Advent Devotional – Wednesday, Dec. 1

Author: Brittany Fiscus-van Rossum

1 Thessalonians 3:9-13

Reflection: v. 12, ‘love for one another and for all’

In our modern cultural context the Advent and Christmas season has become a time that many of us gather with family and friends. We have cozy Christmas parties with treats and presents at work, at home, and at church. We participate in seasonally themed activities curated to give us warm fuzzies and fond memories. We fill our calendar with visits to see the people we love. Of course there is nothing wrong with any of these practices, particularly as such festivities can evoke that ever-wonderful feeling of the love we have for one another. However, I would challenge the Christian community to remember in this season of preparation and anticipation, that the love we are called to is for more than just our inner-circle. The love we are called to is for more than just our close family and friends. The love we are called to is for more than just our neighborhood, our church, our company, or our country. In his letter to the Thessalonians, Paul implores the early church to remember to abound in love for one another, yes, but also to abound in love for all. This Advent season as we are tempted to nestle into the comfortable patterns of loving our own nearest and dearest, may we be challenged to love in deeper ways too. May we be challenged to love when it is hard and feels little like warm fuzzies. May we be challenged to love when it is different and requires solidarity, empathy, and understanding. May we be challenged to love when it asks of us and requires us to think beyond the scope of our inner-circle of existence. Love can look like many things, but the love of God that we anticipate and pray for in this season is a love that is for all of us.

Prayer May our love overflow beyond just those we know.

Lent – Wednesday, March 24

Author Brittany Fiscus-van Rossum

Reflection: v.8 ‘let me hear joy and gladness’

Joy, gladness, and fun are essential to living a well-rounded and healthy life. Just as human beings need sustenance, clean water, oxygen, and shelter they also need community, healthy relationships, and opportunities to relax and enjoy themselves. Human beings deserve happiness—in fact, God wants it for us! Human beings also deserve such joy, rest, and healthy communities of support when they happen to be without housing.

Something that has always confounded me is this biased and privileged notion that people experiencing homelessness only deserve resources and not relationships.

As if ‘housed people’ are allowed to have church communities, relationships, and hobbies, but people living on the streets cannot—it’s classist plain and simple. I see it in the way churches prioritize connecting people to resources without also forming long-term relationships of inclusion. I see it in the way people only want to hear ‘success stories’ of people being ‘rescued’ from the streets but are less eager to hear about our friends who never seem to reach that opportunity. We place values on achievement and forget the importance of being with and valuing people no matter where they are. One of the things I have always appreciated the most about worshiping at Mercy (even before I became a pastor here) was that it was a place where people could come and be themselves and get to know others—we try our best to build a beloved community with no strings attached, no questions asked, no ID required. It’s not a program—it’s a church. I believe that God wants joy and community for us no matter what is going on in our lives. Do I believe that housing and shelter are essential? Heck yeah. But are we valuable and worthy of relationship even when we aren’t in housing? Yes! Does God love and value our lives and want joy for us even when we’re without housing? Absolutely. So why don’t our churches?

Prayer Lord, help our communities to reflect your beloved community. Help us to seek joy with one another!

Lenten Devotionals are Coming Soon!

Our community is currently hard at work finishing this year’s Lenten devotionals! Every year, our community works collaboratively–studying scripture, writing, and creating art to guide you through the season of Lent and Holy Week. Our devotionals include daily reflections and prayers as well as original art created by our community members. We think of this beautifully crafted group-project as a gift to our loved ones and supporters. But it is also an important way that we get to share the thoughtful stories and insightful theology coming out of our community as we continue to work, serve, and build community alongside one another every day on the streets of Atlanta.

Don’t Miss Out!

If you would like to join in this year, there are a variety of ways. We’ll be posting each devotional daily on Facebook and our website. We also mail out beautiful printed versions (for free!)–just send your mailing address to cooper@mercyatl.org and we’ll send you one! If you would like to share our devotionals with your church, family, or other group we can order you printed copies in bulk or send you a digital version to share. For more information on these options, please email cooper@mercyatl.org

On Martin Luther King, Jr.

