I live in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains, so we get some cold weather every now and then. A few years ago, we had a few extremely cold days, with temperatures remaining below freezing. At that time, some business owners I knew wanted to see about providing a warming center for unhoused individuals, but when they approached churches and other organizations in the county, no one wanted to do anything. Earlier this year, we had a huge ice storm followed almost immediately by a snow storm, and temperatures remained below freezing for a week or more. Unlike the previous time, some counties, except for ours, opened warming centers.

Near the end of last year, our church started partnering with other churches and a local organization to opening a warming center in our county, and after months or preparation, we were able to finally open it, albeit after the ice and snow storms. When this project arose, I knew I wanted to assist in some way, helping to staff the warming center and make sure individuals had a safe, secure, and welcoming place to get in out of the cold. I also knew that while many churches “preached” the gospel of helping our neighbors and looking after one another, many didn’t want to be involved in something that directly put Jesus’ words into action. In fact, when our pastor came to some local churches with the idea, many said that they would do it if individuals sat through a sermon or participated in a Bible study, thus making it a transaction, not an act of service to others in the community.

Leading up to volunteering for the first night, I was both anxious and excited. I was anxious because I am not a very outgoing person initially and prefer working behind the scenes. Plus, while I know that I have been bombarded with stereotypes regarding unhoused individuals, and I know those stereotypes are nothing more than stereotypes, they creep into my head, even when I want to expel them to the ends of the earth. For these reasons, I chose to do meal prep because I could mitigate my anxieties, both personal and cultural, and focus on serving the individuals who showed up by preparing and serving food, as well as with clean up.

One of the main points of our warming center, too, is that we sit, eat, and fellowship with those we serve. Becuse of this, I knew I would interact with people, and while that made me anxious it also excited me because I have seen the needs in the community and wanted to help. Preparing and serving food was one way to do that, but also communicating with individuals who utilized the warming center was part of it. For me, even though I’m not totally outgoing, that was a rewarding part because it was conversation with no agenda. It was playing cards with no agenda. It was merely serving others and, ultimately, being served myself.

During my time at the warming center, I ate with some of the individuals who decided to stay for the night. While we had multiple people show up for the meal, only a few decided to stay for the night. Others were able to secure other accommodations for the night from hotels to other places. I sat there, conversing with them about shared experiences, bonding over Cajun food and the food we partook of around the table. The group consisted of three people, a couple and another man. They had become a unit, and as we sat there and talked, conversation inevitably went to how they managed during the ice storm, especially since we were not yet ready to open.

They have a tent set up in the woods, and they said that during the ice storm they walked out for a little while, but as they were gone, a tree fell on their camp. When they returned to their tent, a tree had crushed it. If they were inside when the tree fell, they would have been seriously injured. They were able to salvage some of their items, but they still had to figure out how to survive in the sub-freezing temperatures. I am not sure what they did, but they did something to keep them warm as the temperatures continued to plummet.

Along with this incident, they also talked about walking, miles upon miles everyday, to job interviews and to town for services or other needs. Since we are a rural area, we do not have walkable areas leading from their encampment to the job interviews or the city center. One day, one of the men walked a mile and a half to a job interview, taking him in the opposite direction of the city center, and back to the encampment. Later that day, he walked two and a half to three miles to go the city center for services. All total, the man walked, for those two trips, eight miles, on rural roads, to apply for a job and to get assistance. While that might not sound like much, when we consider the fact that in this area, and in many parts of the United States some people don’t even walk a mile to the grocery store near their house, that’s a lot of walking, especially in winter weather.

Another thing that the group talked about was visiting a site for assistance. This space has a kitchen, and the proprietor allows them to use the kitchen to make hot food. As well, the space provides assistance to people in the form of food, toiletries, baby needs, and more. The group doesn’t have any kids, but they mentioned that when they come across diapers or other items for babies and toddlers they take those items to the site so that parents can have these items for their kids. Even amidst their own hardships they think about what others need, looking for moments to assist in any way that can assist.

Our conversation moved in a myriad of other directions, but the above is what stood out. It stood out because, in the shadow of street signs that tell us, “It’s ok to ay no to panhandlers,” these individuals shatter the stereotypes many have of unhoused individuals. They shatter these stereotypes because they actively want to work. One of the men, who did not have his GED, talked about wanting to get his GED so he could apply for more jobs. They shatter these stereotypes because they are not selfish. They shared food with another. What one couldn’t eat, they offered to another. They thought of others, in more ways than I see many in the community, who applaud street signs like the one above, through their donations of baby supplies for others in need.

The are where we live is very “Christian.” It’s one those areas where there are multiple churches on every block or every other block. It’s a place where people proclaim they want to help others, but only those who want to help themselves. They adhere to 2 Thessalonians 3:10, which reads, “For even when were with you, we gave you this command: If any one will not work, let him not eat.” They use this verse to justify their inattention to their neighbors in the community who are unhoused and struggling for sustenance, using that verse to say its the individual’s fault, not the society and system that led them to their current situation. They ignore the countless verses throughout the bible, including Jesus’ words in Matthew 25.

I think about all of this, and I think about James 2:22–25 where the author tells us to “be doers of the word, and not hearers only,” because when we only hear and don’t do we deceive ourselves. We are “like a man who observes his natural face in a mirror; for he observes himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like.” The individual ignores the command to care for others and turns away, forgetting it in the face of their own selfishness.

The warming center won’t solve the issues that lead people to become unhoused, but it does provide a space to help alleviate some of the struggle. It provides a space where we all exist, from the upper tiers of the socio-economic ladder to the lower tiers, as one, with nothing between us. It provides a space to serve and to be served, to foster community with one another, to meet one another, to love one another. It’s not a cure, but it is a much-needed medication in an area that has refused to provide such medication over the time we have lived here.

Ultimately, I left that first night inspired by the individuals who came to serve, in whatever capacity that might be from welcoming people into the center to seeing them just chatting with people. The heart of the community was on full display, without agendas, without barriers, without differences. It was merely people, together, enjoying one another and helping others. For me, that is the ideal society. That is what we should all strive towards in our interactions with those around us as we share this existence together.

Where do you see community? As usual, let me know in the comments below. Make sure to follow me on Bluesky @silaslapham.bsky.social‬.