Introduction What is Homeless Sunday?€¦ · worship on Homeless Sunday or help you prepare a ......

Introduction The following resources are designed to provide you with a range of

materials, ideas and suggestions to help you either add to your existing

worship on Homeless Sunday or help you prepare a service specifically

designed to focus on Homeless Sunday. Although the resources here

are particularly linked to the lectionary readings for 24th January, many

of them can be used at any time during the year. Please use any or all of

the materials in the way best suited for your service.

What is Homeless Sunday? The purpose of Homeless Sunday is threefold:

showing our concern for individuals affected by homelessness

challenging the conditions that create it

celebrating work that tackles the problem

Whatever level of engagement a congregation has with homelessness,

Homeless Sunday is an opportunity to take ita step higher.

Homeless Sunday brings together thousands of churches. It has the

support of all the main denominations and is celebrated in a wide range

of congregations.

Homeless Sunday 2016 - Resources page 2

Notes preparing for the service The Homeless Sunday partners, Housing Justice and Scottish Churches Housing Action, have

created these resources to help you focus on this important issue within your community. Our

online resources and the support we offer churches across the country are at your disposal, not

just at this time but throughout the year.

Reflecting on Homelessness

Before planning any actions or preparing for the service, you might take some time to reflect on

homelessness in our nation and in your own community.

An idea of what is expected of us as Christians can be found in Isaiah 58: 6-12 and in Jesus’

own words in Matthew 25: 31-46.

It is not a complicated message, but it is a challenge that is as difficult to meet now as it was

when Christ spoke these words for the first time. However, the message is very clear. Our

actions will determine the outcome of our encounter with God on the Last Day. Can we afford to

turn the stranger away from our door? Can we ignore the plight of homeless people? Should we

be complicit in allowing people to live in overcrowded, insanitary, dangerous places?

Here are some steps to guide your reflection – and to lead into action:

First, find out about the situation in your area and the services and support already on offer.

Second, explore what you and your community can do. Can you join in existing projects? Is

there a need currently not met that you can begin to address? How can you respond directly to

the situation people find themselves in?

Third, consider why these people are facing their problems of homelessness and bad housing.

Add your voice to the debate, add your community’s voice, too, in order to bring about change

in attitudes, policies and actions.

Fourth, reflect and pray - together and as individuals. God’s hand will be on your work and on

all in your community.

Matthew 25: 31-46 is pretty straightforward about how we are going to be judged. Christ is clear

that when we face people in need we are also facing him. The message opens up a question.

As active members of society what is Christ saying when he says to us, “I was a stranger and

you let me in”? As active members of society, should we take responsibility for what is done in

our name? Perhaps we want to be in a society that respects and lives out our values, too?

The outcome of your reflection will clearly be influenced by the make-up of your congregation.

For example, if a significant minority (or even the majority) of the people attending your church

have themselves experienced homelessness, you will want to have a different sort of service

than if homelessness hardly touches your community. The reflection on Psalm 71 has been

included with this situation in mind.


Planning your event

Use or adapt the posters and other materials to promote the service(s).

Give people notice well in advance through your newsletters and websites and stress

both the importance of the service and the good work that is being put into its

preparation.

Think of who you could invite from the community around you – councillors, for example,

and people who work in the homeless/housing sector locally, and perhaps people who

have been or are still homeless to help add their voices. If you do include people from

the homelessness sector or those with personal knowledge of homelessness, make sure

they are welcomed and supported in sharing their knowledge/experiences.

Remember to order enough prayer cards. You can hand them out as part of your

welcoming or place them on all of the pews/seats before the service. Use them in the

service and encourage people to take them home, share them with others, etc.

You could decorate the church or make a prayer station on the theme of homelessness.

A sleeping bag and some cardboard make a good focal point. A collection of photos or

media articles can illustrate the issues. Use any information you have gathered about

homelessness in your community to add some facts to the display. Don’t forget that

there may be people in the congregation who may have expertise in research and in the

presentation of data, so find them and let them shine.

