I went to church outside today. Near downtown Portland, my beloved Rose City. As I parked my hunter green mini-van I scanned the concrete space under the bridge. A few people were huddled by one of the columns, but otherwise it was empty. From a distance, I could see people milling about on the nearby lawn. A perfect Indian summer sun blazed from above. Portland's waterfront walkway along the Willamette River teeming with people out enjoying what is surely one of the last great days before the onset of a dreary, grey sky fall season blossoms into full-blown gloominess.
I rounded the corner and saw familiar faces. Ken Loyd , his snow white mohawk distinct and distinguished. He is a true, gentleman old punk, yet much more than that. Kate, with her signature black cap and compassionate hands already busy making sure things were set up. Church outside is not much different than church inside. Somebody's gotta get the coffee table set up and the supplies set out. The difference, of course, being that everything is hauled in and set up in the open air.
Jessica and Jordan, engaged with person after person as they fielded requests like, "Do you have any socks? Is there any foot powder? Is there any more sugar for the coffee?" A young, energetic couple, Jessica and Jordan recently joined the Home PDX team, having moved up here from Texas. Jessica has quickly become an unofficial admin person for the ragtag team.
Then there's Gretchen, a former Bridger, but Donna and I saw it a mile away from the first time she helped out with Home PDX serving those who live outdoors. She was a natural, just headed right in and never looked back. We kinda got a clue when she started showing up to Home PDX without anyway asking her to. She has an amazing ability to talk with anybody. Anybody. She's amazing.
And there's Jeremy, my friend Anna Grace's brother. I adore AG, so I'm sure I'd adore her brother as well if I got a chance to talk with him more. But when we hang out downtown with Home PDX the goal is to talk with those who live outside, the folks who often are invisible to normals like me and the Home PDX team.
Today there was also Courteny and Michael, volunteers like me from The Bridge who'd come down to lend a helping hand. At The Bridge, we try to send two volunteers a week to help out Home PDX in practical ways so as to help free them up more to do what they are really down there to do, and that's connect to homeless men and women, although the H word is not used in Home PDX culture. The word homeless connotes failure, outcast, bum. So our brothers and sisters who live outside are not addressed or talked about as being homeless. This is a small, yt vital way to build up the reality that every person is worthy of dignity and respect...and love, simply because they exist. So yeah, Courteny and Michael, their first time to help out downtown and they were Amazing to just step right in and go for it. Someone right away noticed that Courteny's rad bleached blonde, spiky hairdo made her look a little similar to Ken. He was jokingly asked, "Hey Ken, is this your long lost love child?"
Today was a rockin' adventure with the Home PDX community. We were all schmoozing and talking with people. I was making sure the coffee table was staying stocked. We were all waiting for the partner church to show up with the food. A big part of Home PDX is for area individuals and churches to help out by providing a homecooked hot meal. This not only eases up the barebones budget for Home PDX, but it also helps release the Home PDX team so they can concentrate on connecting to people. This is a huge part of what makes Home PDX more than just another feed in Portland. The value of talking and listening to people, to paying attention, is the main point. Not the food.
This is how I got into a conversation with a guy named Steve. We just started chit-chatting casually. Then somehow the conversation took a deep turn and we were soon discussing the survival skills he has learned and what if the end of the world happens in our lifetime? "I think people who live outdoors will the heroes and leaders of a post-apocolyptic world," I told Steve. He laughed, then told me that he's been reading survivalist web sites on the internet. Yeah, if the Big One happens I'm gonna go hook-up with those like Steve who know how to survive living outside.
1:15. Wow. Still no partner church. Hm....what to do? Meal partners normally arrive by 12:30 to set up and then the food line is opened up at 1pm. It was finally decided that Home PDX needed to provide the food themselves. A few of us piled into my hunter green mini-van and headed to the downtown Safeway. Some very helpful ladies in the deli helped box up every piece of fried chicken and chicken strip and jo-jos they had in the hot case. Jordan and Kate loaded up cases of bottled water and packages of creme filled cookies. Salad bags and ranch dressing were loaded in the cart. $170 later, charged on Ken's credit card for Home PDX, we headed back to the bridge.
We found about 100 people patiently waiting for lunch to arrive. I did not hear a single word of complaint. Ken got on the mic hooked up to the small amp to announce that lunch was indeed served. There was a small round of applause as the food line opened up and the chicken and jo-joes and salad starting being plated up. Soon it was apparent that it was not nearly enough. Michael and Courteny headed out to another Safeway location for more chicken while Phil, a long time friend of Ken's and one of the founding members of Home PDX and I headed to yet another Safeway for more food. Armed with Ken's Home PDX credit card, Phil and I loaded up two carts with all the chicken and jo-jos the deli hot case held. We also loaded up six cases of bottled water and a half dozen packages of Oreos which were on sale today.
Arriving back to the under-the-bridge site, people helped to quickly unload the third and final load of Safeway-catered-emergency lunch.
Friendly banter swirled around the serving tables as the church known as Home PDX broke bread, or rather chicken, together. The Oreos were a big hit, especially the mint ones, and we were glad that not only was everyone fed, but there were plenty of cookies for people to have more than a couple . A small detail, but an important one.
Ken had called me while we were enroute to Safeway. The second time. "Get lots of packages," he said. "If you think you have enough, then get even more." I took his mother-like advice to heart, filling up the cart with at least eight packages of cookies.
Food brings people together. There is something about the power of the shared table that breaks down barrier. s and gaps of classism and economics. Ken and the Home PDX community get this. It's not just about the food, really.
Here's an email excerpt that Ken sent out at the end of this day:
By the time we left, completely exhausted, we were about $300 in the hole
for the day. But check this out: our outdoors folks took up an offering
behind our backs that netted about $5, somebody gave me $1, somebody else
gave me $20. I got home and Deborah said some young men from the Bridge gave
her a check for HOME for $175 from splitting wood. About 9, a knock at the
door...$100 from our own Kate. Add this up and we get $301...we cleared a
buck on the day! Let's do the same thing again next week...
Wnen I read this email I laughed and cried. Yeah, God! I thought. And then I thought about the atheist I met last night at Mock Crest Tavern who slightly mocked me for having faith in an invisible God whose existence I can not empirically prove. I still cannot prove that God exists, yet it is this kind of uncanny, unscripted synchronicity that inspires wonder, and gratitude, in me.
An amazing day. Amazing. Church outside. Fried chicken runs to Safeway. Amazing people who survive against all odds. Amazing church that does the same.
***to contact Ken Loyd or to donate to Home PDX here's the contact info:
HOME PDX
c/o Ken Loyd
(503) 998-0304