Document Type
Presentation
Publication Date
6-22-2016
Department 1
English
Abstract
I first volunteered at a soup kitchen in the frigid depths of winter in very late 1981 or very early 1982, in the heart of the Rust Belt in the midst of a terrible recession. I should emphasize right from the onset that I didn’t want to be there: I was next to useless and very intimidated, forced to be there by the tradition of service at my all-boys Catholic high school. Still, the experience made quite an impression on me, and I tell that story to my students so that they will understand that I know what’s like to be afraid of homeless people. When I looked at the people in line I saw a hungry mass clamoring for food—a collective threat—rather than a great number of struggling individuals in need—my brothers and sisters I was called to love—and that was my mistake. It’s a common enough error, however, and if there is one great irony about the fear in American society of the stereotypical homeless person, it’s that very many people who find themselves suddenly homeless are, themselves, terrified of homeless people; they’ve been conditioned to be so, and finding themselves in the midst of other homeless folks can seem like descending into a nightmare. [excerpt]
Copyright Note
This is the author's version of the work. This publication appears in Gettysburg College's institutional repository by permission of the copyright owner for personal use, not for redistribution.
Recommended Citation
Fee, Christopher. "Entertaining Angels: Homelessness and the Hospitality of Faith in Adams County." Collinge Lecture at Xavier Center, St. Francis Catholic Church (June 22, 2016).
Included in
Community-Based Learning Commons, English Language and Literature Commons, Inequality and Stratification Commons, Service Learning Commons, Social Work Commons
Comments
The Collinge Lecture was presented by Christopher Fee at the Xavier Center at St. Francis Catholic Church in Gettysburg, PA, on Wednesday, June 22, 2016.