which thankfully wasn’t very far.
Their walk there was quiet. Joe seemed lost in thought and concern over
the man, and Jacob was still reeling from what had happened. He couldn’t
tell exactly what was going on with Joe, but something was feeling off ever
since he had met Tic.
He was always surprised by how big the place was. Upon getting there,
Joe knocked on the door and within minutes, a small older woman
answered it.
“Is she a nun or something?”Jacob asked.
“No. She helps run the homeless shelter.” Joe chuckled to himself. “You have a homeless shelter?” Jacob hadn’t known what a night
program was, but for some reason the obvious answer hadn’t seemed
correct.
“And a soup kitchen. And a clean needle exchange. And a recycling
center.” Joe said. “You’re telling me when you were here last time you
didn’t explore any of this?”
“I guess I was distracted.” Jacob sheepishly replied. “Those church
ladies are spectacular.”
“That they are.” Joe said, a warmth returning to his smile. “Well
they’re one of many pieces we have going on. A church door should never
be locked. It should always give people the space to have what they need
and a protected place for the most vulnerable.”
“I mean, that’s not been my experience with churches sadly.” Jacob
responded.
“Yeah. I’m aware. Most people don’t see them as what they should be.
They only see what they’ve been. But the world is too fragile and angry
these days. Sometimes people need to be reminded of what they are able
to become to know that it’s not all doom and gloom out there. There’s still
some good left- and we must find it and protect it.”
“I guess it can’t hurt.” Jacob responded. “Doesn’t this all cost a lot of
money to maintain?”
