carry their little ones on their long and painful journeys.
While all this was happening the Christian Service and Outreach Committee proposed, and your Church Council approved, sending grants totaling $100,000 to the following: Casa Myrna Vasquez for teen parenting; City Mission Society for homelessness prevention focused on single mothers; Fourth Presbyterian for programs with urban youth, including ESL and nutritious meals; and common cathedral for its programs with art and street ministry.
Yesterday, a reporter reached out to ask me how Old South Church ministers in this holy season. I told him that Old South Church ministers with wide open hearts and extraordinary generosity.
I told him that last Thursday Old South Church in Boston held a Blue Christmas service as a reminder that the season is not all festive reds and greens. Blue, too, is a true color of the season. We sang carols in bluesy, jazzy tones. We prayed our sad prayers and wrapped an aching earth in all the hope and love we could muster. We lit our four Advent candles to pierce the word's darkness with brave flames of peace, hope, joy and love. We gave thanks to God for coming into the world as it is, imperfect and bruised.
Thank you, Old South Church, for incarnating this holy season's spirit with your very lives.
HAPPY CHRISTMAS TO EACH AND ALL.