Since joining the staff of Journey Home over three years ago, I have had a deep desire to engage local faith communities in our work. My background is the church and it is what I know best. I love the idea of engaging our faith in the dialogue of social justice and social change. I do not think these two things are independent of one another. I think there is a deep connection between faith (whatever that means to you personally) and our responsibility to be good citizens of this earth.
Article 25 in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights says, “Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and of his family, including food, clothing, housing and medical care and necessary social services, and the right to security in the event of unemployment, sickness, disability, widowhood, old age or other lack of livelihood in circumstances beyond his control.” This is not unlike directives from my own faith background. A peek into the life of Christ would quickly turn up many references to ensuring that the rights of all are honored.
I have been getting more and more offers to speak to a variety of faith groups in our region about the work we are doing at Journey Home. We are also seeing an increasing number of faith communities supporting our work through volunteerism and financial contributions. It has been such a delight to visit churches and synagogues and share all of the great work we are doing here at Journey Home — from young children in Sunday School to Tea Socials for the senior group, we are sharing the message of our mission.
If you are reading this and would be interested in introducing your own faith community to our work at Journey Home, please let me know. We would love to join you and those who are part of your community as we work to help people on their journey home. It would be a wonderful way to kickoff this New Year! For more information, I can be reached at sara.salomons@journeyhomect.org.