Very few of us make it all the way on the straight and narrow path. We need to help people who have fallen into the mire on either side of the pathway.
Mondays at the Phoenix Rescue Mission are interesting. A huge semi truck trailer owned by St. Mary's Food Kitchen unloads plats of food donated from grocery stores that perhaps were not selling, or were nearing expiration dates, or some such thing, and the food kitchens store and use them to feed the poor.
I was pleased to find out the the plats of water sitting in the hot sun are moved at the end of each donation day to a cooler warehouse and then chilled before being used in the Hope Coach Ministry.
They are also keeping track of all donations with receipts, in other words, the professionalism of the place is improving and the services are running well, the grounds look better and the trajectory of ministry seems solid with the transition of leadership that had taken place in the last year or two. That is good.
There was an interesting critique published about Mother Theresa's ministry to the poor in India. They questioned whether she used money to attempt to heal the sick and improve their health and condition or did she just provide a loving atmosphere for them to continue suffering and dying. Were her homes more like hospice than hospital, and did she believe that the suffering of the poor should be relieved if possible.
The ministry to the suffering and poor is plagued with such questions. I think the American versions of such ministry seeks an upward path to get people to self sufficiency if possible.
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