Rev. Lori: What is Love calling us to do in this moment?
A version of this reflection was originally published in the previous week’s Friday Flyer.
Hello Good People,
For those who have been by the church or have otherwise heard, our porch guest has returned to the front steps. This summer we had a women who was temporarily unhoused sleep on our porch and store her things in our bushes. To me it feels very sad that someone is navigating this cold weather out there. We are offering her access to the building during office hours, cold weather gear and supplies, and help getting connected with the resources available. She doesn’t like attention or to be approached, so please grant her privacy and space if you see her in front. There is shelter, food and other case management resources that are available. It is hard when someone resists taking advantage of those. Especially in this particular season, when those of us with Christian roots subscribe to a story that involves a wandering couple without shelter seeking refuge during a vulnerable time. It feels important to me to address this tangibly. As a church we have identified homelessness as a mission we want to engage in. I know the city of Saco wants there to be conversations about serving the Saco unhoused population independent of what is happening in Biddeford. We have successfully provided a warming service in the past. Perhaps 2026 is the year to move this mission forward. If you are interested and able to participate in even a conversation, please let me know.
In this month of hope with our advent candles of joy, love, peace, community and hope, this is a reminder that not all stories have readily available happy endings. There is sadness and brokenness that is highlighted and that may not ever have resolution. In this instance, it is not our place or character as a community to look away. We are obligated as UUs and people of faith to provide compassion, seek justice, and care for people. We are obligated to be a people of hope. We are also obligated to be in constant conversation about what our chalice and beacon is calling us to do. What is love calling us to do in this moment? I don’t have answers, but our polity (the way we organize ourselves) calls us to be in conversation about these matters.
Jesus lived a life of wandering ministry without a permanent home, often staying with followers, staying outdoors. He famously said “the Son of Man has no place to lay his head” Yet he had a family home in Nazareth and based on interpretation of other text, a house in Capernauem. He was supported by others, making his situation a complex mix of temporary homelessness and reliance on hospitality rather than a permanent destitute state. My Christian theology has always been that Jesus came into the world to show us how to live Love. This volunteer lifestyle was a way to highlight what it means to not have. So even if he wasn’t permanently homeless in the modern sense, he chose a life without a fixed dwelling for his mission. He embraced poverty and relying on community support, a choice that reflects a deeper spiritual homelessness from worldly ties rather than a lack of shelter. That is a practice and a choice that is reflected in all faith traditions at a level of higher spiritual commitment.
Rev Lori Whittemore
(she, her, hers)
Unitarian Universalist Church of Saco Biddeford