December 13th Volunteers. Picture courtesy of Night Strike’s Facebook (Because People Matter – BridgeTown Inc.)
For the past 8 years, I have participated in a volunteer opportunity called Nightstrike. Nightstrike is a ministry on Thursday nights under the Burnside Bridge in Portland. It happens nearly every Thursday of the year. Volunteers gather for an orientation and then head under the bridge to practice hospitality to folks living on our downtown streets. Volunteers give out a meal, clothing, popcorn, books, haircuts, and most importantly just sit down and talk and listen to folks who are often overlooked and ignored by others all week. It is a great program and for many of the youth that I have taken there to volunteer its one of their favorite experiences.
For me personally, Nightstrike has not been my favorite place to volunteer. That is until recently. I think it is because I have never signed up for the right job for me. This fall I was able to do sign up for the clothing station. My job was to help each guest pick out 1 top (coat or shirt), 1 pr of pants, accessories (socks, belts, bras, shoes) and a glove and a hat. I got to spend a little time that night with about 10 people choosing their clothing. We are introduced to the person and then we are encouraged to ask them what they are looking for. One woman said to me, “the clothes I have on are all I have, so anything will help.” Another man had just gotten out of the hospital after a week-long stay there and was looking for a coat because the one he was wearing was borrowed (unfortunately we were out of warm coats). These were pretty humbling interactions considering the temperate was hovering around 40 degrees.
I’ve participated in Nightstrike once a month this year and it has been a deeply humbling and powerful experience. I’ve also been fortunate to bring along a few friends this fall and folks from Trinity UMC have donated new socks (a huge need) to give out. There are many ways to help. Would you like to join us sometime? We’ll be going again Feb 21 and Mar 21 and would love for you to have this experience of hospitality to those under the Burnside bridge.
-Jeff Lowery
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