3.25.10

We held our first AA meeting at Tent City tonight night. I had high hopes but was also realistic that the requests by the residents to start the meeting may have been more hype than reality. I was not surprised to find that no one showed up. A few of the Tent City council members came by the room (provided by the good people at Inner City Ministries) to tell me that everyone who needed to be there was already drinking and not wanting to come to the meeting. The council had gone through the camp telling people about the meeting and encouraging people to come. But rather than turn off the lights and go home the 2 men who came to lead the meeting and I sat around and talked with 4 or 5 of the council members about what was going on in the camp and how the 12 steps could be used to create a better community – not just help drunks get better control of their lives. And it turned out to be a great evening of conversation, sharing and prayer that was probably what God had in mind all along!!

I’ve never witnessed any of the council members that were at the AA meeting being drunk. I think they initially stayed at the meeting out of respect for me and the guests that came. But I am also convinced that by the end of the hour they left with a greater understanding of how the 12 steps work. It was obvious they had each been to plenty of AA group meetings – they knew the routine and the structure of the discussion and they all talked about their vision for community at Tent City even thought they all admitted they would really like to move ahead on the journey out of there and into permanent housing. What’s that going to take? It’s not simple but the first step is pretty basic – JOBS… sure, most of the folks at Tent City need transportation means to get to and from a job on a reliable basis, they need a current address, they need an ID, and they would love to have a bank account. We’re working on most of those with them. But mostly they (and we) need a group of understanding employers willing to give each person another chance to prove themselves – not just once, but several times. These folks are no different than you and me – we need second, third and fourth chances. We need forgiveness and we need community. That’s what they need. So if you’re reading this and have the ability and willingness to consider giving one of these folks a chance at a job, please email me and we’ll work together to create a situation that is both realistic but compassionate.

We ended the meeting by standing in a circle, holding hands and saying the Lord’s Prayer. “Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven”. Think about that today – can you be an instrument of helping God’s will take effect on earth? Reaching out to the least of these is one way – helping them find a job is one way. Let’s be careful what we pray for if we’re not ready to make it happen.