Communities of Hope Emerging Among the Poor.

I was recently leading a retreat for the charity that works with homeless people, seeking to find homes for them and help them in their resetting process. Radical activists with hearts full of compassion committed to a ministry that’s giving expression to the loving care of God for the poor. The time away together provided lots of conversations between sessions around the meal tables, drinks counters, in the lounge, corridors and reception area. I was encouraged by one of the participants to put out the book that Alan and I had written. It wasn’t the theme of our retreat so I hadn’t pushed it and certainly avoided any hard selling of merchandise in such a retreat setting. However, I put a couple of copies out and they were immediately taken. In the end I didn’t have enough books with me to meet the demand because the title itself grabbed people’s attention and connected with where the majority of those working on the front line were at.

Most of them were members of churches, of all shapes, sizes, persuasions and expressions But the disconnect between those that they served and the congregations that they were a part of was stark. Yet as I listened to their stories, there was a considerable amount of hope and it was quite clear to me that the Spirit of God was at work among them and they were in indeed forming communities of hope among the people they served. They were seeing the Holy Spirit at work bringing life and meaning, healing and help and witnessing the emergence of a future and hope. They were seeing people encountering God and discovering a new narrative, a new story for their lives.

This is just one example, or rather a myriad host of examples, little stories of God who by the Spirit is at work in the world. The kingdom of God is being felt on the streets, among those whose lives have been marked by despair and hopelessness. Now however finding, through the agency of this great charity and experience of the love of God that were part of becoming little communities of hope emerging in the great unravelling that is taking place within our collapsing and in many ways broken culture.

Several people went away following our conversations with a desire and determination to embrace the practices of dwelling, discerning and exploring. By joining with what the Spirit of God is doing in, among and through them in forming communities of hope and seeing the transforming, re-weaving, redemptive work of the Spirit in the world.