The ice was still heavy on the ground, and a douse of fresh snow was yet again threatening to blanket the Pacific Northwest.

I was huddled with my family at home on this laid-back Sunday night, Dec. 21, wondering how best to while away the time.

I contemplated lighting the fireplace and gathering some comfort food, but then I realized that I had made a prior commitment to volunteer for the graveyard shift at the Christ the King Bible Fellowship Church in Federal Way, keeping watch over homeless men and women who were seeking shelter from the bone-chilling pre-Christmas weather.

Leaving home was quite treacherous for me as I could not even get out of my driveway, but one telephone call to fellow church member and attorney Roger Freeman made the difference. Within minutes, Freeman was at my house, and we trundled along to the church with much gratitude.

As we relieved Larry Lane at the church that night, I took a walk-through inside the sanctuary — and sleeping bags, mattresses and comforters were scattered about everywhere while the multitudinous homeless men and women slept in solitude. A sense of calm pervaded my being, and I said a silent prayer for them.

That sight brought about new perspectives for me: I could have been one of those people sleeping on a mat; it could have been my brother, sister or nephew. That moment, I was humbled. I was super grateful for every little thing in life — pledging never again to take anything or anybody for granted.

Byron Lightbourn, one of the founding members of the church, was another gentleman who was also keeping watch that night, too. We took turns reflecting on the joyous opportunity it was for us to serve in this capacity, giving up our warm beds to be of service to these people.

Apart from being benevolent and helping out that night, the highlight for me was to speak with men and women one-on-one. I wanted to see homelessness up close, and not from some federal dossier. I wanted to connect with those displaced men and women who often times are “othered” by society. I wanted to go beyond the cardboard signs that they carry around the city, emblazoned with sundry requests. And they did not disappoint.

One Federal Way man, Orville White, formerly from Detroit, Mich., who attested to being homeless in the past, braved the element, and walked from his house some distance away 3 o’clock in the morning, to lend support for this endeavor. For that, I was awestruck.

“Homelessness is no joke,” White said, regaling us with his experiences of homelessness in both the Motor City and Seattle. “That is why I am doing this for these people because somebody did it for me.” He talked about riding the “Homeless on Wheels” to and fro nightly — a code name for the 174 bus, plying downtown Seattle to Federal Way — in order to be safe.

People intermittently went back and forth to the bathroom, and that’s the time many of them found it convenient to talk.

“Last year this time I was living it up in Cancun, Mexico,” said Roderick, a tall, elegant-looking man who became homeless two months ago because of marital differences. The man who once commanded a six-figure salary in the not-so-distant past talked at length about his erstwhile opulent lifestyle: A mansion with a great view overlooking the Puget Sound, complemented with luxury cars.

He said that he did not regret losing money and a privileged lifestyle, preferring to call it a life lesson. Listening to him wax eloquently about the turn his life took, I just imagined Socrates or Plato facing a formidable task debating this man.

“Money is not everything. If I can enrich one person’s life with what I am going through, then I can die a rich and successful man,” he said.

Morning beckoned, and coffee, rolls and donuts greeted welcoming stomachs. Meanwhile, Tony McKenzie, with a fixed smile splashed across his face, waited patiently to transport the men and woman to the New Hope Christian Center, off 312th Street. At that location, they were able to take showers and watch TV, along with other recreations, then return to their sleeping quarters at Christ the King Bible Fellowship or to another participating church.

The T-shirt-clad Minister Mike was welcoming the last batch of people from this trip, while his wife, Eileen, toiled away inside the church kitchen making breakfast for the group, when I met up with him outside. His face was radiant, akin to a long-lost uncle welcoming his relatives for harvest Down South. Old Man Winter was not spoiling his fun the least.

“What motivates you to do what you do for these disadvantaged people?” I asked him, while two of the men puffed away on their cigarettes at the entrance to the church. He did not hesitate to respond or was the least perplexed by the smokers.

“Instead of preaching the gospel to people, we are showing them the gospel,” he said.

Here are a few of the local churches and organizations that took part in this endeavor to show love to the homeless: Church of the Nazarene, Nine Lakes Baptist, Calvary Chapel, New Hope Christian Center, Christ the King Bible Fellowship and St. Luke’s Lutheran, who gave financially.

South Sound Dream Center’s co-director, Pastor Roy Andresen, Mike Ballinger, South King County Fire Chaplain, Thomas Reardon, International Fellowship of Chaplains (IFOC) were also towering pillars as well in putting this all together.

By no means allowing the homeless to sleep in religious houses of worship is a novel idea as churches, synagogues and mosques all across the country do this time after time whenever the need arises. Even our neighbor, Tacoma, had a vibrant program going on in various parts of their city to address homelessness from a religious standpoint.

Over the Christmas holiday, Jewish volunteers from the Temple Beth El Synagogue teamed up with Christian members of the St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church and hosted homeless men and women, along with their children, to a sumptuous Christmas dinner with all the trimmings. They later put them up for the evening at the synagogue.

The impact is greater, though, when this benevolence is shown closer home. For all you selfless men and women who sacrificed your time to cook, encourage, chaperone and being there for the homeless, thank you. It definitely gives me heightened pride to be a part of the Federal Way community. And it also shows that churches are stepping up to the plate, leaving their comfortable pews behind every now and then to reach those ensconced in the abyss of despair at all costs.

And what better time of year to do this kind of work than at Christmastime. “Some of the saddest words on Earth are ‘We don’t have room for you,’” said Max Lucado. “Jesus knew those words firsthand. He was still in Mary’s womb when the innkeeper said, ‘We don’t have room for you.’”

“I think it’s a great beginning to a collaborative effort, benefiting our community,” said Dr. André Sims, Senior Pastor at Christ the King Bible Fellowship. “This concerted effort has brought people together for a common cause.” He was referring to the local pastors meeting with city officials at city hall to work through possible snafus prior to housing the homeless in churches.

He commended the city for expediting the process so that churches could become temporary shelters for that period.

Starting on Jan. 1, 2009, Dr. Sims has agreed to coordinate a committee of seven local churches where the task would not be too burdensome for any one church. During inclement weather, one church will be selected to house the homeless for one day, seven days a week, he said.

The snow has now melted, and the weather is still uncertain. But one thing is for certain: Whenever there is winter, Federal Way homeless men and women can always find summer in its community heart.

Federal Way Mirror Write A Blessing Nandell Palmer can be reached at palmern777@aol.com.

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