But somehow, we have to find a way to work together. A coalition of religious and non-religious people opened a homeless shelter in our community last year - but the guiding forces were a Catholic priest and a Seventh-Day Adventist minister, Meals are prepared mostly in church kitchens, and volunteers come mostly from church congregations - and since they do not belong to congregations, it can be easy to forget the non-religious people who also are playing an important part in the running of the shelter. It would seem a shame to strip the religious aspects of what we're doing, because the religious aspects do a lot of good. But for this thing to work, it has to be inclusive. I'm Catholic, but I came to the project through a non-religious community homeless forum - so the people I've worked most closely with have no evident religious affiliation.

Somehow, it's working well and we're having a good time doing it.

-Joe-