It’s the middle of winter, so St. Paul and St. Andrew Lutheran churches open their doors each night to house homeless people, as they have every winter for 15 years. A few other local churches shelter people on especially miserable nights. Two of those churches are also Lutheran.
Yet another Lutheran church has been instrumental in opening a severe-weather shelter at the Washougal Community Center. While people of many faiths and no faith are involved in serving the homeless, particularly through the Winter Hospitality Overflow shelter program, the number of local Lutheran churches offering their buildings stands out.
Being a good neighbor and sharing with them is a tenet of the Lutheran faith.
“Sometimes what keeps people from sharing is a fear that there isn’t enough to go around,” said Charlene Welch. “In our Lutheran tradition, we strive to follow the belief that we have all we need because it comes from God. Therefore, we are free to share.”
Welch belongs to Beautiful Savior Lutheran Church in Vancouver. She also works at the local Council for the Homeless, which has been training churches and volunteers how to run overnight shelters. The agency fields calls from people seeking shelter and decides when the weather is bad enough to necessitate adding more beds. Living Hope Church, a nondenominational Christian church, and Beautiful Savior Lutheran are used most often.
There have been 17 times this winter when severe weather was called. Last winter, there were 56 severe-weather days.
‘Realm of God’s grace’
Despite its small size — perhaps 55 people attend Sunday services — the Rev. Adrienne Strehlow’s church voted to become a severe weather shelter.
“Lutherans have had to ask themselves — like all churches — ‘Who’s in the realm of God’s grace and who’s out?’ ” said Strehlow, pastor at Immanuel Lutheran Church in Vancouver. “As a church body, we’ve landed as close as possible to ‘all are in the realm of God’s grace,’ so I think that influences what we’re doing.”
They’ve only opened one night this winter. Still, that one night was useful in making sure their system worked, and it helped a homeless family who later found permanent housing.
Strehlow said that despite the mild weather, the church plans to open as an overnight shelter for two days weekly starting later this month through the end of March. Beautiful Savior’s congregation is in talks to do something similar.
“I have noticed that this community of Lutheran churches is really passionate about poverty and homelessness,” Strehlow said. “We’re really just trying to address the economic hardships that are happening for a lot of people.”
She also believes that there is a heritage that Lutherans are trying to reclaim. Their theology says that Martin Luther, a German monk, pushed back against abuses in the church and the political systems of the 1500s. While the church’s forerunners weren’t always right, they laid a foundation for being active in faith, and that’s being re-explored today, she said.
“Once again, we’re in this difficult time where there are huge disparities between rich and poor. So, we ask ourselves again ‘What does our faith have to say?’ ” Strehlow said.
Lutherans have long involved themselves in social justice issues and social services through organizations like Lutheran World Relief, Lutheran Disaster Relief and Lutheran Community Services Northwest.
As the number of churchgoers declines, Strehlow said, churches are called upon to be more open and involved in the surrounding community or otherwise face closure. Immanuel came close to closing several years ago.
“It allows us to be risky. It allows us to say, ‘What do we have to lose?’ ” she said. “This is where Christ is; let’s go out with him into the world to serve.”
Much of her time is spent out in the community rather than inside the church. Strehlow is board president of the Council for the Homeless.
“It’s not just the Lutherans. I do giggle that the Lutherans are so heavily involved in this,” she said.
That’s evident by the diversity of churches offering their time, talents and tithings to the WHO program.
‘Grandma Geri’
Geri Hiller’s grandparents and parents attended St. Paul Lutheran Church in downtown Vancouver. It’s an old church and could use some repairs. It needs a new roof, but that’s not in the budget.
Hiller, who’s 80, said she started getting more involved in church during junior high and later became a part-time lay minister. Between that and the church choir and women’s groups, she spends a lot of time at church, especially while the men’s WHO shelter is in season. She’s known as “Grandma Geri” to the two dozen men who show up each night.
This year, she’s particularly worried about her guys as they seem to be more frail and have more health problems. One man collapsed in the shower and later needed triple-bypass surgery.
As a Lutheran, she said, the big question for her is, “Who is my neighbor?” At St. Paul, the neighbors include homeless people who hang out by the Public Service Center across the street and who come to the back door each night to get shelter.
“Christ was homeless and camped out, and sometimes people took him in and provided for his needs,” Hiller said.
On Tuesday evening, several men greeted her when she opened the doors.
Michael D. Hartung was busy sweeping the sidewalk in the church courtyard.
“I’d do anything for this place. … The people treat us with love and respect, so we try to give it back to them,” he said. “When these people open the doors, it’s a breath of relief.”
He said this is his third winter staying at St. Paul. He’s met good people while staying at the church. A Christian, Hartung believes God is looking out for him and that even though he’s gone through hardship, he’s blessed.
Hiller is quick to point out that there’s no preaching at the shelter — no praying before dinner or anything like that. The shelter is “teamwork at its best,” Hiller said, with people of many faiths, requiring some 1,500 volunteers. Mormons, Methodists, Muslims, Unitarians, Buddhists and Jews represent just a few of the faiths that contribute.
“We can’t do this ourselves,” Hiller said. “It’s the most ecumenical thing that happens in Vancouver.”
