Serving homeless people, as well as victims of domestic violence and other forms of trauma, is challenging anywhere. But the difficulty multiplies in New York City, Lesley-Ann Hix Tommey has learned. “In New York, everything is happening on such a…
How a Muslim beggar taught me about dignity
Perhaps I had grown too accustomed to seeing people dig through the garbage containers at the edge of the street in my residential neighborhood in Semarang, Indonesia. Then, one day I prepared a sermon for the small English-language congregation I…
Norfolk Street Choir infuses dignity with a dose of music
No one would mistake the Freemason Street Baptist Church Norfolk Street Choir concert for professionals. But that’s hardly the point. With this group, rehearsals are in large part the purpose. Performance is a byproduct.
Photo Gallery: Norfolk Street Choir
View the photo gallery from the Norman Street Choir.
Marginalized are harder to see ― and help ― in tourist towns, ministers say
As just about anyone who works regularly among at-risk populations knows, the disenfranchised are swept under the social rug regardless of what city they are in. But poverty, hunger and other ills can be harder to spot in recreational get-aways.
Baptist church funds N.C.’s first homeless shelter for gay youth
Myers Park Baptist Church in Charlotte, N.C., has announced a $100,000 gift to help build North Carolina’s first homeless shelter for LGBTQ youth. The gift, announced March 30, will help Time Out Youth — a support and advocacy organization for lesbian,…
Wiley Drake, city, at odds over homeless shelter
A former Southern Baptist Convention official says he will resist any attempt by city officials to enforce an order to close a homeless shelter located on church property. Citing the First and Fifth amendments to the U.S. Constitution, Pastor Wiley…
Flood waters deepen minister’s calling into homeless ministry
Merianna Harrelson was cruising along as pastor of Emmanuel Baptist Church in Lexington, S.C., when Mother Nature stepped in with historic flooding in the fall of 2015. The high waters, and the suffering they inspired, drew Harrelson and her husband,…
Sense of hopelessness, as mother takes kids to homeless shelter
It was 6 p.m. when Leticia Harley, her 2-month-old son and 2-year-old daughter could re-enter the emergency homeless shelter in Dallas. They would file in line early, three among many, looking for a safe place for the night.