Dear Friends, I am the minister of the First Parish Church in Taunton. That's the large Gothic style church across from City Hall. It was founded as a Puritan church in 1637 at the beginning of the European settlement in Taunton. That mother church gave birth to this one in Westville over two centuries ago. It's wonderful to be here among the spiritual children of First Parish Church. I believe that what unites us today is more important than what divides us and I welcome the chance to speak to you and to people from all different faiths in the city. In the spirit of Thanksgiving, I am thankful for this opportunity.

In the first reading from Deuteronomy this evening, we heard the words of Moses instructing the people of Israel, who were still wandering in the desert, about how to keep their new covenant with God. Moses told them, "God... loves the strangers, providing them with food and clothing. You shall also love the stranger, for you where strangers in the land for Egypt." And we heard in the second reading Matthew's account of Jesus' parable of God's final judgment. In the parable, human beings are divided into sheep and goats. The "sheep" or virtuous ones were blessed because, among other good and charitable deeds, they welcomed strangers. "Truly I tell you, just as you did to one of the least of these, who are members of my family, you did it to me." The virtuous ones welcomed even the least of humanity, those people from the lowest rungs of society.

Jesus preached that we are all members of God's family. In our Unitarian Universalist churches, we speak of the inherent dignity and worth of every person, which comes from that same spirit of equality. But you and I may often say we are all members of God's family or members of one human family. But do we really mean it in our hearts? Can we really say we love strangers as if they were our brothers and sisters? Do we really care for the least among us, including the homeless, including those we may not know and may even be afraid of?

And now when the problem of homelessness is growing... out in the open and in hidden places, how can we begin to welcome the stranger with food, clothing and shelter? These are not easy questions, I know. And I struggle with them myself.

Nearly three years ago I was called to serve that ancient church on the green. Our building, although nearly as old as this one, looks like it comes from medieval times. You may think of that solid stone building as a spiritual sanctuary, but would not normally think of it as a physical shelter. Yet the first winter of my ministry in 2003, we opened our doors to the homeless at night. This hospitality lasted for a few short weeks during the coldest months of January and February. Our goal was modest... to keep people alive, safe and warm. Besides shelter, we offered blankets and pillows in our carpeted chapel. And we offered nighttime snacks and hot drinks and early morning breakfast.

It was a woman in my congregation, a retired social worker, who came up with the idea. She was also the one who organized the effort and spent many evenings and nights supervising the guests. What a blessing she was. I stayed there with her a few evenings and talked to the people. I learned that many of the homeless are not all that different from you and me. Maybe just folks with less education and fewer resources. Maybe just folks terribly down on their luck. Sure, there were one or two who suffered from drug or alcohol abuse, but no one was belligerent and no one gave us serious trouble.

There was one man, whom I'll call George, whose story touched me deeply. He came to the church on several nights and I got to know him a little. George was a man I thought to be in his mid forties, tall, extremely thin with a somewhat sallow complexion. He seemed like a nice, respectful fellow and was quite talkative. George told me he had been homeless for a while. He couldn't work because he was too disabled by a chronic illness. This was obvious by just looking at him. One night he ended up in Morton Hospital with a high fever and stayed there for three days. I was very concerned about George surviving even one night in the bitter cold. No one, I thought, deserved such a fate. I still think about him occasionally, nearly three years later, wondering if he's still alive and how he's doing.

After the cold snap ended that winter, the church board decided it was too difficult and expensive to sustain the shelter. It was too much for us, a small and struggling congregation. Our old building was not designed for this use. Our insurance didn't cover it either. And heating costs were high even then. We also knew that even a temporary shelter program would take the combined effort and support of many congregations, from sharing of their spaces to pooling donations of money, goods and volunteers. It would also require paid professional staff to serve as coordinators and supervisors. But we felt proud of what we had done and it was with much regret that we ended this ministry.

My brief involvement with this effort profoundly changed my attitude. I learned there are all kinds of homeless people with all kinds of problems. And I know that many can benefit from social service programs and from safe and affordable housing, like that which is being created by Pro-Home. Such support would get many back on their feet within a few months.

I have visited the Samaritan House, the shelter on Ingell Street operated by Catholic Charities. I believe that the Samaritan House staff is running an excellent shelter and program. Unfortunately, the house is far too small to meet the need for shelter in the area. It has only 14 beds for men and 4 for women... and none for families with children! The closest family shelter is in Middleboro and that's full all the time.

Samaritan House's manager Ben Carreiro estimates that between 75 and 100 people are presently homeless in Taunton. Out of all the calls he gets for sheltering, roughly 40 percent are from women. What's more, he told me that he's seen a gradual increase in female calls over the last six months. This is not a good sign for families!

If only this society had the will to end homelessness, with our great bounty maybe homelessness could end in ten years. If only we remembered the lessons of inequality made so visible by Hurricane Katrina. If only we kept alive love and compassion for the stranger in our hearts.

