Mobile Loaves & Fishes Blog

Did I Wash the Feet of a Saint? Duane Severance Pastor to the #Homeless

On January 7th Duane Severance was killed in a single car single occupant accident. His untimely death provoked within the Austin community a lot of emotions.  Duane is married to Brandy and they have three children and another on the way due February 14th.  Duane was the pastor to the homeless on the streets of Austin, Texas. After reflecting on his death for some time I offer the following thoughts.

 Duane and I began to be aware of each other probably in 1999 or 2000 when Church Under the Bridge was getting started and my parish was contemplating taking on adopting CUB for one week per month.  That never came to fruition but as we were building Mobile Loaves & Fishes we frequently encountered Church Under the Bridge on our Sunday runs.  It was wonderful to watch such a diverse group of people all gather to worship the Lord; black, white, brown, male, female, rich, poor, homeless, mentally ill, addicts, disabled, trans gendered, gay you name it and it was there mostly in harmony.  Truly amazing to watch.  At the helm was Duane Severance, Pastor to these brothers and sisters each made in His image.  Makes me think of Acts 2:42 and on when the church was just getting off the ground after the death of Christ.

But it was in May of 2003 when I REALLY met Duane.  I had organized Mobile Loaves & Fishes' first Street Retreat (www.mlfnow.org/streetretreat). This retreat was 72 hours and is a one on one retreat between the retreatant and God with our retreat center being the wall-less streets of downtown Austin.  We had heard while out on the streets that there was a bible study held in East Austin on Tuesday nights where one could grab a meal and a place to sleep while also entering into some powerful praise and worship.  When asked where this place was no one knew; all they could tell us is that if you go to the corner of Congress Avenue and 7th street at around 5:30 a little pickup truck would come and pick you up.  Several of us decided to go.  Standing on the corner kind of felt like Pinocchio waiting to go to Pleasure Island.

The evening was phenomenal to say the least!  I will never forget it.  The music, the bible study, the teaching, the fellowship and the community of broken brothers and sisters all worshiping together.  It was transforming to say the least.  Duane and I grew in solidarity to our missions but clearly on differing paths.  There was a mutual respect for each other.

Since that time I have facilitated a whole bunch of Street Retreats.  Nearly 200 people have participated and now we always do our 72 hour retreat beginning at 5:00 on Palm Sunday and ending on Wednesday.  Almost always we end up at the Tuesday night bible study which since its inception has been moved to the New York Avenue Christian Center near 12th and Chicon.  As of about six months ago because Duane needed a change of pace and moved to West Texas the bible studies ended.

Well, a few years ago one of our veteran retreatants Judy Knotts (read this article in the American Statesman) had the idea that we should wash the feet of the homeless while at the Tuesday night bible study.  Since we are out during Holy Week it makes sense to do this.  In the Catholic Church we celebrate Holy Thursday and the institution of the priesthood.  This institution begins with Jesus' washing the feet of the disciples.  Very powerful!  Now Judy wants to bring this celebration to the homeless.  Quietly, I am reluctant as I try not have any "agenda" while out on the streets; only doing what God calls us to do at any given time.  I am glad I was quiet on this; not normal for me.

So here we are at the New York Avenue Christian Center on a Tuesday evening of Holy Week praising the Lord and the time came for the ceremonial washing of the feet.  The crowd was stunned that we wanted to do this and some were ashamed.  Ashamed because the condition of their feet was something that we did not anticipate.  Our feet for the most part were nice and soft and free of callouses and crevices.  We could afford quality foot care; a fresh clean pair of socks everyday; a bath everyday.  Heck some of us (women particularly) could afford regular pedicures. Not the homeless.  No siree! As anyone involved in going out on a Mobile Loaves & Fishes truck knows socks are the single most popular item on the trucks.

It is hard to describe the condition of these feet.  Some were so injured that you questioned the sanity of even touching them.  But here we were girding ourselves as Jesus did and committing to something that we had to fulfill.  For all of us this was a powerful moment.  People were weeping and crying.  The presence of the Holy Spirit in that room that night was palpable.  Emotions were running on high.

The plan was to wash the feet of those who were homeless; to let them know that we were, as Jesus, there to serve them. We did not understand that it would be important for them to wash our feet but that is precisely what happened.  More weeping and crying!

What was remarkable and providential was that I was about to wash the feet of Duane's and he mine.  At the time I weighed nearly 330 pounds so getting down much less back up was difficult.  As I went down on a knee I gently needed to support myself by leaning onto his knee.  As I came closer to the ground his feet began to come into focus.  Now understand that Duane rarely was seen wearing anything but flip flops; no socks and no supportive shoes.  I on the other hand always wore socks and I am disciplined about having a high quality supportive tennis shoe.  I, because of my weight, battled diabetes.  Foot care was essential.  My feet were soft and without callouses. Duane's feet on the other hand were the feet of a true servant; the feet of someone who lived simply and with profound Gospel focused purpose.  Duane's feet were heavily calloused with crevices running through the callouses as the Grand Canyon slices through the landscape.  Was I holding in my hands the feet of a Saint?  The feet of Jesus?  I hearkened back to Jesus washing the feet of the disciples.  Knowing that their feet too had many unprotected miles of servant love embedded deep in their landscapes.

