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Photos from First Parish Church| Essay by an 8th Grade participant

CityReach

CityReach is an overnight urban outreach program for youth (with accompanying adults), young adults, and college students from churches of any denomination. The program gives these young people the opportunity to learn first hand about homelessness from people who are homeless or who have been homeless. During the two-day session, participants join CityReach staff in street ministry and offer hospitality, food and clothing. This is followed by times of sharing and reflection.

The program starts on Friday evening and ends on the following Saturday afternoon. Participants arrive at 7 p.m. Friday night, are addressed by staff who are experiencing, or have experienced, homelessness, walk through the city guided by members of common cathedral and end the evening with a simple worship service. They sleep in the sanctuary of St. Paul's Cathedral. On Saturday morning they offer clothing that they have collected and a simple meal to homeless people on the Cathedral steps. They form teams for street outreach, taking sandwiches and clothes to people at South Station, Copley Square, Boston's waterfront and other sites. All then eat lunch and reflect together about their experiences in light of the Gospel, write a prayer, and talk about next steps for them personally and/or as a group. Those from housed congregations prepare to present their experiences as part of their liturgies the next day.

CityReach is offered three times a year, in the Winter, Spring and Fall. The first two events are for all ages (recommended for 14 years of age and up) and the Fall CityReach is specifically oriented for older high school youth (junior and seniors) and college students. The first CityReach program was held in March 1996.

Students arrive at the Cathedral Friday night, get to know each other, tour the Cathedral.

Students walk through the city guided by members of common cathedral, share a liturgy, and sleep in the sanctuary.

On Saturday morning they offer clothing that they have collected and a simple meal to homeless people on the church steps. They also deliver sandwiches and clothes to people at South Station, Copley Square, and other sites in outreach teams.

Students return for lunch and share their experiences, write a prayer together, and talk about next steps for them personally and/or as a group.

Finally they present their experiences as part of the liturgy in their home churches the next day.

CityReach Photo Gallery from First Parish Church, Concord, MA (January 2004)

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I have been living in Boston for two and a half years. Every day that I walk through Kenmore Square I am confronted by homeless citizens asking for money. I have never quite known what to do. I can't give to everyone, can I? So, I would divert my gaze, feel guilty for a while, and go on. CityReach gave me the opportunity to give of myself, and even more importantly, try to answer some questions that I had. Through listening to homeless citizens and other volunteers tell their stories and experiences, and through going onto the street to participate in outreach (actually walking up to a homeless person and say, "Hello, are you hungry?"), I didn't find all the answers, but I did realize something important. The homeless are human, just like you and me. Some are very intelligent and down on their luck; all have a different reason for being on the street. Maybe I can't give money to everyone I pass, but I can give a sandwich, a hello, or even just a smile. Sometimes all it takes to feel hope, to not feel so alone, to feel human again, is a smile from another person. I don't want to forget my experience. I look forward to going to CityReach again, to helping common cathedral, and to not diverting my gaze anymore.

~Lana Collier

We're taught at a very young age not to speak to strangers or receive gifts from them. On Saturday we did the opposite. As a group, we entered the side entrance of the Boston Public Library and went to the first and second floors. We approached people and offered them sandwiches, toiletries, and clothes. We were a little apprehensive on how to approach "them." What if they weren't homeless? How would they receive our gifts? What if "we" were rejected? -- wasn't that ironic? We wanted to be respectful of their dignity and space. We spent about 45 minutes in the library and encountered appreciation, a great sense of humor and grace. We left wishing we had more time to sit and listen and share time. One man said thanks for the gloves and offered to make me a cup of coffee. He was very disappointed when I replied no." Maybe these folks really aren't strangers. We're all on the same journey of life. It's just that our struggles are a little different. We all have gifts to give and receive, maybe we just need a little more practice connecting.

~Lisa Ayres

Essay by an Eighth Grader

This essay was written by Shannon Whitehead, an eighth grader, about her experience of the CityReach program that is part of Ecclesia Ministries. Shannon is a member of St. John the Evangelist, Hingham, Massachusetts.

On the weekend of October 22, 1999, I had a religious experience that changed my outlook on life and made me realize how very fortunate I am. On Friday night, ten members of my Parish including myself, traveled to Boston to attend the 1999 CityReach. We met with six other church groups at the common cathedral on the Boston Common with an important goal, to give out as much clothing and food to the homeless as possible. It was a challenge we were anxious to tackle.

When we had settled in at the cathedral, we met together in the church hall for an introduction to the weekend task and to listen to the stories of five homeless church volunteers. I learned many things in that hour, but one presentation stood out among all others: the story of, Matthew. He was the first to present, and everyone could tell he was extremely nervous. He paused for a few moments and then calmly, Matthew began to sing. His song told us not to close our doors to the homeless and that together we could all make a difference. The sound of his harmonica and voice brought tears to my eyes and at once made me aware of how very fortunate I am and how thankful I should be. That night, lying in my sleeping bag, I thought for the first time how lucky I was to be inside a warm church and not sleeping on the cold streets.

The next morning, I awoke ready to help those who were less fortunate than I, and hopefully make a difference in their lives. After breakfast we at once began to sort clothing, make lunches, and prepare backpacks of supplies to distribute. We set up tables on the steps of the Cathedral where we placed hundreds of sweaters, pants, bags, blankets, etc., and we could already see the aisle of homeless people lining up to get whatever they might need. They stared at us with hungry eyes, anxiously waiting for us to let them in. Around 10 o'clock the chaos began. People rushed up to each table asking for a certain size or a certain piece of clothing. It gave me the greatest feeling when I could find the person exactly what he or she wanted. But my heart sank when they couldn't find the right size and had to walk away empty-handed. The majority of the people were very polite and grateful, others were drunk and pushy, grabbing a sweater right out of another person's hand in need of it. Later, a few of us broke up into groups to walk the streets of Boston and hand out lunches to people we saw on the streets. We also gave out clean socks and underwear and even a few sweatshirts. I knew the day had been a great success, and in giving someone just one piece of clothing, had possibly saved a life.

I know I am an extremely lucky person, not only because I have a roof over my head, food to eat and clothes on my back, but because I was able to learn and take advantage of my experience at CityReach. I now know that many of the homeless people in Boston today are not on the streets because of alcohol and drug problems, but because a wrong turn was taken in their lives. I also now know that God has a plan and reason for everyone, and his plan may be to show us the eyes of Jesus through each of these homeless people. It is important to give to those who are not as fortunate as we are and to be grateful for everything we have. So the next time we want more clothes, or we want to see a movie or go on a vacation, we should all think of how little some people have. As Matthew said, You paid $7.50 to see 'Titanic,' but with that money you could have saved a life. We are the ones who can make that difference.

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