Honest to God – a Psalm written by homeless people
One of the most exciting areas of my work with the West London Mission has been the development of our Chaplaincy over the last year. Our Chaplain, Ruth, does a great job across our services, offering spiritual support and care to our residents and users whose lives are so affected by homelessness, offending and addictions.
At our Day Centre for homeless people in Marylebone, Ruth helps run a weekly spirituality group. One of the activities this group has done in recent months is write Psalms in the style of those in the Bible. Just like many of their biblical versions, the psalms they have written contain anger, reality and a deep questioning of where God is in the midst of pain. And yet, they also speak of hope.
Below is one titled ‘A Psalm of Lament’. This and one other can be found on the WLM website:
A Psalm of Lament
God who seems to have two faces: Blind and wicked spirit of heaven; Blessing and wondrous spirit above; Why is life a lottery? Why is it that some have more and others have less? Some people have no one to love them. How can life be balanced? Should you reap what you sow? What does equality mean? We are not all the same. People who have wealth should share and use it. Everyone should be able to have treats. The poles are melting, Greed is destroying things. We need to live in harmony. Does anyone care? Send us angels of mercy. Enable people to build themselves up. Let us not give up but look to the future. May we begin where we are in small ways, Persevere through the new challenges, Keep hope alive.
If you would like to support the work of the West London Day Centre please think about sponsoring our sleep out on October 19th via this page: http://www.justgiving.com/Jon-Kuhrt