As I reflect on the death of Duane I am always drawn to this moment in our ministries where we had the opportunity to wash each others feet.  I am drawn back to the servant life he lived.  I am drawn to his feet.  I am drawn to the landscape of the good servant who girded himself with a towel and washed their feet everyday. 

I believe I washed the feet of a Saint!

-Alan

Ending #Homelessness from a Socio-economic Perspective

Ending Homelessness from a Socio-economic Perspective
Guest blogger -  Richard R. Troxell
President House the Homeless
Livable Incomes Coordinator
National Coalition for the Homeless

Richard is a personal friend of mine and one of the strongest advocates for the homeless I have ever met.

-Alan

News Flash; If you think that we can just put homeless people back into a broken socio-economic system ...think again.

As we look at the socio-economic condition of homelessness, we recognize that we can view homelessness into two major categories, those who can work and those who cannot work. 

Hard working people are falling out of our work force. They are ending up homeless on our streets.  We see these people as broken individuals standing on our street corners, painfully visible and asking for help; some call it begging, others know it as panhandling.  In any event, they are no longer seen as members of a family that they once were.  Now, she lives in a shelter and he stands on a street corner...broken and pleading for help from his fellow human beings.

We respond as best we know how.  We, “the community,” brush these individuals off, detoxify, them, teach them the art of resume writing and interview talking and place them into jobs and point them to the general housing market.  Well done!  Bravo!  Everyone pitched in to help.  The entire community rallied behind our needy...our homeless.  But what has really occurred?  Who knows?  Without follow-up evaluation one year later, we won’t learn if the minimum wage job or even the $10.00 per hour job into which they were placed was or wasn’t enough to sustain them through the economic bumps ahead.  However, we do know that the minimum dollar amount needed to sustain them can be simply stated with the phrase: “Living Wage.”   A “Living Wage” is the base amount necessary for a person to afford basic food, clothing and shelter...no more no less.  This is the same vision and understanding embraced by the U.S. Congress following the Crash of 1929 and the subsequent Great Depression in the 1930s.  Then, in 1938, in response to the wage problem, the U.S. Congress created the Federal Minimum Wage.  This worked fairly well until the 1980s when because the wage was not indexed to the cost of living, or anything for that matter, our nation’s housing rents outstripped the wage being earned.  So now we must “reset” the wage just like a clock and index the wage to the local cost of housing throughout the entire United States.  Therefore, that is what we have done.  Using existing Government Guidelines, we have devised a single national formula that ensures that if a person works 40 hours in a week, they will be able to afford basic food, clothing, and shelter (including utilities).  In other words, a roof over their heads...other than a bridge.

But in further examining the idea of simply putting people back into the work force, we must explore what that looks like. Minimum wage workers work 5-6 days a week, fifty-two weeks a year.  They are only assured (hopefully) of a day off to celebrate Thanksgiving and Christmas. Additionally, the rigorous demands of daily work are ever accelerating and continue to expand exponentially.  Think about the technological advances in the last ten years alone that range from desk top computers to laptops, cell phones, camera phones, Blackberries and i-phones with Apps.  Think of the world as a merry-go-round full of a dozen kids spinning like crazy and holding on for dear life.  As the merry-go-round accelerates, regardless of the strength of their white knuckle grips, some can’t hold on and they go flying off as the speed continues to increase.  It’s the same in the work place.  Minimum wage workers don’t get two weeks paid vacation.  They don’t get vacation time, personal time or even the luxury of getting sick.  Minimum wage workers are subject to endless stress.  As the stress demands increase, so does the pressure on the individual worker.  They must show up day in and day out regardless of their problems at home, their energy levels, or routine bouts of depression.  The instant they say, “I can’t go in tomorrow, I’m calling in sick,” they get replaced. They spin off the merry go-round of life and end up homeless on the streets of America.

It makes little or no difference what kind of worker you’ve been.  To the employer, what matters is that you show up day in and day out...no matter what.  Failure to show up every single day will get the minimum wage worker the instant boot.  Someone else is waiting in the wings who is desperate to fill the worker’s vacant slot.  Clearly, the employer must have workers present everyday to accomplish what needs to be done to advance the business.