Martin Luther King Jr. is one of the prophets of our community–anytime we study the biblical prophets or discuss what it means to be ‘prophetic’ our community thinks of Dr. King. We made this video two years ago as an opportunity for our community members to share their thoughts and insight, as well as bear witness to the life of someone whose embrace of nonviolence in his public ministry remains an inspiration for our work.

Typically, for Martin Luther King Day our community would spend the day together in worship, work, and study–learning from Dr. King’s and others powerful stories and sharing some of our own. While we won’t be hosting groups or holding a big celebration this year, our community will still spend the day together doing what we do best–creating hospitality for one another (even in this cold!), sharing food, learning and listening, and singing songs of freedom together.

We hope you enjoy our video and the powerful voices of our community!

Christmas Day – December 25

Author: Brittany Fiscus-van Rossum

Isaiah 52: 7-10

Reflection: v. 7, ‘How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of the messenger who announces peace, who brings good news, who announces salvation’

When my daughter Emi was born, a flurry of texts went out to family and friends—the fast-footed digital messengers announcing the joyous good news of her anticipated arrival. The after-experience of birth was quite different for poor displaced Mary and Joseph, but I can still imagine the delight they must have felt to cradle their new baby as angelic messengers announced the coming of our salvation to shepherds. Today we celebrate that Christ has come, and we are invited to embrace that good news and share in the joy of it. And no, Christmas tidings do not mean that everything will suddenly be easy or okay now. Even as God’s own messengers proclaimed peace and salvation on the day of Christ’s birth, the powers that be were already plotting our sweet Savior’s demise. For love incarnate will always challenge the ways of the powerful and privileged and the work of bringing peace never ends. As we near the close of this uniquely challenging year, we too are faced with the task of holding in tandem our Christian hopefulness and the unavoidable reality of the difficulties and work still yet to come. Yet the truth of God’s good news is no less actual for we who have waited for it. Though it is not always as we expect it, God still comes and love still prevails. The messenger has arrived, proclaiming peace and good news! It may not always feel like it, but our salvation has indeed come, so let us celebrate—and then get to work.

Prayer Today, O Lord, help us to find joy in your anticipated arrival. Tomorrow, help us to get to your work!

Wednesday, December 23

Author: Chaun Pinkston

Romans 16:25-27

Reflection : v.25, ‘God who is able to strengthen you’

Life is a series of choices, and some choices are easier to make than others. One of the most recent decisions I had to make was deciding to go back to school for a Master’s degree in Divinity. As a wife and mother of three, the youngest a seven-year-old, and already having a full-time career, this was not an easy decision. On the surface, the timing was not right. I could not see how I would accommodate the challenge of school and the demands of my everyday life, but I could not ignore God’s leading. I chose to pursue my degree, and somewhere amidst the uncertainty, God settled my heart. I believe that God has a way of working beneath the surface in our lives—deep within the depths of our hearts, leading and guiding us. Our current circumstances can seem chaotic. Our hearts and minds can be restless, unsure of the future, but nothing is chaotic to ‘he who is able to establish you.’ God can settle an uncertain heart and give peace to a restless mind. I have been in my program for almost three months now, and I am grateful that God led me to Emory and to Mercy Community Church. My life has been enriched by all the beautiful souls I have the privilege of sharing community with. God has not only equipped me with grace to excel in my program, but God has also gifted me with greater hope for the future. The message here is to pursue your hopes, dreams, and goals despite the voices of fear and doubt, to reach beyond your capabilities because you have a purpose. Place your trust in God to whom you belong. God will establish you.

Prayer God, give us the courage to go where you have called us!

