The Last Night of Room In The Inn

Tonight, across Nashville, a couple hundred homeless people are sleeping on mattresses and cots in church fellowship halls, having enjoyed a warm meal and loving fellowship with church members. Tomorrow night, these same men and women will have to find somewhere else to spend the night. Many will choose to stay at the Nashville Rescue Mission, the largest source of shelter for the homeless here, and some will live on the streets for the next seven months, since Room In The Inn, the Campus’s winter shelter program ends tomorrow morning when church busses will stream into our downtown parking lot for the last time this season. I haven’t really said much on this blog about Room In The Inn, so I figured I should before it’s over. Most people in Nashville aren’t quite sure what the Campus for Human Development is (“Oh, is that at Vanderbilt or something?”), but nearly everyone knows about Room In The Inn.

The sheer number of people who volunteer for Room In The Inn hadn’t hit me until last Sunday morning when those who had volunteered their time at some point in the last five months came to the front of the sanctuary as the congregation said a litany of thanksgiving. I imagined a similar number being multiplied by 150 and saw what a huge thing Room In The Inn is.

So, what is Room In The Inn, and how does it work? Basically, as I briefly explain it to new participants a few times a day, it is our winter shelter program that runs November 1st through March 31st. Over 150 congregations in Nashville take small groups of people to their church buildings one night a week, offering them dinner, a warm place to sleep, and breakfast. When RITI guests return to the Campus in the morning (by around 6:00), they can draw a ticket that will let them know when they’ll be able to go back to a church for the night—either that night or the one after.

The number of beds available in any one night seems to average between 150 and 250. There are very few nights when people are not turned away. On a recent day on the daily RITI wrap-up report it was written, “85 degrees, still not enough beds.” Because of the popularity of our program among the homeless population, there is quite a street market for Room In The Inn tickets.

I have mostly observed Room In The Inn from a distance, since I go home from work at 4:30. I have actually seen it more from the side of Second Presbyterian than from the Campus. Through most of the winter, I have had other commitments that have had me at the church on Wednesday nights, which has given me an opportunity to visit Room In The Inn. Second has been taking eighteen guests, which is about the most that is ever sent out in one group. We have also hosted the women, which is a special challenge, to say the least, for much of this season. It was funny the first few times I visited RITI at Second, because the first reaction when people saw me was that something must be wrong or that they were in trouble for something. After most people found out that Second is “Jeff’s church,” I stopped getting too many looks of fear. I actually have received numerous compliments each week about the hospitality that has been shown at Second Pres.

I think that the most important part of Room In The Inn is the fact that once the guests leave the Campus, they are entirely in contact with volunteers. I have found when I’ve been at Second for RITI, I have a hard time not being judgmental, since I know something about most of the people there. The volunteers who give their time welcoming their guests, fixing dinner, putting out the mattresses complete with chocolates on the pillow, and doing many loads of laundry, don’t have the same basis for judgment that I do and can focus more on practicing hospitality and unconditional love. Our program is also special because it lets people exist in small groups which foster community and respect. They don’t feel like they are being herded around like animals.

The end of Room In The Inn season means different things to different people. For us on the staff, it is a feeling of relief. Friday felt like the “Friday of Fridays” as I called it, because we made it through the busy time of the year that everyone was bracing for last October. Starting next week, the Campus will close at 2:00pm for the day, rather than at 4:00 until it reopened for RITI at 4:30. We’ll have some time to catch up on some of the things that we haven’t had the time to focus on. For our participants, it is a much more difficult reality to face. Many people go through a very rough time when Room In The Inn is over. Emotional stress often increases as does physical violence. With Room In The Inn, people find a home, where they are welcomed no matter what. They find a place where they can be served and serve others in ways that give them hope for change in their own lives.

LITANY OF THANKSGIVING FOR ROOM IN THE INN

Give thanks to the Lord who is good.
God’s love is everlasting.
Come, let us praise God joyfully.
Let us come to God with thanksgiving.
For human life;
for talking and living and eating together;
for common hopes and hardships shared from birth until our dying;
Thank you, God.
For the homeless in whom we see the face of Christ;
for the poor in whom we meet our risen savior;
for shared community and common humanity.
Thank you, God.
For our Room in the Inn guests, who give us the gifts of their stories;
for their life experiences, which challenge us to examine our own lives;
for deepening awareness of our common need of your grace;
Thank you, God.
For these volunteers, who gave up the comforts of home to share a home with our guests;
for their gifts of hospitality, cooking, companionship and service;
for being the community of Christ and welcoming the homeless into that community.
Thank you, God.
For all the ways their thankfulness for your love has been increased;
for the new ways they have learned how to bear the name of Christ through their service;
for growing discipleship and deepening faith.
Thank you, God.
Especially, O God, for Jesus the Christ;
who lived and died and lives again to welcome us home;
for our hope in him and the joy of serving you.
We thank and praise you, Eternal God,
for all your goodness to us.
Give thanks to the Lord, who is good.
God’s love is everlasting.