Author Archives: parkinglotpastors

As we continue to share some of our most perplexing mysteries, I want to share the story of Annie Anonymous. Annie (as we came to call her) showed up at the Breakfast Church wanting to talk to a pastor. This was when I still worked there and when random people showed up- it was usuallyContinue reading “Unsolved Mysteries: Annie Anonymous”

His name was Jonny. He was one of the very first people to come into my life and truly teach me what it means to be in ministry with people who are in crisis. Jonny was almost always in jeans rolled up at the ankles (he wasn’t much taller than me), a t-shirt, and hisContinue reading “We Are Left to Wonder”

This is the first in a new series about all the people we encounter through outreach and shelter, who then disappear and we are left wondering what happened to them. This is the story of the first mystery of this type I encountered, which was the beginning of my calling to this ministry. –Pastor ColletteContinue reading “Unsolved Mysteries: In the Beginning”

This is our last week in our series on Hard to House.  We hope that you have learned a little as we have shared some of the barriers our guests encounter when it comes to housing.   K is a fixture in the community.  He has been around a very long time and he has aContinue reading “Hard to House: Not Our Choice”

After five years of sheltering unhoused people in our area, we thought we had a pretty good handle on the issues we might encounter and what to do about them. But one guest this season put all our skills to the test, having a set of complicating factors in his story that made him notContinue reading “Hard To House: It’s Complicated”

Have you ever made a poor choice?  Gotten tangled up in a bad situation?  Done something stupid and lived to regret it?  For most of us, those choices have a limited time span for their consequences and we can move on.  This is often not the case for our guests who are experiencing homelessness.  TContinue reading “Hard to House: Criminal Records”

The second in our July series about why some individuals are harder to move to housing than others, this is a post about substance use disorders, especially alcohol and drug addiction. We make it a policy to avoid calling the police at the shelter, since most of our guests have already had enough trouble withContinue reading “Hard to House: Addiction”

This is the first in a series on what can stand in the way of getting those experiencing homelessness housed. I have known ‘Ben’ for 10 years.  He is one of my favorites.  I know it may seem odd to have a favorite, but Ben will forever be one of mine.  I knew him beforeContinue reading “Hard to House: Mental Health”

We get lots of calls at the shelter.  Many calls are asking about space and resources, but many people call  asking if they can donate their stuff to the shelter.  These are the calls that often leave me a little salty.  Let me explain… When a guest arrives at the shelter,  one of the firstContinue reading “The Story of Stuff: We Don’t Want Your Stuff”

While we never like to see families need the shelter, staff and volunteers usually love having kids around.  Even most guests enjoy the shift in energy that kids bring.  This past season, we were blessed to walk with a sweet family made up of a mom, a teenage son and young daughter.  B had aContinue reading “The Story of Stuff: Magic and Unicorns”