Not Charity but A Chance
Pip woke up on the sidewalk in Auckland CBD which had been her home since she ran away from home. She looked around, many smartly dressed men and women passed by ‘barely noticing this bag of bones’ she thought, regretting her decisions earlier this year. She was gathering herself up, her tummy rumbling in hunger when she remembered the breakfast bar and a paper a kind passerby had given her the night before. ‘You can have a shower and have a good meal here’ she had said. Pip munching the bar, saw the address on the paper, she knew this building. It was tall and glass clad on Hobson street. She picked herself up and walked on to reach the Homeground. The Auckland City Missions building- a ‘building that changed lives’.
On reaching Homeground Pip found herself feeling warmly welcomed. No questions asked, she could have a hot shower and a very tasty breakfast was served with warmth by many smiling faces and caring hands. As she finished her coffee she found her voice again and got chatting with the others in the room. Nat played a tune on the piano in the far corner and Pip remembered it as the song she had heard as a young girl going with her Gran to church - ‘ Amazing Grace’. She and a few others gathered around and sang the negro spiritual as the dishes were cleared, washed and put away.
Pip felt a warmth in her heart she hadn't felt in months.
A book on the work and mission done by Auckland City Mission at HomeGround starts with this quote.
The true measure of any society can be found in how it treats its most vulnerable members’ said Mahatma Gandhi.
This was the Anglican church’s project founded in 1920 with the motto - Not charity but a chance. Since then, it has been the city's heart and hands assisting the needy in many ways. ’HomeGround was built by Aucklanders for its most vulnerable’, says Richard Didsbury, the Campaign Chair and one of the donors for the cause.
In November last year my husband, Ranjit, and I had the privilege of taking a tour around HomeGround and hearing of the wonderful work done by the Auckland City Mission there.
As we had our morning tea, listened to the short talks and walked around the building these words of Jesus came to mind.
In Luke 21 Jesus repeats the line - “If you love me feed my sheep.”
I remember my father telling me that this phrase of Jesus was the essence of Christianity on the whole. And we saw him live out this calling in his life.
In Mathew 7:12 Jesus says, “In everything do to others as you would have them do to you.”
Apart from the large spacious airy dining room and well equipped kitchen, there is a medical clinic, a dental clinic and a pharmacy on the Ground floor of the HomeGround building. A spacious meeting hall was where we met for our gathering. The building also has many apartments where tenants stayed for as long as they needed a ‘home’. Lisa lives in one of the one bed apartments. She used to once live in a tent under the bridge. HomeGround has 65 studios that are 30 square metre each with a 6 metre balcony.
There are 10 one bed apartments as well. When we visited and toured the place, they were all occupied.
The Auckland City Mission regularly gives out food parcels with nutritious food which should last a family of 4 for 3 days. These are such a blessing for families struggling with job loss, a major illness or bankruptcy. It gives them a hand and is a bridge to hope and healing. The mission also collects new books and toys from Aucklanders willing to help and these are laid out for parents to pick up for their children at Christmas time. On Christmas day, a special feast is prepared and served to the homeless by staff and many volunteers as well.
As we share the story of HomeGround with friends and family, we have heard mixed reactions. These are a few:
Why should we help people who have made wrong choices?
They deserve to be homeless after what they have done.
Why should our hard-earned money be given to those lazy people?
Let’s be Jesus to others. Let’s show empathy.
For me, it brought to light God's love, mercy and compassion in a myriad ways.
It is a chance for us who have experienced the Lord's grace and mercy time and time again to show a little of that love to others.
“Love is patient, love is kind.”
-1 Corinthians 13:4
“Love always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.”
-1 Corinthians 13:7
I will end with yet another quote from the book,
‘This is the story of what generosity and courage and love can do.’
How very true this is, I thought.
As each of us read this I wonder how we can carry this very same generosity, courage, and love into our own corners- our homes, families, and spheres of influence. With His grace we can!