Right, Wrong, or Somewhere In the Middle?

I’m BAAAACK!  Not for a long amount of time though.  Next week will be quite busy with four campus events, mixed in with one service project, one Spanish exam, one major paper, and one visit from my family back home.  Oh, and how could I forget, sermon writing!  I have been contacted by the First Christian Church of Creve Coure to present the message on Sunday, October 23.  It’ll be great fun!!  I may start on the sermon this week, to be honest.  Next week is going to maul me like a bear. 

Today’s topic is a sensitive one.  It concerns the Eureka Heart House.  I love the mission of the Heart House and I believe it is an invaluable asset to this community.  Indeed, it is one of the primary reasons I knit hats (the other, besides aiding in funding the Heart House, is it is rather fun).  However, the Heart House does something I am not a fan of.

The Heart House does not serve men!  It is for single women, single mothers, homeless, and domestic violence victims.  Tis an admirable cause, but it does not include aiding men.

I know that I have the most privileged characteristics in America: male, white, Protestant Christian, straight, college bound, and middle class.  I am in the most favored position, but I am arguing for more consideration for males.  Part of me feels guilty.

However, another part of me remembers my family.  My father was a single father for many years.  Thankfully, he had a good paying job and we had a loving family and support group.  I’ve never gone hungry, homeless, or in want of anything.  I have lived the most blessed life I could think of. 

But (and there is always a but) if anything had been different, even just a little bit, how would our economic situation had changed?  Would we have been left out in the cold?

I understand that as a domestic abuse shelter, there are several precautions that must be taken in securing a safe haven for some of the most vulnerable in our society.  I would never advocate NOT having the Heart House (Ada, a community four times the size of Eureka, does not have a homeless shelter and THAT is a shame and a disgrace that needs to be confronted in such an affluent community).  Although, I do want this community, and all others, to remember that there is vulnerability EVERYWHERE, that want and pain crosses both genders, all colors, and every single stereotype. 

Talk to you all soon!  Sorry it has been so long.

Clott