Street Retreat Begins: The Philosophy of My Street Retreat

Over the past ten years, I've been on many types of street retreats. Some have been chronicled in my blogs here.

In previous years on retreat I spent a whole week in the shelter line, to highlight the lack of space, I've stayed in the youth shelter twice and at an adult women's shelter and experienced the disorientation, fear and trauma of that experience and I've always eat at the meal programs around town with the homeless and hungry.

As I journey through my street retreats, I never lie about who I am about my economic or professional status. I fill out all surveys and shelter access information with my real information and I leave the decision of whether or not to admit me or if I have more or less need than others to the agencies I'm visiting.

I do not go on the streets to pretend I'm homeless.

I go on the streets to experience in my bones some of the feelings and experiences of life on the streets and in the services for homeless individuals. But, I fully acknowledge that I have access to resources and privilege that others do not.

I retreat to the streets by a choice others don't always get to make.

I retreat to the street before my bridges have all been burned down and people are often more generous to me than they might be to others who are even more vulnerable than I am. As someone who is always giving so much, my work on these streets is to learn to be better at receiving.

So I beg for all I need. And if people give me the funds or offer it to me, nothing is off limits. But, I continue to follow the ethics that guide me as a pastor and minister to anyone who asks.

I retreat to the streets to educate you and other readers about homelessness and hunger, particularly during this time that our nation is focusing on the election, poverty in other countries or responding to natural disasters.

People care more about issues when it affects someone they love. Often I'm told that people worry about all the homeless more while I'm on the streets.

I'm making good choices, am highly trained and have a large support network. but, i will not try to lull your fears and I hope you will worry about me and all of my actually homeless brothers and sisters who need your support.

I retreat to the streets because I want to beg so others don't have to. I have a goal of raising $3,000 for Welcome by sleeping on the streets. Your support the homeless and hungry every day of the year and to expand our work around the country. Because our donations are down this year, your support or lack for this street retreat, will help determine if I get my real pay check in December.

I am one of the countless Americans who is one paycheck away from homelessness. This retreat, I'm particularly interested in sharing the stories of this I meet who have fallen to the other side of that crack.

I retreat to the streets because Jesus told us he would be found there and each time I eat a meal with the homeless, I'll be sharing a meal with him.

This year, my partner Alisa and my two month old son Graham will also be joining me on the streets. We will be staying at the Faithful Fools Street Ministry and following the rules of the local family shelters. You can bet that my desire to be safe will increase when my family joins me. I'm particularly interested in learning more about the struggles of families who are homeless this week.

I hope that you'll follow my blog each ay to see what I've learned. And please, if you are able, make a secure online donation to Welcome, or participate in our reverse auction.

Tonight, I pray for all who are living on the streets, that they find shelter, food and support for their journey. On this scorching San Francisco day, I pray that it doesn't aggravate violence or health problems. May all children have enough to eat and ready hands to attend to soiled diapers and calls for cuddles.

May you have all you need and the courage to be your fullest self everyday.

And to everyone who wonders where they will get their daily bread, how they will pay their bills or get out from under piles of debt, I pray we'll all find jubilee.

Thanks for paying attention....

I'll talk to you again tomorrow!

Blessings,

Pastor Megan

P.S. email me at megan@welcomeministry.org if you'd like to provide me with food, beverages or a meal companion at any point on my journey.

Pre-order our latest book

Our first book in our trademarked series Bible Study that Doesn't Suck, will be released in early December.  You can help us get this book printed by pre-ordering your copy now at a reduced rate. 

All the proceeds from the book will benefit Welcome's work feeding the hungry, advocating for the homeless and educating faith leaders across the country about poverty issues.

Add the number of books you wish to buy
in the box on the left.

Regular (Less than 5) $20.00
Bulk (5 or More) for $18.00

Thank you for your support!

New Living Lutheran Post

The most unusual prayer I’ve ever written was a blessing for fertilizer. This was one of many prayers I wrote for the blessing of the Free Farm, where both Bishop Mark Holmerud of the ELCA’s Sierra Pacific Synod and Bishop Marc Andrus of the Episcopal Diocese of California declared the site a church.

Created from materials diverted from the San Francisco dump, on the site where St. Paulus Lutheran Church burnt down in the early ‘90s, the Free Farm is an assemblage of motley farm folk, hipsters, faith leaders, professors and hippies.

While the work that happens at the farm may not seem like typical church, the medical herb labyrinth created from the bricks of the old church and the fact that the farmers have grown and given away nearly 6,000 pounds of produce to local neighbors revives ancient Lutheran practices.

Read the rest at Living Lutheran

Check out our $7,000 Fundraiser on Kickstarter.

Your support today will keep me living indoors.

I'm sure you've seen them, all the letters that folk like me send to folk like you because we know that this is the time of the year when most of our fund raising dollars will come in. And in an economy like this one, there are loads of Executive Directors out there, like me, who are wondering if the money will come at all.

The answer is only known by you, trusty donor.

But, one thing is certain, now more than ever thinking about who you're giving your hard earned money, donations and time is vital to the life of the programs that support those who are most vulnerable. And this is the part of the letter where beg you to make Welcome the organization you give your money to.

Insert a heart warming story for those who give from the heart. Insert a fancy invitation and creative end of the year fundraiser, for those who need an event.

The links above will connect you to the tried and true fund raising strategies that you'll find in all those letters coming to your doorstep this month. Enjoy them if that's what works for you.

But I thought this year I'd try something new: the truth. The truth is that Welcome is an amazing organization that helps people one-on-one improve their quality of life through our core programing that teaches volunteers hospitality as we feed more than 680 individuals a month.

