Andrews – Jon Laughlin and Kristina Lubner are much like another couple of icons, The Blues Brothers, in that they’re on a mission from God.
The couple has been utilizing and expanding resources offered by Andrews United Methodist Church over the last year to offer outreach and aid to the local homeless population.
Their popular Homeless Outreach Ministry for Everyone, or HOME, mission expanded the church’s well-known free weekly meal, The Welcome Table, by offering daily services such as showers, restrooms and lockers, while also meeting other vital needs for people who need almost everything.
‘Least of these’
A retired Methodist pastor, Laughlin takes Jesus’ discussion of the “least of these” seriously.
“In the Book of Matthew, chapter 25 verse 40, Jesus reminds us of our duty to others by saying if we give unto the least, we give to Him,” Laughlin said with determination, all business in that it begins through charity and showing the love of Christ to those who need it the most.
“Our goal was to meet these folks, get to know them on a one-to-one basis. Learn their names, show them ways to beat addiction if that’s the case, offer them a place to retrieve or apply for identifying documents, etc.”
Laughlin added that apart from the meal offered Thursdays at the church, homeless in the community suffer from a lack of basic services, such as needing identification, health-care assistance, a dedicated place to leave their possessions and transportation to appointments, including court cases.
“If they’re homeless, they don’t have the basic support or infrastructure to help their situations,” he said. “Sometimes they need to attend court or to make a medical appointment, and they just don’t have access to these things most of us take for granted.”
That spurred Laughlin and Lubner to partner with the church’s secretary, Jeanne Powell, to supplement the church’s offering of daily coffee by providing lockers to store clothing and other personal items, along with laundry and shower services, at the church’s Family Life Center on weekdays.
They even purchased a dedicated post office box to allow the population to receive packages and documents they needed.
“People think if you’re homeless you don’t need anything like that, that you’re not a part of the system or society anymore, but that’s far from the case,” Laughlin said. “After meeting with over 45 people and learning their names and backgrounds and stories, we assessed the needs and found that, beyond daily food, they needed so much more.”
Creating trust
Laughlin and Lubner worked to instill trust in the population congregating at the daily coffee hours in the fellowship hall.
The church had also been donating grocery gift cards to help with the food insecurity facing many in the area. Laughlin decided they needed hot meals each day, and Lubner cooked for many of them after the daily coffee.
Laughlin added that in order to reach people, no matter who, there needs to be nourishment, both spiritual and culinary.
“Empty stomach, empty thoughts,” he simply said.
As a retired church administrator, Lubner is used to the hierarchy and council culture of Methodism. She urged many of the other congregants to become involved.
Lubner is also known as “the adopted mother because she found most of these kids and people need another mom. They really need a good, caring grandma. So when they saw that we were ‘the real deal’ we gained their trust,” Laughlin said.
“When you find out these people’s stories, how maybe they were kicked out of their homes, or they’re just not wanted in the community or they’re not wanted period, you have to make them understand that God loves them. That He cares for them. Remember John 3:16? For God so loved the world.”
Lubner added that the couple also worked with homeless populations in Douglas and Cheyenne, Wyo. They knew what they were up against in establishing trust and building relationships with sometimes wary and distant people.
She recalled the couple’s church activity by saying, “In Wyoming, when we decided to leave, we had 33 active ministries in the church. Church folk always say they want to help, but they really did out there. They showed up in a big way.”
Stop judging, condemning
The couple have also come to understand why more homeless people don’t regularly attend church. They shared insight into how the least of the community regard congregations and perhaps all of organized religion.
“We ask them in the meetings why they don’t come to church and one young lady gave the best answer I’ve ever heard. ‘Because we smell like smoke. Like campfire smoke and we know we’re not going to be welcome if we come in smelling like smoke,’ ” Laughlin said.
“Of course, I’d never thought of that because I’d never had that experience on a Saturday night. I mean, they’re trying to warm themselves up because it’s 15 degrees or something, and then they smell and don’t have clean clothes or a way to clean their clothes. If I did try to make it to the laundry, I’d never make it to church by the 11 a.m. start.
“So this whole cycle continues to repeat itself, and you’ll never know that until you actually get involved in their lives. So if some people in the town would stop judging and condemning, and start looking at ways to accommodate these kinds of needs, we could change these people’s lives completely.”
To that end, the couple approached the city council about using land Andrews United Methodist purchased several years ago as a test site for temporary housing for the homeless.
That idea was struck down and abandoned because of a lack of community interest. The couple was understandably disappointed that their plan wasn’t well received, but that didn’t daunt them from offering the extended ministry and identifying and helping more homeless in the area.
“Some of these people aren’t actually ‘homeless’ – they live in an abandoned structure or a condemned mobile home, so they technically have a roof over their heads, but they don’t have running water or electricity,” Laughlin said.
“So we’re not enabling people. Sometimes people think we are, but we’re not ashamed to enable someone who needs shelter in 90-degree weather or to be fed or clothed. We’ll be glad to enable that.”
The Jesus model
The couple is adamant about what Laughlin calls “The Jesus Model.”
“Jesus never once said get them on a bus or get rid of them. He said, ‘The poor you’ll always have,’ ” Laughlin said.
“So, it’s up to us to help them. That is ministry in the gospels.”
To that end, the couple are taking a sabbatical to explore how other communities both in the United States and abroad are handling or coping with rising homeless populations.
“We’re taking a year to reach out to friends in other areas of the country and overseas to try to figure out a way to help the homeless apart from the simple definitions of just feeding, clothing or enabling and abetting,” Laughlin said.
“One of our dreams is to get to the point some day of having tiny home communities for the displaced and homeless, villages of homes, tiny sheds or homes for housing to help restore something to their lives, to enable them to become more independent, more alive.”
Laughlin added that many people think all homeless people are addicted to alcohol or drugs, but that’s surprisingly not been the norm with the group he and Lubner befriended and served during their time at the church.
“Maybe eight or 10 are users, but everyone is trying to get clean. There’s no rehab center or even shelter that close to Andrews, so this presents another set of challenges,” Laughlin said. “People would be surprised to know we have a good number who’ve received treatment. But if meth’s available at your local curb, then it’s always going to be available.”
Are we taking care?
The couple are quick to point out that assuming all people on the streets or in the woods are addicted does nothing to make the community want to help them. They also explained some of the more complicated social mores in the homeless community, like the use of trading or bartering for drugs or other items.
“We did have some folks who we had to stop giving, say, an extra blanket because we knew they’d trade it for something not for their best use,” Laughlin said. “But, normally they trade things for extra food or other items they need, not always drugs.”
According to the couple, it’s not only incumbent upon local government and municipalities to help solve or finance the solutions to the homeless crisis nationwide. It’s the church’s role.
“The mission of the church should be asking ‘How are we taking care of people?’ Are we taking care of anyone outside, showing them the love of Christ? How will deliver those services and meet those needs of those who are struggling the most?” Lubner said.
The couple look forward to exploring these questions along with identifying viable solutions during their trek this year.
As for the future of the HOME ministry, Laughlin and Lubner have reached out to Four Square Community Action in hopes of brokering a partnership between the group and congregation to continue providing these basic but essential needs and services.