The first day of winter, Dec. 21, the winter solstice, is the shortest day and longest night of the year. For people who are homeless, it’s a night that represents the harsh challenges of living on the streets. For the past seven years, St. John the Evangelist Homeless Shelter, a ministry of the Diocese of Green Bay, Wis., has sponsored an interfaith memorial prayer service to remember local men and women who have died while homeless. The service is part of Homeless Persons’ Memorial Day, which has been sponsored nationally by the National Coalition for the Homeless since 1990. Green Bay’s memorial service began near the entrance of St. John the Evangelist Church with a candlelight prayer service and circle walk. A procession into the church featured men and women carrying candles and a pair of shoes or boots representing each homeless person who died in the Green Bay area in the past year—12 people were remembered at the service. A 13th candle was lit to remember all those who died whose names were unknown.
Winter’s Homeless
Show Comments ()
2
Comments are automatically closed two weeks after an article's initial publication. See our comments policy for more.
Mike Evans
9 years 6 months ago
Perhaps we could form a national consensus that leaving anyone out in the cold, alone and suffering, is a crime against humanity. The current discussions on homelessness seem to center around who is deserving and undeserving of our compassion. Every life matters!
Joan Hill
9 years 6 months ago
In Boston there was (is?) a project for homeless youth called "I have a name." In Googling it I came across this link about how homeless people are invisible, simply looked past. https://www.facebook.com/CSI.LYNN/posts/1030432283655464
Somehow, even though I know they are individuals, it's easier to not look, to not reflect on "It could be me." Scary. We're all just people.
The latest from america
What is happening to migrants in courtrooms across the country is a complete embarrassment to the justice system and an affront to human dignity.
Being a kid in the summer is all about existing in an eternal present moment, a feeling of freedom and potential that it will never go away.
Father Thomas Hennen, vicar general of the Diocese of Davenport, Iowa, has been appointed Bishop of Baker, Oregon.
My writing during these past five years is filled with memories of my long journey with God over a lifetime; but very significantly, it is the expression of my prayer at this later time of my life.