Tuesday, December 15

Author: Holly Reimer

1 Thessalonians 5:16-24

Reflection: v. 21, ‘Examine everything carefully’

Paul is speaking here to the larger Thessalonian community, not just to one or some, but to all. Community is a word pregnant with meaning and theology, particularly as we seek and examine faith and faithfulness. We learn from other people. We need other people. Two of the things I love most about Mercy are the community itself and our community-led Bible studies. In my weaker more vulnerable moments, I like to tell myself that I don’t need other people, that being an introvert works for me and I’d be good by myself. This is a lie! We live in such a driven, individualistic culture that we intrinsically believe we don’t need each another. During one of our recent Bible studies, a member stood up to share the importance of community in his life and as he works on his recovery and as he seeks to find a stronger faith for himself. He said, ‘I need this community.’ He is not alone. We all need community—and not just for resources, like food and clothing, but for connection and encouragement. The other thing I love most about Mercy are our community-led Bible studies. It is here where we can examine everything carefully. This becomes a space where we can bring our questions, and sometimes even challenge one another. Scripture comes alive for me in the context of my community, and I am able to see who God is and what God says more clearly.

Prayer Lord, thank you for community. Thank you for places, spaces, and people who can encourage and challenge us. May we continue to examine your word faithfully. Amen.

A Meditation on the Life and Death of the Beloved Frederick Baker

By: Rev. Brittany Fiscus-van Rossum

I can say with confidence that Frederick Baker was someone who knew joy.  One of my first memories of Frederick is of him loudly and unabashedly singing praise to God during worship, proclaiming Hallelujah over and again, with hands raised, eyes closed, and an open-mouthed smile spread across his face. Frederick also liked to dance. Sometimes when our community was making music together, Frederick would stand and sway, and snap and sing along to the beat—a perfect exclamation of joy and praise. Frederick was like that—it was almost as if grace just burst forth from him and you might even have some land on you by accident. Most conversations I had with Frederick usually began with his exuberant drawn-out ‘heeeey, guuuurl!’ followed by some sincere compliment of my new hair or nail color or how beautiful my daughter was growing up to be. Frederick noticed things and was never ashamed to share a warm affirmation or offer a gesture of affection. Frederick could always make you feel genuinely good about yourself.

Despite his kind and often joyful demeanor, Frederick did not have an easy life. He struggled with long-term serious health issues and did not always receive or even seek the care he desperately needed. He was often in and out of the hospital. Alongside my pleasant memories of a cheerful Frederick are other memories of him wasting away before my eyes, wheelchair-bound, weak, and still sleeping on the streets. I have an image of Frederick I cannot erase from my mind, small and shivering, sitting in our old basement space, using my phone to make call after call. He was desperate, fatigued, and confused. Frederick had loving family members and friends who cared about his well-being. Over the years he had a number of case workers and health care providers who sought wellness for him too. I believe it is true that while many an individual cared after Frederick, it is also true that our systems are not designed to watch out for him or care for him in his particular vulnerabilities.

Despite the sobering truth that Frederick did not always have his basic needs met—the basic needs that should be afforded to any and every human being bearing the image of God—I find some small comfort in knowing that Frederick experienced a life of joy, companionship, and love. Frederick was not only loved by his creator and his family, but also by many others. There was seldom a time that I saw Frederick without his long-time partner (and often care-giver) John ‘Rambo.’ John almost exclusively referred to Frederick as ‘Sweetie’ and would light up at any opportunity to share a funny anecdote about their relationship. John also did the faithful and difficult every-day work of loving and caring for Frederick.

Frederick ‘Sweetie’ Baker was loved and will be deeply missed by our community. His life mattered. Like all of us, Frederick was a beautifully complex human being, and it was only in community that I was blessed to know him as such. That is one of the graces of community. Community allows us to see one another, value one another, and love one another, not by the measures of this world, but as we truly are—beloved. What an honor it is that Frederick found hospitality and home among our little community—we were blessed to know him and I trust that he is singing his exuberant Hallelujahs with Christ even now.

Frederick and John together at Mercy Church

Make Me a Christian in my Heart: A Meditation on the Life and Death of Bobby Lee, Child of God

Make Me a Christian in my Heart:
A Meditation on the Life and Death of Bobby Lee, Child of God
By: Chad Hyatt

Every single human life matters, and no life should be treated as though a gift so precious is disposable. This is the truth of Christianity. 

Alas, if we were only truly Christian.

