A couple weeks ago, we had a man and a woman with two children standing just outside our front door asking for donations.  I am aware that this creates an awkward situation for parishioners.  What is the story?  People are trying to be timely in getting to church and may not feel they have the time to pause and listen to a full telling.  But they do not want to be rude.  How real is the situation?  There is something about the timing and location that makes us suspicious of the veracity and sincerity.  We are headed into worship.  How does it feel to us to just ignore a person who might be in need?  What should we do?

It is a situation that has happened more than once, so I wanted to address it in my letter this week.  If you are aware of someone soliciting help around the church at a weekend liturgy, please tell the priest or a deacon.  Always feel free to invite such a person to come into the church and worship with us.  If they do not want to do that, we will ask them to leave.  We will have available, just inside the church doors, cards with information allowing those in need to contact the Society of St. Vincent de Paul at St. Michael.
We support the Society of St. Vincent de Paul Society here at our parish, and they, in turn, help people who come to us.  The best thing is that they will help not just with funds, but as friends to those in need.  We are blessed to have a chapter in our parish (the first in the Richmond area), and our parishioners who are members of that Society offer a compassionate presence to our brothers and sisters facing difficulties.

Let us continue to be a welcoming community that will respond with compassion to those who truly have needs.