But, what if we start “thinking outside the box with both employer and employee’s welfare in mind?  Example:  Employer with financial means purchases production equipment beyond the means of the individual workers such as a $5,000 hot dog stand.  The employer leases the use of the equipment to an individual worker or workers.  The worker operates the equipment on a daily basis as one would expect.  However, to address the employee needs for time-off, another (swing) worker is tapped to come to work and fill in the vacant times so that the equipment is used to its fullest. This is referred to as “flex” work  (please see www.mlfnow.org/Jobs fo learn about about micro economic business model to employ the homeless). In this fashion, both the employer and the employee attain what they need and want: job stability and economic growth.  This is one simple example of the kind of change and flexibility needed to enhance our chances of successfully ending homelessness for workers. 

For those who cannot work, the U.S. Congress established a government based financial support system, Supplemental Security Income, SSI, designed to provide a small monthly monetary stipend.  This is presently set at $674 nationwide.

However, ours is a nation of thousands of local economies ranging from poverty in Clay, West Virginia to the opulence of New York City. And yet, the current approach is to award a single uniform dollar amount to every individual with disabilities no matter where they live throughout America. Clearly, this “one size fits all” approach is an illogical response that has the result of leaving millions of recipients susceptible to the economic forces of homelessness.

This solution is simple.  We must index this stipend to the local cost of housing throughout the United States.  As with the Universal Living Wage, we can use the Housing and Urban Development, HUD, Section 8 Fair Market Rents to ensure that we properly index the SSI stipend to local economies across America.  This will ensure that whether someone is working forty hours in a week or struggling with disabilities, they will be able to afford the basics of life: food, clothing, shelter (utilities included) and have access to the emergency room.  And finally, if others are working by utilizing  flex work days of an unlimited nature, they will be able to re-enter the work force in a calm, productive, stress free manner, that provides them a living and the employer the work performance required for a successful business. 

We are committed to creating the systemic and attitudinal changes necessary to prevent and end homelessness.

Duane Severance Pastor to the #Homeless Has Gone Home

This past Thursday January 7th Pastor Duane Severance went home to be with the Lord.  I have known Brother Duane for over ten years and served with him to serve the homeless.  I call him our modern day St. Francis of Assisi.  Words can't describe the impact he had on the lives of the homeless here in Austin, Texas.  He will be missed.  Below is an email from his wife Brandy with details of his funeral.

-Alan

This is Duane's wife Brandy and for those of you who have not yet heard the news, Duane has departed this life to be with the lord following a car accident yesterday.

We are holding a funeral service for him on Monday January 11th at St Lukes Episcopal Church, (www.stlukesonthelake.org) 5600 Ranch Road 620 North, Austin TX  overlooking Lake Travis at 11:00 am. All friends are invited and welcome. There will be a reception afterwards at the church followed by a burial service at Cook-Walden in Pflugerville at 4501 IH-35. Their number is 512-251-4118.

If you need to get hold of us, please call or send a note to Peter Lloyd at [email protected]. I will be staying with the Peter & Debbie through the weekend. We have  set up a memorial web site for Duane where you can read and leave messages and photos at http://duane-severence.memory-of.com.

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.

Thank you all for your prayers and support in this difficult time.

God Bless you,

Brandy
[email protected]

A few words from Gary, a formerly #homeless brother

Much work to do in working with others: As I walked up onto the parking lot under I-35 @ 7th St. in Austin I saw a familiar sight, the crowd of distraught and worn faces of the homeless population which had gathered looking for a short breath of hope. Not very many had gathered this chilly cold morning, but it was evident they were searching for something. Some faces seemed familiar to me from days past, but they seemed unsure and showed caution as I approached. I shared my own plight and could sense  a slow lowering of that safety net shown earlier. I was at The Church Under The Bridge, a ministry supported by several Austin churches appropriately called Mission Possible!! You see, most everyone still harbors that conscience instinct to seek Hope from a Higher Power, something/ someone/ whatever it may be, they know there life today seems worthless, almost hopelessly unmanageable.
 
I noticed another familiar face I had only seen in photos, and when I approached and introduced myself, this individual also seemed unsure of who this was that just introduced themselves to him. Boldly I had shook his hand knowing this man himself had experienced miracles similar to my own, in that we both had experienced a type of Blessed recovery. His from physical ailment due to medical problems, mine physical due to addiction; both granted as gifts from a Higher Power. I let him know my name, in hope he would have recognize it since I had recently reconnected with a childhood friend we both knew, his wife Tami.
 
I soon spoke with Tami, as well, and she introduced us. But our purpose for the gathering was to connect to and pray with those previously mentioned at the moment of arrival here. Our reunion here was not for the purpose of socializing with each other, although we shared and prayed together, but to place the human connection of our God and Savior directly to those seeking that faint glimpse of Hope.
 

