Years ago, before my husband and I found the help we needed for our PTSD issues, we both became too disabled to work. We sold our blood plasma to buy food. Our electricity was cut off, and we were evicted when we could not pay rent. In the church we had been attending regularly for over a year, we were shunned. Exactly like this post describes.
“You say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind, and naked.”
Revelation 3:17
Kim had worked with the homeless for decades, but recently she took on a “project” that took her more deeply into their world. Disguising herself as a “bag lady,” she created an alter-ego named “Jean.” For several months this author went out incognito into her city in North Carolina, visiting churches of various denominations, from Catholic to Baptist to Pentecostal, from main-line denominations to non-denominational churches. She documented her experiences and compiled…
View original post 995 more words
Wow. I understand.:*(
LikeLiked by 1 person
A very important post. Thank you for sharing your experience and that this book exists. I hadn’t heard of it.
LikeLiked by 2 people
You’re welcome, Lavender. I hadn’t heard of this book, either, until I saw the review in my WP reader. According to the information I found on Amazon, it was just published earlier this month.
I can’t believe the $18.95 ebook price, though. That’s almost as much as the $19.95 paperback price. I really want to read it — but not at those prices.
LikeLike
Thanks for passing it on, Linda!
LikeLiked by 1 person
You’re welcome. Thank you for writing the great review.
I want to read this book, myself. But first, the prices need to come down. $18.95 for the ebook on Amazon? Why? Apparently the publisher isn’t trying to sell to the bag ladies, or even to the former bag ladies!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Hmmm. I’ll have to ask her about that. It may be a typo. I paid less than that for a hard copy.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks for telling us about this.
I also looked for it at the New York Public Library, but it’s not (yet?) there.
(I just read the whole post at Seeking Divine Perspective.)
LikeLiked by 2 people
Linda Lee, I am both angry and sad that the church you had been attending during your “down” time shunned you. Jesus says that we have the poor among us always, so I must be attentive to their needs. For years, I have helped the needy through our church and through two rescue missions in our city. As a Mennonite, I was taught to be open-handed, generous with all people.
Thank you for alerting us to this book and its message!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you, Marian. None of us have reached perfection yet, and that includes our churches. My husband and I got so discouraged, we didn’t attend any church for over a year. But we are in a very caring, friendly church now. Not perfect, of course, but still pretty awesome.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you for highlighting the important issue of homelessness. Sadly, too many of our prosperous churches are content to ignore it.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Sadly, it’s too easy to ignore the homeless, when we are so busy in our lives, focused on all the things we need and want to do. I hate to admit it, but I have been guilty of that, too. 💘
LikeLiked by 1 person