We also provide education for congregations and faithful individuals throughout the country. More than 89,000 read our blogs, I led 74 church services and spoke at 13 universities, national conferences, shelters and congregations around the country.

All our work is completed by 1 staff person and our more than 875 volunteers a year. But, we are so good an organizing communities, that nearly all the stuff we give away (more than 3,600 outfits, toiletries and socks a year and more than $3,000 of food a month) we get for free from donations.

This means when other organizations tell you that they spend very little on salaries and most of their funds go towards stuff for people, we do the exact opposite. We get all the stuff donated from congregations, organizations and individuals around the country and feed more than 8,000 people a year for about $7,000 a month. Most of this cost is my salary.

So today, I am literally begging you to help pay my rent. Living in San Francisco, my salary at Welcome only $7,000 a year more than my rent costs. You can see why a downturn in the economy makes me very very nervous. We are not an organization that can cut fluff from our budget during a tough fund raising year.

I am a pastor who works with the homeless, but I am reminded with each paycheck how close to homelessness I am myself.

Why would you want to help pay my rent? Well, if you've followed my blogs you've probably noticed how hard I work and how much I get done. But beyond that, you know that helping me stay housed, in turn helps thousands and thousands of others.

When I had the idea to make a farm that could provide free food to people in our neighborhood people thought I was crazy and it couldn't be done. When I fought to create the Homeless Identification Project, people thought we could never get funding for it.

These ideas have all come out of my deep listening to the homeless that I am blessed to get to work with. But, the real truth is that each year Welcome needs to come up with new innovative ways to serve the homeless or we are unable to get major grant support from foundations.

Together, with hundreds of other donors, your gift of $20, $150, $2000 can make a real difference to me.

Your gift today will take my mind off paying my own rent, so I can go back to supporting the homeless and hungry who need my time and support more than they ever had. $43 pays for an hour I spend with someone to help them avoid relapse; $129 can provide trauma care for a veteran and help them navigate life in supportive housing; and $258 allows me enough time with a homeless youth to help them find a job, reconnect with family and find alternatives to suicide.

If you don't have cash to spare during this difficult time, you can always help by recommending our program to your friends; asking folk to support us rather than giving you Christmas gifts; donating items to Community Thrift on behalf of our organization or by encouraging your congregations to support us with their benevolence funds.

Please consider donating now online or by mail:
Welcome, 1751 Sacramento St., San Francisco, 94109

Thank you for all the ways you support Welcome throughout the year!

Rev. Megan Rohrer
Executive Director

P.S. Your support now, helps us feed and care for thousands of homeless individuals in San Francisco.

Non-Event Fundraiser

DURING THIS HOLIDAY SEASON WELCOME IS TOO BUSY TO THROW A FUNDRAISER. EVEN THOUGH 90% OF OUR DONATIONS ARE GIVEN IN THE MONTH OF DECEMBER, IN THIS ECONOMY WE CANNOT JUSTIFY SPENDING OUR TIME AND MONEY DOING ANYTHING OTHER THAN FEEDING THE HOMELESS AND HUNGRY.

So we hope you won't join us at our:

Non-Event Fundraiser


DON'T BUY A DRESS OR SUIT. SAVE THE TIME YOU WOULD HAVE SPENT LOOKING FOR PARKING. 100% OF YOUR MONEY WILL GO DIRECTLY TO WELCOME.


Saturday, December 24th
Instead of hosting a fundraiser,
we'll be be feeding 300 homeless and hungry individuals.
Dinner will be served between 5:30 and 7.
Volunteers are needed at 4pm.


R.S.V.P
Buy your ticket, by donating online:

• At our Facebook cause
• Our with a secure online donation.
  

Or, by mailing a check to:
Welcome
1751 Sacramento St.
San Francisco, CA 94109

Saturday Dinner Photo Story

With more than 300 meals served and 40 volunteers, this Saturday Community Dinner at Welcome is typical of what you would find any 2nd or 4th Saturday of the month.

I began cooking the chili at 3pm. With nearly 10 years experience cooking for the homeless and hungry, I've got cooking for large groups down to a science. Tonight's meal cost about $750 in total (donations from volunteers, in-kind donations and from facebook friends paid for tonight's meal). Other nights AA groups, interfaith groups or meditation groups bring the food.

Volunteers begin arriving at 4pm and then start setting up tables for our guests.

Volunteers also sort toiletries and clothing that are donated by congregations around the Bay Area. We give away hundreds of clothing and toiletry items at ever dinner.

Since I my blog posts are read widely and I travel often around the country sharing the work of Welcome with congregations, sometimes we receive donations from outside the Bay Area. This week, a box of socks arrived from St. Andrews Lutheran Church in San Mateo, CA.

After the donations are sorted, around 4:30pm the desserts are cut and put on plates. Cake is a favorite of our guests. Since the craving for sugary foods are similar to those for drugs, we give our guests many sugary foods through out the evening to enable those working on their sobriety to battle their cravings.

Steve, seen below, brings bread and candy that he begins handing out to guests waiting outside in line around 5pm. Steve also chats with the guests and helps to ensure that they are treating each other with respect and mindful of neighbors who live nearby.


Around 5:15pm all the volunteers gather to set their intentions for the evening. Instructions are given and volunteers are able to ask questions about the dinner before it starts.

At 5:30 guests arrive, find their seats and the volunteers begin to serve our guests.


Sometimes a guest or volunteer will hop on the piano and play some tunes for our guests.


Meals are served from 5:30 - 7pm.

After the meal, volunteers help clean dishes, the bathrooms and the kitchen. Clean up typically finishes between 7 and 8pm.