Include as wide a range of people as possible in the planning and in the event/service

itself. Don’t forget your youth and any groups involved in justice and peace, social

action, etc. Use the great talents of those in your congregation, share and pray and your

commitment and enthusiasm will inspire the rest of the parish.

Consider a special collection and plan who and what you want to support. At the

broadest level, you could start by supporting the Homeless Sunday partners which

would ensure that work is carried out across the country throughout the year. You could

also plan to support local projects or raise funds to set up a new project in your church or

in partnership with other churches.

Housing Justice and Scottish Churches Housing Action are

here to help you in carrying out those actions, too.

Before planning a collection of things (e.g. socks, coats,

blankets) do contact the project you intend to give them to

and make sure you are collecting what is most needed.


Resources for Worship - The following sections (in blue) have been divided into the parts of a service to make them easier to use -

As part of your introduction

you might use the Homeless Sunday Prayer

Loving God, in your house there is room for everyone.

Help us as we strive for a world where everyone has a home that truly meets their needs.

Give us the grace to welcome strangers and refugees.

Give us the insight to see where inequality hurts.

Fill us with courage to do our part.

Save us from being overwhelmed by the scale of the housing crisis,

and show us, O Lord, where to begin.

Amen

Prayers of Penitence

For the times when we have avoided the pain in another's eyes

For the times when it has been easier to hurry on by than to risk the vulnerability of stopping and talking Lord, have mercy For the times when we have judged people by their circumstances For the times when the clichés have obscured the people Lord, have mercy For the times when we salve our consciences with a pound coin For the times when we have resorted to stereotypes of people who are homeless, of people who are different, of people in our churches Lord, have mercy For the times when we have accepted other people's situations as unchangeable For the times when we assume that things or people are beyond the reach of your Spirit Lord, have mercy For the times when we have forgotten that our relationship with God does not shut us inside, but sends us out For the times when our worship becomes a place of safety and not where we are open to be disturbed by the Gospel Lord, have mercy For the times when we want "the poor" or "the homeless" to be meek and mild For the times when we talk of "us" and "them", and assume that homeless people are not in our churches Lord, have mercy Forgive us for our words, actions and inactions which deny your love and care for all people. Make us into your Church, where all have a home. Amen


Readings The readings for the Roman Catholic Lectionary, the Revised Common Lectionary and

Common Worship are listed below, together with other suggested alternative readings.

Roman Catholic lectionary, 3rd Sunday in Ordinary Time

Reading 1 1 Nehemiah 8:2-6,8-10

Psalm Ps 18:8-10; 15r

Reading 2 1 Corinthians 12:12-30 or 12:12-14,27

Gospel Luke 1:1-4; 4:14-21

Revised Common Lectionary, Epiphany 3

Reading 1 Nehemiah 8:1-3, 5-6, 8-10

Psalm Ps 19

Reading 2 1 Corinthians 12:12-31a

Gospel Luke 4:14-21

Common Worship, 3rd Sunday of Epiphany

Reading 1 Nehemiah 8:1-3,5-6,8-10

Psalm Ps 19:1-6 [7-14]

Reading 2 1 Corinthians 12:12-31a

Gospel Luke 4:14-21

Three additional passages have been used while reflecting on this Sunday’s theme.

They are:

Isaiah 58:6-12 Psalm 71:1-6 Matthew 25:31-46


A reflection/sharing/exploring resource based on Psalm 71:1-6

As I preach each week for a congregation made up of homeless people - some who sleep rough,

some who are in hostels, and some who have experienced the raw deals in life, I am presented

with new challenges. I am challenged to make sense of passages such as this psalm in a way that

is different to others who will preach on Homelessness Sunday. Instead of using this Sunday to

inform, educate and challenge congregations about the issue of homelessness, it is my task to

meet the passage face to face with homeless people.

Can we try to listen with the ears of someone who is homeless?

While it is impossible for us to put ourselves in another’s shoes – can we let our imagination make

the leap between our own situation and the one others find themselves in. With this in mind we will

approach the words of the psalmist. We will try to find if listening with the ears of another, we hear

a different voice.

Read the selected passage, and then reflect on the following:

Who am I?

