Saturday, November 24, 2007

St. John's Downtown

While in America, just before we attended the Russia Initiative Conference at Church of the Resurrection in Kansas City and after our Georgetown visit, we were able to make a one day visit to St. John's Downtown United Methodist Church in Houston, TX. As mentioned previously, this church has around 9,000 members in which 3,000 are homeless or former homeless. We wanted to see how this church has been able to blend a congregation of homeless poor, middle class and wealthy people.

When we arrived at the church, we waited for the pastor since he was preforming the funeral of a 21 year old member of the church who had been shot in gang-related violence. The neighborhood around the church is not an easy one to work in. After the funeral, the pastor, Rudy Rasmus, greeted us with hugs and warm welcome, spending the rest of the day with us showing us the church and its ministries.

Two points stood out as he related how this church has managed to grow while still maintaining its blended character. One was of "extreme welcome". Since homeless people are refused entry to so many places, it is difficult for them to "challenge the door", that is, get up enough courage to actually walk inside the church. To ease this, St. John's Downtown has a 3 tier welcoming system. People called Ambassadors are on the street around the church before services to invite people with hugs and handshakes to come on in. Greeters are inside the door to give more hugs,
information and direct people to the sanctuary. Ushers in the sanctuary then give more hugs and show people to their seats. We were told you probably would get hugged 5 or 6 times before you actually sit down. This sense of welcome gets people, especially the poor and homeless, over the barrier of entry to a new place. The second point was "to never compromise the vision of the church". The vision of St. John's is to be a place for all people of all economic and social classes. As any church becomes more successful, the pressure to accommodate the church to those who give the most financially is always present. It takes a lot of work to guarantee equal access to the pews for all in a church which crosses economic and social classes. We hope to remember these points as we begin our "equal access" church in the Dosvitok Children's Center building.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Helen and Bill are two incredible people who reminded me the other day of the universality of the "Love Imperative." That's a fancy way of saying "Love can and does work anywhere and everywhere" even as far from home as the Ukraine. You will always have family in Houston Texas.
Peace and Love,
Rudy Rasmus, Pastor-St JOhns HOuston

Anonymous said...

nike free, gucci outlet, replica watches, ralph lauren pas cher, ray ban sunglasses, cheap oakley sunglasses, oakley sunglasses, ray ban sunglasses, michael kors, chanel handbags, nike outlet, ray ban sunglasses, polo ralph lauren outlet, air max, ugg boots, nike air max, uggs on sale, louboutin, oakley sunglasses, prada handbags, sac longchamp, louis vuitton outlet, kate spade outlet, longchamp outlet, nike air max, louboutin pas cher, louis vuitton, nike free, tory burch outlet, tiffany and co, nike roshe run, jordan shoes, burberry, louis vuitton outlet, louboutin outlet, tiffany jewelry, air jordan pas cher, oakley sunglasses, longchamp pas cher, longchamp, oakley sunglasses, louis vuitton, prada outlet, louboutin shoes, louis vuitton, christian louboutin outlet, replica watches, longchamp outlet, polo ralph lauren outlet, ugg boots

Anonymous said...

michael kors outlet, coach outlet, true religion jeans, burberry, hermes, burberry outlet online, oakley pas cher, lululemon, nike air max, coach purses, sac guess, ugg boots, michael kors, hogan, coach outlet, north face, nike blazer, ray ban uk, true religion outlet, hollister, nike air max, tn pas cher, kate spade handbags, michael kors outlet, ralph lauren uk, converse pas cher, michael kors, hollister pas cher, michael kors, replica handbags, nike roshe, michael kors, nike free run uk, lacoste pas cher, air force, timberland, vanessa bruno, ugg boots, michael kors outlet, nike air max, michael kors outlet, true religion jeans, ray ban pas cher, new balance pas cher, mulberry, true religion jeans, michael kors outlet, north face, abercrombie and fitch, vans pas cher

Anonymous said...

hollister, insanity workout, chi flat iron, vans, asics running shoes, ralph lauren, nike air max, iphone cases, lancel, nfl jerseys, nike huarache, converse outlet, vans shoes, mcm handbags, abercrombie and fitch, gucci, birkin bag, hollister, wedding dresses, celine handbags, longchamp, soccer jerseys, mac cosmetics, bottega veneta, jimmy choo shoes, reebok shoes, mont blanc, north face outlet, ray ban, herve leger, ferragamo shoes, nike air max, nike roshe, louboutin, p90x workout, babyliss, soccer shoes, beats by dre, ghd, oakley, instyler, baseball bats, valentino shoes, new balance, timberland boots, lululemon, converse, hollister, north face outlet, nike trainers

Anonymous said...

moncler, supra shoes, hollister, karen millen, doudoune canada goose, pandora jewelry, moncler, marc jacobs, juicy couture outlet, moncler outlet, moncler, canada goose, ugg,uggs,uggs canada, canada goose uk, pandora charms, canada goose outlet, ugg boots uk, canada goose, canada goose, wedding dresses, moncler, louis vuitton, louis vuitton, louis vuitton, links of london, pandora jewelry, ugg,ugg australia,ugg italia, coach outlet, canada goose outlet, bottes ugg, montre pas cher, moncler, sac louis vuitton pas cher, swarovski, pandora charms, louis vuitton, swarovski crystal, moncler, juicy couture outlet, replica watches, ugg pas cher, moncler, canada goose, toms shoes, thomas sabo