Shelter for the Hopeful

I am still getting my first impressions. One powerful impression is I did not know enough about the suffering of the homeless in our midst. If you are like me and know only of homelessness in the abstract being close to it can be disorientating. The problem, when you see it in a human being standing by your side, seems insurmountable. How shall this man or woman recover their dignity and purpose? It is hard to be optimistic.

But then I realized we are not optimistic people; we are hopeful people; the Star of Hope is our name.

I have been trying to find a word to describe our people. They are fierce and faithful. They are wise and compassionate. But maybe the best word was right under my nose, the people you support by prayers or donations, or volunteering are a hopeful people. We get that hope of course because we know how the story ends for us. Christ’s resurrection re-ordered the world and we who live as Christians are empowered by our hope to live differently and serve others. We measure our success in life by how we have followed Christ’s command to care for the weak and the marginalized. It is my privilege to report that the Star of Hope honors Christ’s command in all we do.