I continue to pray during meditation each day, "Lord, take me where you want me to go; Let me meet who You want me to meet; and place the words on my lips You want me to say to them.; Take my will and my life, teach me how to live, and guide me in my recovery." December 27,2009 - what a joyous reunion and meeting of old friends and new. No better birthday could 'I have had' during this season of celebration for the Birth of the Christ Child. Thank you Tami and Dennis for helping me to reconnect with my 'brothers and sisters' in Christ. Thank you Lord for providing what I prayed for "Your Will, not mine" and allowing me the chance to better serve You and them.

All my love,

Gary

Karpophoreō: To bear good fruit, to bear good deeds

Steven here of the Karpophoreō Project. Check out the latest KP newsletter written below.

Steven

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Dear Friends and Supporters of the Karpophoreō Project,

My sleep was arrested in the middle of the night by a phone call. Knowing that no one would call at that hour were it not an emergency, I stumbled out of bed and answered as quickly as I could. One of our community members, overcome with a grief that annually reoccurs during this holiday season, considered suicide while being inebriated. A neighbor called the police when the episode became public. Calling me that night was the closest friend of this person, asking if I would allow the community member to stay on my couch for the night. The police had threatened arrest if the community member was found outside again that night. And so, in the early hours of the morning, I was making a bed and asking about the source of that night’s troubles.

What is the Karpophoreō Project? Many of you have asked me that question and I have striven to give you the most complete answer I could. Is it a homelessness project? Is it a recovery project…? Is it a Life skills…jobs…housing…gospel…sustainability project? Yes. Over the course of the last 5 months, I now understand the KP is all of those things and more. Most fundamentally, it is a people project. We seek to see a person as God’s sees them and to maintain, against all accusers, that there is hope for their future; to understand what God would have them do, what he would have us do for them, in order to bring about a unique manifestation of his glory through that person’s life.

Some of you have noticed that my job description is listed as “Good Soil Developer”. I have known that to be my calling for several years now, but am finding it more true every day. It comes from Jesus’ Parable of the Sower. As you likely know the parable well, I will say only this: the gospel seed is scattered along several different soil conditions. Each soil receives the seed as it is able. All but one of the soils is limited in its ability to receive the true purpose for which the seed was planted, being unable to transform it into a fruit-bearing plant. The failure is not that of the seed but the soil conditions as they existed before, and continue to exist after, the soil and seed were wed. What can be done for these harsh soils? Should we abandon them in our search for worthy recipients of these seeds of “Good News”? Of course not. Rather, we develop the soils as we are able, fostering for them an environment that can bear good fruit from the seeds that are sown. That is what we are striving to do at the Karpophoreō Project. And to do this, we earnestly request your prayer intercession for us who are giving our lives to this goal as well as for those who have made it through so much to be here, alive and hopeful about their future. This is not a project that can be built solely by human hands.

On a logistical note, we will be making a trial run at the Sunset Valley Farmer’s Market this Saturday from 9-1pm. We will be selling our very first harvest of the season as well as some winter hats that one of our community members has begun to knit to pay her utilities for the winter. It will be a small harvest but the fruit (or, vegetables and greens in this case) is/are good! If you’re in the area, stop in and say hi.

#Homeless Proclamation Presentation and Memorial Service

For 17 years, House the Homeless has met on Auditorium Shores and honored the men women and children who have died either without homes or loved ones to claim them.  This year, we will once again read their names and remember them.

The Sun Rise Service will commence at exactly 7:00 am. Please join us at South First and Riverside at the Homeless Memorial and Tree of remembrance.  It is located 75 yards east of the Stevie Ray Vaughn statue. Bring a jacket and a camera.  We'll bring some coffee, cocoa, a bite to eat, song, prayer and fellowship.

As you may know, this is National Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week. Richard Troxell  will be receiving the Proclamation from City Council Member Randi Shade on Thursday Nov. 19th at 5:30-6:00pm in Council Chambers.  All are welcome. 

I Got Chickens In My Backyard! How to Feed and Employ the Formerly #Homeless.

Mobile Loaves & Fishes has implemented a sustainable food project called Korpophoreo (Bearing Fruit in Every Good Work). You can see our entire concept at http://www.mlfnow.org/kp. One element of Korpophoreo is we (MLF staff and the formerly homeless now living in http://www.mlfnow.org/HOW) come to your home and build gardens in your backyard. If desired a chicken coop with chickens too!! You pay for the expense for the install and like your yard man (will be your food man) we come weekly to help you manage your sustainable food endeavors. We split the harvest 50/50. From this powerful things happen; for you you get to consume the best food on the planet and/or share the best food on the planet with your friends and family and/or all that and let our folks have more of the harvest so they can do what you do plus perhaps sell some of theirs at the local farmers markets. So our formerly homeless brothers and sisters get the highest level of nutrition available on the planet and are able to earn a little money and get connected to our creator through small farming projects. Check out the video below of our beta project in my backyard and contact us.

-Alan

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