I am homeless - I had to leave the family home after a beating;

I am homeless - I moved out of care where all the decisions were made for me, and now I am

faced with life on my own;

I am homeless – I’ve lost my job and stable family and I turned to alcohol, now I’m sleeping

rough.

Now re-read the psalm. Do you hear the words any differently? Are there any words or phrases

that stand out?

In this psalm we hear the words of a man, in his old age, who even in the face of a crisis reaffirms

his faith in God - a faith which he says he has held on to since the day he was born. We do not

know the crisis he is facing, but can understand the crises others face.

What’s my crisis?

The daily search for safety, warmth and shelter is a reality - not a story in a book.

The shame I feel means I cannot tell my closest relatives where I find a bed each night.

The grasp of the unjust and the cruel is found in the fist of the moneylender.

It doesn’t matter how many blankets I’m given - I long to feel the warmth and comfort I once

had back in my mother’s womb.

Now re-read the psalm. For most of us, these will be experiences that we will never face. Can we

dare to think for a moment how we might feel? Do you hear the words any differently?


Questions of Faith

Despite his circumstances, the psalmist still finds a place to affirm faith in God. Turning from God,

turning our back on faith is not uncommon during a difficult or distressing time. And yet I know,

from daily encounters with people whose situations leave me speechless, that they too find a place

to keep their faith. A congregation of forty homeless men heartily singing Look Forward in Faith

leaves this preacher feeling mightily humble.

Do we see homeless people as people of faith? Or do we assume that they are outside the faith

communities - either abandoned by God or having abandoned God?

Faced with these questions, I hope we have found a way to hear the words of the psalmist with

different ears. And by doing so, find new ways to listen to our scriptures, and to listen to people

who have become homeless. Our God and our homeless neighbours deserve no less.

By Ross McDonald

Prayers of Intercession

Heavenly Father, we pray for the Government and all people who take decisions which affect the lives of

people who are homeless. Guide them to follow your will and make decisions for the common good.

Lord in your mercy

Hear our prayer

Loving God, encourage all people who work for and with homeless people. Give them the gifts and skills they

need. May they be a listening ear and a witness of your presence.

Lord in your mercy

Hear our prayer

Spirit of God, protect all people who are homeless. Shelter them from all that is harmful, enable them to seek

out your face and build their lives anew.

Lord in your mercy

Hear our prayer

Creator God, we pray for architects, builders, and planners. May your creative vision be instilled into these

people as they design and build the communities of the future.

Lord in your mercy

Hear our prayer

Lord Jesus, may your person be present in our communities, particularly those in most need. Enable us as

people to live out your gospel message to one another.

Lord in your mercy

Hear our prayer

Risen Lord, we pray for those services that support people who are homeless. Social services, health

services, the benefits agency and the many voluntary groups and organisations. May they be professional,

efficient and always have the needs of those they serve at the forefront of their work.

Lord in your mercy

Hear our prayer


A Creed for Homeless Sunday

We believe in God the Father,

Who created this world as our dwelling

And who entrusted to us the task of sharing it,

That all might have a home.

We believe in Jesus Christ, God’s only Son,

Who was born in poverty and grew up in obscurity,

Who had nowhere to lay his head,

And yet welcomed the poor and the outcast.

He both died as an outlaw and rose from the dead

So that all might belong in God’s Kingdom.

We believe in the Holy Spirit,

The source of love and the fount of trust in all human living.

We believe in the Church,

Called by the Spirit to be a community

In which all can find a welcome and all can belong,

Called to be a sign of unity,

Called to bring hope to the outcast and the poor.

And this faith we profess in Christ Jesus the Lord. Amen.

By Rob Esdaile

A poem related to the theme

When I see the old man in the doorway, A shambling wreck, without dignity, Or the teenager sitting in the subway, Dazed, withdrawn, catching no-one's eye, Or I hear about the family in the B&B room, Children without a childhood, I feel angry. An anger that comes from a hollow feeling of frustration, There is nothing I can do. I am helpless, an onlooker, as humanity is made cheap. Where are you God in all this suffering? How long, O Lord? Will you hide yourself ? O Lord, how long shall the wicked, how long shall the wicked exult? Homelessness is dirty and cold,

uncomfortable, embarrassing and human.

