Not in our churchyard

Yesterday morning after a couple of visits I found myself back at the church (charmingly referred to as the 'cardboard cathedral' by one of my friends) in time for lunch (bangers and mash). As things were drawing to a close we were visited by a homeless person who had been camping nearby and returned to find all their stuff had been stolen.

A couple of hours later, re-equipped, we looked for somewhere to put the person for a night so we could get some focus and plan a way forward. Apparently there was the potential for a local housing association to get involved and so the problem was that of finding a pitch for the night. Now plonking them on private land was not a goer and so, after seeking the opinion of a few people (none sadly much help) I found myself setting the tent up in a corner of a nearby churchyard (in a corner with no graves where someone's obviously camped before) out of the general public gaze. A modern day application of the Church giving sanctuary (or so I thought).

Sadly not, for some of the good burghers of that place wasted little time in ringing the police informing them that 'vagrants' had occupied the churchyard and others engaged in their own version of NIMCY (Not In My Church Yard). As today is world mental health day (apparently) and on the same day that the predictions of the greatest decline in family income and the greatest increase in child poverty since the 70's I despair for society and Church in equal measure.

The person in question will be gone today but the attitudes highlighted will undoubtedly remain :-(

Perhaps we need to play this to all those who call themselves 'Christian':

And when the Son of Man comes, and all the Holy Angels with him,
Then shall he sit on His Glorious throne,
And he will divide the nations before Him,
As a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.
And she shall put the sheep on His right and the goats on His left,
And He shall say to the sheep; come ye, blessed of My Father,
inherit the Kingdom I have prepared for you from the foundation of the world,

For I was hungry, and you gave me something to eat,
I was thirsty, and you gave me something to drink,
I was naked, and you clothed me,
I was a stranger, and you invited me in,
I was sick, and I was in prison, and you came to me.
Thank you! Enter into your rest.

And they shall answer Him, yes, they shall answer Him,
And they'll say, Lord, when?
When were you hungry Lord, and we gave you something to eat?
Lord, when were you thirsty? I can't remember. And we gave you drink?
When were you naked Lord, and we clothed you?
And Lord, when were you a stranger and we invited you in?
I mean, we invited lots of people in Lord. I could never forget that face.
And Lord, when were you sick and we visited you?
Or in prison, and we came to you? Lord, tell us?

In as much as you did it to the least of my brethren, you've done it unto me.
Oh yes, as much as you've done it to the very least of my brethren,
You've done it, you've done it unto me. Enter into your rest.

Then He shall turn to those on His left, the goats.
Depart from me, you cursed ones, into everlasting fire,
prepared for the devil and his angels.

For I was hungry, and you gave me nothing to eat,
I was thirsty, and you gave me nothing to drink,
I was naked, out in the cold, in exposure, and you sent me away,
I was a stranger, and I knocked at your door,
But you didn't open, you told me to go away,
I was sick, racked in pain upon my bed,
And I begged, and prayed, and pleaded that you'd come, but you didn't,
I was in prison, and I rotted there,
I'd prayed that you'd come.
I heard your programs on the radio, I read your magazines, but you never came.
Depart from me!!!

Lord, there must be some mistake, when?
Lord, I mean, when were you hungry Lord and we didn't give you something to eat?
And Lord, when were you thirsty, and we didn't give you drink?
I mean, that's not fair, well, would you like something now?
Would one of the Angels like to go out and get the Lord a hamburger and a coke?
Oh, you're not hungry, yeah, I lost my appetite too.
Uh Lord uh, Lord, when were you naked,
I mean Lord, that's not fair either Lord,
We didn't know what size you wear.
Oh Lord, when were you a stranger Lord,
You weren't one of those creepy people who used to come to the door, were you?
Oh Lord, that wasn't our ministry Lord. We just didn't feel led, you know?
Lord, when were you sick? What did you have, anyway?
Well, at least it wasn't fatal; oh, it was?
I'm sorry Lord, I would have sent you a card.
Lord, just on last thing we want to know,
When were you in prison Lord? What were you in for anyway?
I had a friend in Leavenworth..

ENOUGH!

In as much as you've not done it unto the least of my brethren,
You've not done it unto me.
In as much as you've not done it unto the least of my brethren,
You've not done it unto me. Depart from Me.
And these shall go away into everlasting fire.
But the righteous into eternal life!

And my friends, the only difference between the sheep
and the goats, according to this scripture,
Is what they did, and didn't do!!

As a postscript, I have to point out that the tent was in a corner behind clumps of trees and was pretty much invisible (unless you took the trouble to seek it out) so those who took offence did so with some effort. Would be funny if it wasn't so very sad :-(

Lyrics: Keith Green - Sheep and Goats