This week, Pomerado Road clergy and lay leaders came together for the sake of our neighbors who are “situationally homeless.” These are households who live paycheck to paycheck and without a safety net. So, when something goes wrong —car breaks down, sudden medical bills, loss of a job—the results can be disastrous. Suddenly, rent cannot be paid, and whole families may be left living out of their car or even on the street.
The Interfaith Shelter Network works to provide emergency shelter for these families through partnership with faith communities. ISN has seven locations around San Diego County, including ours: Pomerado. The other six locations have already restarted after the pandemic shutdown. Our area is the last to reboot. Because none of our congregations can do it on our own, the Pomerado group—a Roman Catholic church, a Jewish temple, a Hindu temple, and St. Bart’s—networked on Tuesday. We brainstormed how we can partner together to achieve what is needed to rejoin the work of ISN. We are just in the “baby steps” phase, but there is much to be hopeful about.
So why are all these networkers discalced (aka barefoot)? We gathered for lunch at the Vedic temple next door to St. Bart’s, where it is the tradition to not wear shoes inside. It is always a delight to visit our next-door neighbors, even better to share lunch, but even more wonderful to be planning a partnership with them that helps all our neighbors.
Mother Nina+
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