~~~
Day’s Verse:
“Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.'”
Matthew 25:34-36 (context)
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I hate getting cold and wet. But worse than getting cold and wet is staying cold and wet. I know this especially from backpacking, when you have no options besides what you brought along. If everything is soaked, there’s no drying out. Imagine being a cyclist on tour, out on the road far from friends or warm accommodations, and getting caught in a downpour. Even on a nice day, the opportunity to take a hot shower, eat a good meal, and sleep in a bed could really make a difference.
Enter Warmshowers.org, which describes itself thus:
The Warm Showers List is a list of Internet cyclists who have offered their hospitality towards touring cyclists. The extent of the hospitality depends on the host and may range from simply a spot to pitch a tent to meals, a warm (hot!) shower, and a bed.
I think this is such a great idea, Ian and I have registered to let people stay with us. This is the kind of opportunity I think Christians have a responsibility to take: To share your resources and time with people who need a little caring. To provide for people who need something you have. To listen to their stories, and share God’s love through your hospitality. It may not be comfortable, but I think it’s right.
That is so great! Think you’ll get any takers during the winter?
http://www.caritasshelter.org/
This was a program I was involved with before coming to WPI.
It is a central organization supported by churches around the area. The idea is to help homeless people get back on their feet by providing them a place to sleep and food while they spend the days in the city looking for work or working or sitting around . . . I don’t know what they did.
Our church would host about 30-40 people for 1 week and during that week would give them dinner every night and a bag lunch and when we could we would hang with them at night in the fellowship hall. Each morning a bus would pick them up (supplied by the organization) and take them into Richmond. The bus would pick them up in the evening and bring them back to the church. After a week another church has them for a week. Caritas itself organizes everything and I guess somehow decides what kind of person is elligable. I learned how to play spades from a bunch of homeless dudes in our southern baptist church.
Giving a little hospitality to bikers reminded me of this.