"There But for Fortune, Go You or I, You or I." The Old Song Tells the Truth!

[I have changed the names of key people in this true story, except for Jerry, Mickey, and Uncle Fran.]

Every Thursday I work at the Karpos Meal for the Homeless and Hungry at St. Mary's Church in Painesville, Ohio. It's a couple hours out of my week, and I work with the most wonderful people preparing the food, serving, and cleaning up (Kathy P, Judy, Linda, Kathy F, Ken, Dan, Jim, Bernice, Pam, Ron, Wayne, Chuck, and others). About 100 people come to our meals (every Wednesday and Thursday evenings at St. Mary's, beginning about 5 pm and serving for about an hour). I have gotten to know many of the people who come. Some of them are indeed down-and-out homeless; others are living in shelters, in "Extended Housing," or living on very tight food budgets. There is no "means testing" for our meal--just show up if you want a good nutritious meal and good company. And help out if you can--setting up tables and chairs, cleaning up afterwards. A few even help in preparation and serving of the meal.

Yesterday one of the regulars asked me if people call me "professor" all the time. I found it a rather funny question, and reassured him that only my students call me that--never my friends, unless they are pulling my leg. Then he asked me what my last name was. When I told him, he was amazed. "You aren't related to Jerry, are you?"

Initially, I hesitated. Jerry has been in some trouble, had a tough life. "Yea, Jerry is my cousin."

"And Mickey?" he asked.

'Yea, Mickey's my cousin too, though I haven't seen him in about 40 years. Their family fell apart when their father, my Uncle Fran, died suddenly at age 46." I found out just recently that Uncle Fran's death might have been caused by liver failure from alcohol abuse.

Then, "Danny" (that's what I'll call this fellow) asked me, "You ain't related to Celia Cotter, are you? She used to hang out with her cousins Jerry and Mickey and I dated her for a couple years in the late '60s. Her dad told me to keep away from her." Celia's dad was my uncle.

Wow, I could hardly hold all this in my head. This homeless fellow, who I have served at the Karpos meal for over four years, was once friends with three of my cousins, and still sees one of them at AA meetings. And he dated one of my cousins for a couple years. What if he had married her? What would his and her fate have been like? One ended up homeless; the other with a good middle-class life and family.

It's clear that our lives are unsolvable mysteries. You or I could have ended up homeless. We are not all that different. "There but for fortune go you or go I, you or I"--that's how the Phil Ochs song goes. And that is the truth!

Here are the lyrics to "There But for Fortune . . ." by Phil Ochs

Show me the prison, show me the jail
Show me the prisoner whose face is growin' pale
And I'll show you a young man with so many reasons why
There but for fortune, go you or go I
You and I. 

Show me the alley, show me the train
Show me the hobo who sleeps out in the rain
And I'll show you a young man with many reasons why
There but for fortune, go you or go I
You and I. 

Show me the famine, show me the frail
Eyes with no future, that show how we fail
And I'll show you the children with so many reasons why
There but for fortune, go you or go I
You and I. 

Show me the country where bombs had to fall
Show me the ruins of buildings once so tall
And I'll show you a young land with many reasons why
There but for fortune, go you or go I
You and I.
You and I. 

There but for fortune, go you or go I
You and I.

Here is a YouTube video of Phil Ochs singing this song:

The Beloved Community--at St. Mary's in Painesville, Ohio. A Way to Celebrate Holy Thursday

Holy Thursday was special at St. Mary's Church in Painesville, Ohio. Before the church service, we celebrated the diverse and special community of our church with a potluck dinner. Everyone was invited, including the normal Thursday night Karpos crowd (some of whom are homeless), as well as the diverse members of the parish--Anglos, Latinos, rich and poor. I think of the hymn by Marty Haugen, "All Are Welcome in This Place." I also think of the "Beloved Community," spoken of by Martin Luther King Jr. This event was an embodiment of the Beloved Community. The meal was prepared by Karpos Ministry volunteers, including Jan, Kathy Flora, Judi, Susan Allsip, Linda Coughlin, and many others. Jim helped with set up. Louise and Ken Fitzsimmons helped with set up and clean up, as did Brian Rice. Bea was heroic on dishwashing (what seems to me the toughest job), I was involved in serving and clean-up, as were many people (including some very young people) that I don't know well. I can't begin to mention all the people who were involved in preparing the meal, serving, and cleanup!

Musicians singing and playing before the meal (Mary Ann Ratchko, on flute)

 Before the meal began, Fr. Mark Riley said a blessing in English and in Spanish, and musicians, led by Mary Ann Ratchko-Gamez, played and sang a hymn. Accompanying her was her husband Feliciano, with Bea leading the singing.

Louise and Ken Fitzsimmons

Jim, Linda, and Bea doing the dishes

Dan Philipps, passing out the chicken drumsticks

 Kathy Philipps, super busy these days finishing up her dissertation for the University of Toronto, stopped by for a while. Kathy is the co-founder of the Karpos Ministry. We were all so happy to see her.

Some of the diners. Servers, in background, including Jan, far right

 Among the diners was Fr. Steve Vellenga, pastor of St. Mary's. Father Steve should get a lot of credit for the Beloved Community developing at St. Mary's! Thank You, Fr. Vellenga!

Homemade cabbage rolls and ham

Susan Allsip

A view of the crowd before the meal began

The diverse diners present--many races, languages, nationalities. Everyone contributed, everyone got something out of this event. In many ways, we reenacted the Holy Thursday Passover meal Jesus celebrated with his friends the day before he died on Mt. Calvary. I felt the event was as sacramental as anything held in church--it was a holy communion.

