I am not a morning person and am seldom interested in eating very much for breakfast, but Tuesday I arose at 5am to be ready to leave the house before 6. (I know some people do this every day; I am spoiled.)

Tuesday was the first time the church staff served breakfast at the city of Dallas' new homeless assistance center called The Bridge. There were a surprising number of people already on Central Expressway, but we were south of downtown Dallas in 20 minutes. We parked and headed toward the gate near the kitchen. We opened the gate carefully since there were homeless people sleeping right there. Actually, there were people sleeping everywhere -on the sidewalks, up against the buildings, but not on the lawns in the courtyard because of the rain. There were also a lot of people up and about, smoking cigarettes at tables or walking around or just sitting up, awakening. We could see the sleeping pavilion across the courtyard. The lights were on and it looked like the cots were empty.

We got our volunteer badges and our instructions. Some of us lined up to serve and others fanned out with pitchers of water to fill cups at the tables. No coffee here. At 7AM the doors opened and those in wheelchairs were the first to be served. Lord, have mercy; how do you do being homeless in a wheelchair? I thought.

The breakfast serving line was paper plate, small package of graham crackers, a 5.5oz. can of juice, a container of Yoplait yogurt, a peach half in syrup, and a spoon in a plastic cup. No napkins. People streamed in so fast it was hard to even look up for awhile. One hundred, two hundred, three hundred. Some people were rubbing the sleep out of their eyes. Four hundred. Here they were in whatever they'd slept in. One man carried two small, neat suitcases. Five hundred. Toothless, tattooed, carrying blankets that I've seen used in moving vans for packing furniture. Still they came, but a trickle. We served for an hour and a half, 672 people. Black, white, brown; mostly black. Women and men; mostly men.

So when I arrived back home, I had a big bowl of cereal with blueberries and some orange juice, followed by some yogurt. I don't usually eat that much for breakfast but for some reason I was really hungry. I had coffee, too.

Then the King will say, 'I'm telling the solemn truth:
Whenever you did one of these things to someone overlooked
or ignored,that was me - you did it to me."
Matthew 25:41

- Ellen Boehmer
Mission Ministry Associate


Volunteers are still needed, especially to serve dinner from 6-7:30 on Friday, Saturday or Sunday evenings. To volunteer your group - small group, Sunday School class, etc - to serve meals at The Bridge, call volunteer coordinator Bobbie Taylor at 214.746.2785 ext. 320. If you'd like to find a group from CCPC to serve with, email Ellen Boehmer at eboehmer@canyoncreekpres.org.