Camping Mats at Franciscans Downtown with my bag lady friend Mary
I invited my friend Mary Patten to join me at Franciscans Downtown yesterday and I am glad that I did.
Last week I met Mary while we both were volunteering at the Warming Shelter in Point, a wonderful lady with a warm heart and a passion for service to the people in our community.
While we quietly visited in the room off to the side from where our homeless guests were sleeping, I noticed that she was doing an unusual activity to keep her hands busy and create an important item for the folks in the next room.
It was not my first intro to the activity since I had been introduced to these life saving essentials for the homeless by a fellow Third Order Franciscan from Milwaukee at our annual chapter gathering a few years ago.
So I was delighted to see that Mary had adopted this activity with a passion and thought that maybe this would be something to grow in our community, an activity for those who like to do a bit of crafts, that will not only recycle a few million bags but also keep some friends who sleep outside warm.
I told her that I would be volunteering at FDT on Monday and suggested that she bring her materials along and maybe we could infect a few other people with the bag lady bug.
Before leaving for FDT, my son and I scoured our home for used shopping bags and found several large bags full of bags to bring along. My wife was delighted to see them go, she will get more to replace the supply very soon.
A variety of folks were sitting around visiting, enjoying coffee, cookies and the news of the day when Mary arrived with her bag of supplies and a partially finished mat.
Scott, who has spent more than a few nights this year out in the cold was the first in the room to join us in cutting bags for this activity and also one who recognized the gift that these mats present.
He commented on how soft, warm, and light that they were and jumped into the project with enthusiasm.
Before long a new friend, John, had joined in mentioning how he had learned to crochet from his aunt while his mom was in the hospital. And then others stopped by the table to help and learn a bit about what we were doing.
And Frankie, never one to sit by quietly, cheered us along with words of encouragement and an occasional hug.
The bags did not last long with so many helping hands, and Mary had to leave to run her afternoon school bus route, but promised to be back on Wednesday with plenty of scissors and crochet hooks.
Wednesday is movie day at Franciscans Downtown, always a busy day, and with a great movie like Second Hand Lions it is sure to be a full house.
I am confident that a few of our guests from the secular and religious communities who attend will be attracted to this activity when they learn what Mary is up to and why.
Mary will be there at 12:30, the movie starts at 1pm, I hope you can join us.
sleeping mats for the homeless
http://wgntv.com/2016/09/13/bag-ladies-turn-plastic-bags-into-sleeping-mats/
http://abcnews.go.com/US/tennessee-church-group-turns-10000-plastic-bags-sleeping/story?id=42081989
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BiUC0iDQtkA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OJvbEjYqYiE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hU3uBCgMaNA
