When I was a seminarian, I occasionally helped at the Father McKenna Center, which is a homeless shelter located in the basement of Saint Aloysius Catholic Church on the campus of Gonzaga High School. A small group of volunteers would prepare dinner and stay overnight with the residents. An important part of the ministry was spending time and conversing with the men. I remember being apprehensive about what I would talk about. I had never had a conversation with someone who was homeless, and I worried about what I could say. Well I learned a simple yet important less on my first evening at the McKenna Center; that is, you talk to a homeless person about the same things you talk with anybody else.
Again this year Saint Ambrose Parish sponsored a week of Warm Nights from the 2nd to the 9
th of March. Warm Nights is a cooperative program between Prince George?s County government and churches that provide meals and housing for about 25 men, women and children who have no home to go to. Mr. Tom Tremble and the St. Vincent de Paul Society coordinated the effort for Saint Ambrose. I am inspired by how committed many of you have been to this ministry in prior years and again this year.
One of the reasons the County houses the homeless in churches is to promote contact and conversation between the guests and the members of the church community. Once again I was reminded that with the homeless we can talk about the same things we always talk about. Thanks to all of you who made Warm Nights possible.