So I shut it out.

But our God is a God of justice

A God of widows and orphans

A God of tax collectors and prostitutes

A God of the homeless and the rejected

Are not the needs of God's people

a suitable subject for worship?


Suggested Hymns

Amen, amen, it shall be so As a tree planted As the light upon the river Awake from your slumber (City of God) Beauty for brokenness Brother, sister, let me serve you Christ be our light Christ’s is the world’s true light For the fruits of all creation For the healing of the nations God is love, His the care Hail to the Lord’s Anointed Here in this place (Gather us in) He’s a most unusual man I, the Lord of sea and sky (Here I am, Lord) I will speak out for those who have no voices Inspired by love and anger Let me be your servant Look around you (Kyrie eleison) Lord God, your love has called us here Make me a channel of your peace

Lord, all the world belongs to you Oh the Earth is the Lord’s Put peace in each other’s hands Sent by the Lord am I Tell out my soul That’s why we’re here The God of Heaven is present on Earth The Kingdom The Kingdom of God (Taizé chant) The right hand of God is writing in our land The voice of God goes out to all the world We cannot own the sunlit sky We have a dream We shall overcome What does the Lord require? Whatsoever you do When I needed a neighbour, were you there? When Jesus saw the fishermen Will you come and follow me? You are salt for the Earth (bring forth the Kingdom of God)

Final Blessing

May the blessing of light be on you,

light without and light within.

May the blessed sunshine shine on you and

warm your heart till it glows like a great peat fire,

so that the stranger may come and

warm himself at it,

and also a friend.

Amen


A Drama - The Burning Cardboard Box This sketch can be used during a service on Homelessness Sunday, or it could be used as an

advertisement the week before - ending with a line about rushing off to organise a Homelessness

Sunday Service.

(4 people needed - Narrator, Moses, Angel and Police Constable - plus a prop of a burning

cardboard box - you could use cardboard flames, lights, cloth, or just your imagination. Change the

town directions to fit your local streets and shops, and make Moses a member of your church if you

want.)

N Moses was walking along, minding his own business. Down the High Street he went, past McDonalds and the Post Office. He was just about to pop into the Amusement Centre when he saw, on the other side of the road, a large cardboard box. To his surprise it was on fire.

M Oh my goodness! That large cardboard box is on fire!

N Flames were bursting out of the top, and sparks and smoke were wafting high into the

air. But the strange thing was that although he watched it for several minutes, it didn't seem to be burning up. He tried to attract people's attention to it...

M Hey! Mind that box! You'll get burned! Perhaps someone should call the fire brigade...

(tails off)

N But then he realised that no-one else was taking the slightest bit of notice of it. Everyone was hurrying past as if it just wasn't there.

M Am I really the only person who can see it?

N Now Moses was a good Methodist [insert denomination as appropriate]. He knew his

scriptures well. He could recite a list of the Kings of Israel (with all the dates) and liked nothing better than learning whole pages of the concordance over breakfast. So he wasn't really that surprised...

M Aaaaargh!!

N ....when out of the midst of the fire came a voice crying:

A Moses! Get those shoes off! This is a holy place!

M Excuse me, but shouldn't you be in a burning bush?

A Look. I'm the angel around here. I make the rules, OK? If I want to speak out of a

cardboard box, then I speak out of a cardboard box. Anyway, there aren't too many bushes around in the town centre. But I'm in a cardboard box today because the Person I work for is very angry that some people actually have to live in cardboard boxes. I tell you he doesn't like it. One. Little. Bit.

M Hey, I get the idea. You don't like how it is, so you're going to ask me to lead everyone

to a land flowing with milk and honey.

A Moses, this IS a land flowing with milk and honey. The trouble is, it's just not flowing to everyone. No, this is what I want you to do. I want you to go back to your church and to give them a message.


M Woaaah! Just hold on there. No way! If I go back to [insert name of church] and tell

them I've been talking to an angel in a box, they'll think I'm a total loony.