As a start, I expect that Mayor Nunes soon will put together a task force and hire a professional planner to formulate the ten year plan required by the federal government. We of the Taunton Clergy Association offer the mayor our blessings and our support.

What else is being done in the Taunton area to help people turn their lives around? There's a new program in Taunton, begun in June 2004, called the Transitional Housing Program, which is just one example of what might be done on a larger scale... if only we have the will.

To be eligible for the program, a family must be homeless and in state-funded emergency shelter. These families are offered support services in order to become self-sufficient and maintain long-term permanent housing. The goal is for the family to achieve and move into such housing within six to twelve months. If the case manager decides they are good candidates, they are accepted into the program and are moved into a public housing unit.

Once in the program, the family is put on a budget to save thirty percent of whatever income it receives. The adults need to be in an educational program or should be able to find and keep a job. The case manager helps the family develop a self-sufficiency plan to achieve their goals. When they complete the program, the family signs a lease for the housing unit where they've been living and are responsible for paying rent and utilities.

Let me tell you another story, one more hopeful than the one about George, the man who stayed at First Parish Church. This is about a family who made it. It was sent to me by a case worker in the Transitional Housing Program at the Taunton Housing Authority. The mother in this story is now 33 years old with one daughter age 3 and twin one-year old daughters. The case worker wrote the following:

"When I went out to the homeless shelter in Attleboro, it was early November last year. The mother had been in the shelter a few months and had just given birth in August to twin girls. Her [older] daughter was living in Boston with her grandmother. The grandmother had temporary custody until the mother got out of the shelter and found secure housing. All three of the children have the same father, but he was not working and really was not that supportive.

"Mom never had her own apartment. She had been living with family and friends. There had been an argument at one point with [her] family, where eventually Mom knew being pregnant and homeless was not a good situation. Mom had applied for housing just about everywhere and was hoping to receive a phone call letting her know she had been accepted into housing or in some kind of program to help her and her family.

"When I met with Mom at the shelter to discuss the Transitional Housing Program, it seemed like it would be a good fit. Mom had a GED and had taken some college courses ... She had also had some computer training. Mom had also held a job for three years as a cashier, but had to leave the position when she became pregnant. ... While I was at the shelter interviewing Mom, I knew this program would be a good match. Mom and the twins moved into the unit in early December.

Shortly after moving into the unit, Mom's oldest daughter was back in the household. Mom and the family began to be hooked up with services throughout the Taunton area. One of the services began to see the family on a weekly basis and began monitoring the development and progress of the twins. Mom began interacting with other families and began attending family outings and field trips with the program.

"One of the ultimate goals Mom had was to eventually get a job. She knew this would be somewhat of a challenge with three young children. Mom began doing job search three times a week. [She] was able to get a daycare voucher for the children because she was enrolled in job search part-time. The three children began attending daycare in the Taunton area.

"It has been just about one year since Mom and the children entered the program. Mom was able to get a job at a local bank as a bank teller. The children are still attending daycare on a daily basis and are adjusting to the daycare centers very well. Mom has signed a lease and is now paying rent and utilities on her own. She truly realizes how successful she has been within the past year. She has definitely turned things around in a very short period of time. She is truly grateful for the support she has had from the many different agencies and organizations within the Taunton area.

"Mom was determined to pull herself out of this situation. With three small children, she knew she needed to work hard... She never gave up. There were times when Mom definitely did become frustrated. With the help and support that she needed, she was able to put a new face on homelessness. She truly is a success story."

The case worker concludes: "Since the program began in June of 2004, there have been eighteen homeless families who have entered the Transitional Housing Program. Out of those eighteen families, seven families have been able to sign a lease and begin paying rent on their own. With intense case management, these families have been able to become much more self-sufficient."

It struck me on reading this how hard it must be to turn one's life around, but how it is possible for many individuals and families to do so. What we need is the combined effort of the city, of other public and private social service agencies, and of the community. And I include in this the many congregations of Taunton. We may provide not only moral support, but also donations and volunteer support for programs. There are various models of interfaith groups coming together to address the problems of homelessness... in Quincy, on Cape Cod and elsewhere across the country. I hope that many communities of faith in Taunton would be willing to participate in this effort to welcome and support the stranger.

Yes, it seems like an overwhelming task to end homelessness in ten years. Maybe it is impossible. But when I feel overwhelmed, I find hope and comfort in the words of Rabbi Tarfon in the Talmud, "Do not be daunted by the enormity of the world's grief. Do justly, now. Love mercy, now. Walk humbly, now. You are not obliged to complete the work, but neither are you free to abandon it."

Most gracious God, Eternal Source of Life,
Help us this Thanksgiving season to be thankful for the many blessings in our lives, for family and friends, for food, clothing and shelter.
Help us to love the stranger, to welcome the wanderer,
and to see in others the same divine spark that animates ourselves.
Guide us in the ways of righteousness
to fulfill Your commandments to share Your bounty.
Remind us that we are not obliged to complete the task of ending homelessness, but neither are we free to abandon it.
In these words let us find hope, comfort and strength.

Amen. Blessed be.