Faithful Response to Homelessness

Homelessness is, unfortunately, a part of the landscape of our communities. We pass people sleeping in cars, beneath freeway overpasses, and on sidewalks every day. Encampments have become so common that it is possible to stop noticing them altogether. Yet behind every tent, every shopping cart, and every person asking for help is a beloved child of God.

As homelessness continues to rise across Southern California and Arizona, the Episcopal Diocese of San Diego believes that we cannot grow accustomed to the crisis unfolding around us. Our faith calls us to do more than acknowledge homelessness. It calls us to see the people our society overlooks, build relationships rather than assumptions, and respond faithfully.

Across the diocese, that response is already taking shape. Congregations are serving breakfasts, providing showers and clothing, receiving mail for people without addresses, partnering with local nonprofits, and dreaming about affordable housing. Behind these ministries is the diocesan Homeless Working Group, led by the Rev. Gigi Miller and Ronnie Short, helping congregations learn from one another and imagine new ways to respond.

“Our Baptismal Covenant calls us to seek and serve Christ in all persons,” said the Rev. Gigi Miller. “People experiencing homelessness are beloved children of God who deserve dignity, respect, and compassion.”

The Homeless Working Group invites clergy and lay leaders across the diocese to join this growing ministry. Rather than treating homelessness as a problem to solve, let’s begin forming genuine relationships. “We follow the command of Jesus,” said Ronnie Short, “and form actual relationships with our unhoused neighbors instead of treating them as a problem to be solved. Then we ask, ‘How can we help?'”

Beginning September 1, you can find new ways to help by joining a five-week virtual book study of Grace Can Lead Us Home by Kevin Nye. Register today and explore the realities of homelessness, challenge common misconceptions, and discover faithful ways congregations can respond. Congregations are also encouraged to observe Homelessness Sunday on October 11, joining churches across the country in learning, prayer, and renewed commitment to ending homelessness.

Why begin with a book study? Because those already engaged in this ministry have discovered that many assumptions about homelessness simply don’t match reality.

Miller says many people she knows who are unhoused grew up in the very communities where they now live outside. Others continue working as crossing guards, construction workers, restaurant servers, and home healthcare aides, but can no longer afford rent where they work.

Short believes one misunderstanding stands above the rest. “Homelessness is not a mental health problem or a drug abuse problem,” he said. “It is a housing problem. The solution is housing.” He also challenges the idea that people experiencing homelessness refuse help. Quoting Grace Can Lead Us Home author Kevin Nye, Short says, “People are not service resistant; services are people resistant.”

The ministries emerging throughout the diocese reflect the different needs of each community. Some churches provide showers, clothing, blankets, and shoes. Others prepare meals, receive mail for people without permanent addresses, or explore affordable housing through EDSD’s Mission Real Estate Initiative, including the Amani at St. Luke’s in North Park.

But Miller says what makes these ministries distinct is not simply what they provide. She said, “A meaningful response starts with engagement and listening. Our congregations walk beside those they serve and together explore creative ways to meet the needs of people experiencing homelessness.”

“Our faith compels us to minister to the unhoused,” Short continued. “We acknowledge that the unhoused in our communities are our neighbors, and we seek to love them as ourselves.”

For Miller, one weekly gathering captures the heart of the ministry. Every Saturday after community breakfast at St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church in Encinitas, volunteers and neighbors gather for the Table of Kindness, a brief prayer liturgy. They share joys, struggles, and prayers together.

One participant, Mike, summed up the experience in a way Miller will never forget. “I’ve been in lots of faith communities over the years,” he told her, “but this—right here—is the real Church.”

The Homeless Working Group hopes to equip more congregations through education, theological reflection, and shared resources. Short already sees signs of what is possible. Recently, St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church in La Mesa made a significant gift to an East County ministry that provides permanent housing for a young mother and her child. 

As the Homeless Working Group continues to grow, it hopes more Episcopalians will discover what so many volunteers already have–that responding to homelessness is not simply about providing services. It is about encountering Christ in our neighbors and becoming the Church God is calling us to be.