A I'll pretend I didn't hear that. To continue: tell them that God has seen the suffering of people who are homeless. Tell them that God wipes away the tears of those who have lost their homes. Tell them that God is angry that these things happen in a country as rich as ours. Tell them that God likes justice better than sermons, and fair shares better than church committees. Tell them that God's people matter.

M (scribbling furiously on the back of an envelope) ...er...yes, I think I've got most of that

down....but could you take it again from the bit about sermons...I'm sure I didn't hear that right...

A (thunderously) Just get on with it!

M Aaaargh!

N The angel gave Moses such a shock that he fell backwards into a passing

policeman/woman

P Alright are we, sir?

M (dusting himself down) Yes, thank you. I was just talking to the angel in that box over there.

P Trying to be funny are we, sunshine? On your bike, or you're nicked.

N But Moses was already legging it down the street.

M If homeless people really do matter to God, then we've got a lot to do.

by Gordon Peacock


Notes for including a speaker

during or after the service Using the “voice of experience”- Involving a speaker who has direct experience of homelessness can make a big impact on your worship. The personal account brings the realities of homelessness close to the listener, and can break down stereotypes about homeless people. Here are some useful guidelines:

How does this fit in? Not just a token gesture, but an integral part of worship.

What is the best format? A prepared interview can communicate powerfully, is a less intimidating way to face an audience and is easier to keep to time.

How will you support the person? Telling one's story of homelessness often means revisiting emotional pain. Appoint someone to befriend the speaker and make it their only job to help him/her feel comfortable before and after speaking.

How might others be affected? If the speaker is from a family known to the congregation, could relatives be hurt? Perhaps that would not be a suitable person.

Be prepared to hear some difficult things about your congregation itself. People may feel they have been neglected in hard times.

To find a speaker, you might first look to your congregation. Is the minister aware of someone who has relevant experience? Otherwise, try a local homelessness project. If they cannot identify someone who has been homeless, they will probably be able to find a staff member or volunteer who can describe their users' experiences. Approach any potential speaker sensitively, giving plenty of opportunity to say no. Finally, it is vital that the speaker feels valued and supported in sharing their experience - not an outsider to be gawped at, but an expert in what it is like to be homeless.


Notes about the offertory or collection

Homeless Sunday is an opportunity to make a financial commitment to the work of tackling

homelessness. This can be done by holding a special collection, or allocating the proceeds of your

usual collection.

We greatly appreciate all contributions to the continuing work of speaking up for justice through

Homeless Sunday each year. At the same time we regard supporting the practical work of local

projects as vital. One solution is to hold a 50:50 collection: one half goes to the Homeless Sunday

Partnership, the other half goes to a local project.

If you have a speaker from a local project, it would be good to make a donation, as well as

covering any expenses.

You may like to make an event out of the offertory by collecting goods as well as money. Perhaps

you have a local food bank or other project? It will be a good idea to approach them for advice on

what to collect before doing this.

The offertory period might also be used as a period of quiet reflection, featuring readings or a

display of work by the young people.


Notes about All Age Worship Ask everyone in the congregation to imagine their responses, and to therefore feel how it might be

to be homeless and have to start all over again - and again, and again. Ask some people to share

their stories.

A - Intro activity

Do you remember when you started school? or playgroup? or nursery? or lived in a new place? Go

round the group, and everyone share a memory of being the new person somewhere. The leader

should start with a memory of their first day at school. The leader should then summarise what

everyone has said, bringing out the good things about a fresh start, a chance to reinvent yourself.

B - How does it feel?

Go back to the stories the group shared earlier, and bring out the difficulties of starting again: both

practical (how do I find my way around? where is everything?) and emotional (who should I talk to?

who will talk to me? what will people think of me?). Today, we are thinking about homeless people.

They have to start again lots of times, and it is very hard for them.

How would you feel if you had to go to six different schools? and go to a different doctor six times?

and work out where everything is in the area six times? and find new friends six times?

Some people become homeless because they stand out for God and do what is right - some

people are thrown out of their home because they have become a Christian.

Relate this to the Bible story

Introduction What is Homeless Sunday?€¦ · worship on Homeless Sunday or help you prepare a ......

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