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Franciscans in Action
June 2008 e-newsletter
Philadelphia Shows Brotherly Love
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia's St. Francis Inn is located in that city's impoverished Kensington district. It offers services such as a food kitchen, a thrift shop and woman's day center. As a Franciscan community of religious and lay people, the inn proves the term "the forgotten poor" wrong. The poor of Philadelphia and every other city on the planet remain to most of us nameless faces that we pass on the street. But, as everyone who steps into the St. Francis Inn finds out, these poor people are just like everyone else. They have hopes and fears and deeply intricate life stories. To recognize these stories of the poor is to recognize their humanity.
Philadelphia's Kensington district
On the St. Francis Inn website, visitors can learn about Charlie. Charlie left his Philadelphia school in 9th grade and lost his mother as a teenager. Alcohol and drugs took him down a dangerous path. With help from the St. Francis Inn, Charlie began to recover. Now, as a 31 one year old, he spends part of his time as a St. Francis Inn volunteer.
Volunteering at the St. Francis Inn
Volunteers contribute a great deal to the richness of the St. Francis Inn community. Many of them are students from Neumann College in Aston, Pennsylvania. Neumann College is a Franciscan institution and does not take its spirit of volunteerism lightly. It encourages its students to explore the world and meet people from all walks of life. The result at the St. Francis Inn is a mix of people from many different backgrounds who work to help one another.
We encourage you our readers to send in stories where you see the spirit of St. Francis at work in the world. Email your stories to Peter Rajchert at peter@franciscans.org.
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