In this life, it’s not often that you get to know an angel.

Meet Pat Schwiebert, who for the last 38 years has organized volunteers every Wednesday evening to cook and serve supper to people experiencing homelessness at the Sunnyside Methodist Church a block away from my home in Portland. Last Sunday, at a time when Portlanders rank homelessness their #1 civic issue, the last Hard Times Supper at Sunnyside was served. That’s because the new congregation moving into the church, bowing to pressure from NIMBY neighbors, decided they didn’t want such services delivered in their space and gave Pat and team 90 days to move out. Unbelievable! Is this how communities of faith are meant to behave?

And yet despite all the negativity, Pat and the team forged ahead, enduring frequent City of Portland inspections and added security to continue to provide meals, warm clothes and showers to those in need until they were forced to leave. Now they’ve formed an organization called Beacon PDX that is fundraising for a new space to continue the work. Knowing Pat and the team, they’re not going to let one setback dampen 38 years of momentum.

After all, angels like Pat never give up.

#homelessness #houselessness #wwjd #methodistchurch #kurt3pt5