March 12, 2023

Rooted Together

Read: James 2:1-13

A few days after GPUMC hosted Shelter Week, I found myself leafing through a book celebrating the lives and music of Peter, Paul and Mary. I was surprised to read about one particular chapter in their distinguished history. It had to do with an advocacy project they took on to mark their first 25 years together: homelessness.

The folksingers met with advocates for the homeless. They visited homeless shelters and listened to the stories of their residents. Then they shared what they had learned in interviews with New York radio stations.

As the trio wrote in the book: “Our intent was to add our voices to the efforts of many others who sought to help correct the public’s misconceptions about homelessness, to help reframe the dialogue and policies regarding the homeless population, and to lobby for increased funding to ease the suffering of this much-maligned and misunderstood population.”

Artists don’t typically address such tough topics. In my mind, those who do stand out. Singer-songwriter Tom Russell is another one of those who has. These lines from his song “Somebody’s Husband, Somebody’s Son” remind us that all of our lives are rooted together:

“So out on your journey down the highways of life
Cherish your mother, crave the love of your wife
And forget not the outcast and the homeless were once
Somebody's husband, somebody's son.”

Dave Versical