Postscript: Oddly, the sense of communion was not present just in the serving and the eating of the meal. It was also in the preparation and the clean-up.

Staying at an Emergency Homeless Shelter Last Night

Last night we opened an emergency shelter for the homeless at St. Mary's Church in Painesville, Ohio.* At St. Mary's, there are some amazing people dedicated to living out the Sermon on the Mount and the Works of Mercy--the central focus of my Christianity.

Was it necessary to open the shelter? Think of this--this morning the temperature in Painesville dropped to -3 (that does not even consider wind chill). When I got back home to Chardon this morning my car thermometer read -13. These temperatures could easily cause people to freeze to death.

So we took in 13 people last night, 10 men and three women. They ranged in age from perhaps 35 to maybe mid 50's--it's hard to say, because homelessness takes a toll on the body and one's appearance. The folks who stayed with us were polite, respectful, and very helpful. This morning they worked together to clean up the gym where we all slept, and had it spic-and-span in a half hour. Everything was cleaned up perfectly and ready for the regular gym activities

I talked to many of the guests last night and I am struck by one thing in particular--they are all very much like me. They are average, intelligent people. I can't quite figure out the reason for the homelessness. One fellow, an immigrant from the former Soviet bloc, speaks about 5 languages fluently--Croation, Slovenian, Russian, German, and English. He is very bright. Some days he walks over 2 hours to work (he has no car and Lake County has such a poor system of public transportation). So we don't totally understand the homelessness and hunger we encounter, but we try our best to address these problems (especially in this brutally, dangerously cold winter).

There are wonderful people who are homeless; and there are wonderful helpers at St. Mary's--Brian, Cheryl, Joe, Shiela, Linda, Rose, Kathy P., Kathy F., Chuck, Bea, Ken, Pam, Jan, Christa, Ed--and others who don't come immediately to mind. This church is a beacon for the whole Diocese of Cleveland--and even for the Catholic Church in America. And by the way, many of the helpers, like Cheryl R. and Kathy F., are not even Catholic. I think Pope Francis would be pleased that our church and our friends have taken on this mission.

*[I wrote, ". . . we opened an emergency shelter." Well, the shelter has been open for about 14 days of this hard winter. I'm guessing the force behind opening the shelter was Kathy Philipps, founder of Karpos Ministry, or maybe it was a joint decision with other people involved, not sure. Whoever made the decision got enthusiastic support from many people in the parish and in the community. I have been able to spend 2 nights there.]

Why Are There So Many Hungry and Homeless in America?

Every Thursday I serve food at the Karpos Meal for the Hungry and Homeless at St. Mary's Church in Painesville, Ohio. My contribution of time and effort are minimal and don't compare to the contributions of many of the others working on this meal--Kathy Philipps, Dan Phillipps, Kathy Flora, Jeffrey, Wayne, Chuck Hillier, Rose, Jan, Pam, Karen, Kennedy (Ken) Fitzsimmons, Joan-the-Great-Piemaker, Linda, Patrick, Jim, Bea, Debby, and many others. But at least I do something.

I am astonished at the number of hungry people (some of whom are homeless, even in the winter) in Painesville, Ohio. Right smack in the middle of the United States of America, the richest and most powerful large country in the history of the world. What is wrong with the way we organize our society that this could happen?

This past week I read an interesting article in The New Yorker by James P. Carroll on Pope Francis and his exhortations and efforts for the poor. Carroll mentioned a quote by a modern-day saint, Dom Helder Camara, who was an archbishop in Recife, Brazil. Helder Camara said,

“When I give food to the poor, they call me a saint. When I ask why the poor have no food, they call me a communist.” 
― Hélder Câmara, Dom Helder Camara: Essential Writings

Why do so many poor in America's breadbasket have no food or shelter?

A Perfect Holy Thursday: Karpos Food Ministry in Painesville, Ohio

I didn't spend Holy Thursday in church. I spent it just outside the church, in a parking lot at St. Mary's in Painesville, Ohio, where about 10 folks from Karpos Ministry cooked and served meals to the hungry and homeless. Linda and I have been doing this for a little over a month, every Thursday evening. The Karpos Ministry crew also serves a meal on Wednesday evening. A nearby church, St. James Episcopal, also serves two meals per week. Kathy Philipps is in charge of Karpos, but is helped by many other people. I'm just getting to know the names, so I will leave some key people out: there's Dan Philipps, Rose, Josey and her two grandsons (high school students). There's Mrs. Pulling, former Burton restaurateur, who brings homemade pies every week (this past week featured delicious blackberry pies--there could be none better). There's Chuck Hillier, dishwasher extraordinaire (in my mind, the toughest job). There's Ken-the-Canadian (Kennedy Fitzsimmons). There are dishwashers, floor sweepers and washers, those who cook the food, those who serve it--so many people involved. And of course there's St. Mary's Parish itself and the pastor Fr. Steve Vellenga and associate pastor Fr. Mark Riley. They allow use of the kitchen, the building, and provide all the utility support.

Some Thursdays as many as 100 people gather for the dinner. They receive a homemade, nutritious dinner, one that doesn't have the feel of institutional food. And it is shared in a spirit of community.

Jesus told us to feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty. On Wednesday and Thursday evenings, we in Karpos Ministry do that at St. Mary's Church in Painesville, Ohio. This was our church, our Eucharist this past Holy Thursday.