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By clicking on "external source," you can access this most interesting website devoted to making the problem of homelessness more visible.

Contact: Mark Horvath, 323-871-1519, mark@invisiblepeople.tv

LOS ANGELES, Feb. 16 /Christian Newswire/ -- Mark Horvath is somewhat of an authority on America's homeless population. That's because he once was part of it.

Fourteen years ago, Horvath was homeless.

He lived on the streets of Hollywood, Calif.

Today, Horvath is giving back to that community by breaking the mold and doing what, quite frankly, makes sense. Through invisiblepeople.tv, a new and dynamic video blog (vlog), he captures the stories of the homeless – one at a time.

Simply put, Horvath is breaking stereotypes.

Through his web site, he shares the stories of homeless people he meets on the streets. The site's segments are told by real people, in their own very real words. The innovative pieces, which began airing last November, are raw, uncensored and unedited – just like life on the streets.

There is meaning to the site's name.

According to Horvath, some homeless are passed on the street as if they don't exist. Others are ignored the way one would disregard a piece of trash on the sidewalk.

Horvath's goal? To make homeless visible to everyone else.

Horvath doesn't ask for money. The purpose of his vlog is to make the invisible visible. He doesn't want the world to look through or beyond the homeless anymore, but to be aware of them and their circumstances, and to let them not be forgotten.

The people and stories at invisiblepeople.tv are gripping. Some segments are, well, unsettling. Horvath wouldn't have it any other way. He wants to inspire; and wants you to act.

In Horvath, the homeless now have a face and voice. Thanks largely to invisiblepeople.tv, they are invisible no more. He wants you to remember that the homeless people ignored today were much like the rest of us not very long ago.

Labels: homelessness, Mark Horvath, websites

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Thursday, December 25, 2008

‘This is what Christ had in mind … a church without walls’

Services in Woodruff Park break down barriers to reach those who are in need

By Drew Jubera

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Saturday, December 20, 2008

They just showed up. On foot. From all directions. As if risen right out of the same downtown streets that many of them live on.

About a dozen homeless men and women, joined by volunteers and other churchgoers, sat shoulder to shoulder in the cold last Sunday in front of the fountain at the north end of Woodruff Park. They wore hats and gloves and heavy coats. They toted backpacks and black plastic garbage bags. One guy chewed on a cheese sandwich.

They were ready for church.

“I appreciate all you huddled people,” began Carole Maddux, the Episcopal deacon leading the service. “Let us take a moment to be silent and claim this place. And call on God … to make his presence known.”

Surrounded by downtown skyscrapers, she stood in front of a folding table topped with a silver cross, a chalice, a plastic bottle of grape juice to be served with communion —- “Some of our people don’t need to drink wine,” Maddux said.

The Church of the Common Ground was in session.

“We’re Episcopal, and we have a liturgy,” Maddux explained earlier. “It can cause us to try to control every little thing: The acolytes should stand here, the candles should be lit there.

“But here, you have to go with the spirit. I’ll be talking about the firmament, and a flock of pigeons will go by. Or someone will chime in with an opinion.”

A homeless ministry of the Episcopal Diocese of Atlanta, the Church of the Common Ground convenes in Woodruff Park every Sunday at 1 p.m. (January through February, it moves indoors to the ministry’s nearby rented storefront at 170 Trinity Ave. S.W.) It was started about two years ago by the Rev. Bob Book, a Lutheran minister for almost two decades, and his wife, Holly Book.

After years in traditional churches, the open-air, come-one-come-all ministry felt to them like a return to Christianity’s roots.

“This is what Christ had in mind —- a church without walls,” said Holly Book. “The [Episcopal] church has strayed from this. The bishop is recognizing the importance of us to be out there and with people who are poor.”

Rick Hutchison, 58, lives in a shelter. He often attends the Sunday service and volunteers at the ministry’s indoor space on Trinity Avenue. A variety of services are offered there during the week, including a health clinic, addiction recovery meetings and a weekly movie (recent showing: “Prancer”).

But it’s not viewed by the homeless who come there as a traditional soup kitchen. Its most important service, Hutchison said, is spiritual.

Bob Book, 59, was ordained an Episcopal priest in October at a ceremony at the park.

“People will say to me, ‘Someday, pastor, you’ll be blessed with a church,’ ” Book said. “And I say, ‘We already have one. It just doesn’t have walls. And I don’t want any walls. Once you erect walls, you start keeping people out, either by accident or intentionally. I want to be visible to everyone.

“Within the Christian community, none of us feels like the Earth is our home,” he added. “And part of the journey is finding our home in Christ, our eternal home. So in that way, all of us are homeless. Some of us just have shelters.”

Labels: Bob Book, church, Drew Jubera, Episcopalians, homelessness

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Wednesday, March 07, 2007

Everyone counts

We can depend on divine support when life turns a corner we didn't expect.

Everyone is worth counting. That's the underlying premise of the second national survey of homeless Americans.

Recently completed, the survey holds no specific answers to the challenge of homelessness, but it does illustrate that each individual has value (The Christian Science Monitor, Feb. 21).

As the article points out, people find themselves without permanent dwellings for numerous reasons, so a one-size-fits-all response doesn't always work. That's not to discount the efforts of those providing help. Emergency shelters, food programs, and subsidized housing give needed help, but it's only in seeing and meeting each individual's needs that progress is really made.

That's a tall order, given the potential number of homeless people worldwide. Take Dane Blythe, who explains in the article that his personal issues and his longing for freedom keep him from remaining in a more permanent home. Still, he looks to God for help and manages to be grateful for what comes his way. "I just pray to God every morning to give me what I need, if not what I want. And every night I thank God for what I do have."

God's love is both broad enough to encompass each of His children and specific enough to meet individual needs. He doesn't leave anyone out. We can depend on divine support when life turns a corner we didn't expect and even when our basic necessities appear to be threatened. Whether we're on the streets or living in a home, God is there to help.

As children of God, dignity is an inherent part of each of us. This spiritual quality isn't something that comes and goes, depending on human circumstances. It's a God-given, permanent part of our identity. We have dignity because God loves us, and that doesn't change.

As we gain a deeper understanding of this for ourselves, we can be aware of it for others, too. And as divine grace reaches us, we can, in turn, reach out to one another.

Prayer opens the door to a better grasp of what home really means. Home, as a spiritual idea, is something that promises fulfillment. At the core, it's a closer relationship with God and a more satisfying awareness of being loved by our eternal Parent.

Home and the sense of belonging and safety that go with it are present wherever God is. Since God is everywhere, no one is beyond this place of comfort. The ideas we need to make progress, even to thrive, are spiritual and are given by God. We are at home with our Father-Mother 24/7.

God's power isn't limited to comfort. He strengthens and emboldens us. Our prayers lead us to a better state of existence, whether that's a new home or a clearer mental focus. Mary Baker Eddy, who founded Christian Science, wrote, "The human capacities are enlarged and perfected in proportion as humanity gains the true conception of man and God" ("Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures," p. 258).

That's why this recent survey matters. It reminds us that everyone is valuable, and that no one is left out of God's love. There's plenty of work to be done in resolving the many facets of homelessness, but acknowledging the individual worth of each of God's children is a valid and inspired place to start.

Labels: dignity, divine support, God, home, homelessness, prayer