We are not called to work a calculus that weighs some against others. We are not servants of the greater good. It is not our job to see the bigger picture but to look compassionately upon the human face in front of our own. Our systems are deeply broken—and perhaps worse than broken, if we tell the truth. 

Who is more at risk in this pandemic but those in our community who are already the most vulnerable? And the risk isn’t random. This disease disproportionately affects the elderly, the poor, and people of color. Our national sins of racism and greed and indifference are deeply entrenched in all of our systems and institutions, largely abandoning those who have already been marginalized.

Some suggest that opening the economy is worth a few deaths. It isn’t. This is the same twisted logic that makes two white men presume that they can shoot a black man jogging down a neighborhood street with impunity. I suspect those men did not think that they would be held accountable—because our broken systems accord more value to the lives of some than others. Such diabolical logic is deeply anti-Christian.

I may be a preacher, but I am not holier-than-thou. Probably I’m less holy than most. If I was only truly Christian, I have to confess. But my prayer for us in these troubled times can be found in the words of an old song: Lord, make me a Christian in my heart. 

Bobby Lee showed me how to be a Christian in my heart.

Bobby sat in the back, like a lot of us do in church. But he was always out front when it came to serving others. He would forever try to hide his face when we were taking photos in the community, preferring obscurity to the bright flash of the camera’s glare. But Bobby shone like a radiant light through his unassuming, steady presence with us and his quiet, humble work for God. Bobby Lee showed me how to be a Christian in my heart.

His sister called and asked what I thought his favorite church song was. I suggested the one that talks about waking up every morning with a mind ‘stayed on Jesus.’ Bobby lived his life that way. He was always the first to lift his hands in prayer. He would pray for us to keep the ‘doors of the church open’ so that those of us ‘outside’ would have a welcome and safe place to go. And even through this pandemic, we have kept those doors that Bobby prayed for open. Bobby Lee showed me how to be a Christian in my heart.

Bobby also knew that keeping your mind ‘stayed on Jesus’ meant not just ‘talking the talk’ but ‘walking the walk.’ And Bobby lived his life like that, too. Every day that we went down the street taking a meal to share with our sisters and brothers, Bobby would go with us, pushing a cart of hot soup or home-made sandwiches. He even went faithfully with our partners from Oak Grove UMC who serve the meal each Friday. Bobby had housing of his own. But on the coldest nights, he would still spend the night with his community in our emergency shelter. Bobby understood the integral connection between loving Jesus and loving human bodies, especially if they were sick or cold or hungry. He not only talked about Jesus. Bobby walked like Jesus walked, loving and giving himself for the well-being of his neighbors. Bobby Lee showed me how to be a Christian in my heart.

Bobby was also honest. ‘People can just be so aggravating, you know? I can’t stand all that aggravation,’ he said on more than one occasion. His favorite expression after sharing a prayer or a comment in a Bible study was ‘I just wanted to get that off my chest.’ This man who touched so many lives through his prayer and works of mercy nonetheless didn’t like to be physically touched. He could occasionally get his hackles up when someone was ‘getting on his nerves,’ and we might have to step in to calm things down. But human beings are wonderfully complex and unique. That is how God made us. And we are just as beloved on our bad days as we are on our good days. Those good days are the ones where the image of God within us shines through our humanity most clearly and grants us a gracious glimpse of the loving God whose likeness we bear. It wasn’t hard to see God in Bobby. Bobby Lee showed me how to be a Christian in my heart.

Bobby always reminded us of our own mortality and that our lives on this earth draw inevitably toward a close, breath by precious breath. It is ironic that we refuse to talk about death, even though we live in a culture full of violence and death—especially for the poorest among us. But Bobby wasn’t ashamed to talk about death. It is hard to write now, but he would often say, ‘One day, I’m going to be six-feet under. I want to be looking up, not down. I want to be with the Man Upstairs.’ And he is—of that I have no doubt. As fully as he lived it, Bobby knew this life wasn’t all that we could count on. He knew that the God who values every single human life valued his too and claimed him as a child of God beyond the grip of death. Even to the end, Bobby Lee showed me how to be a Christian in my heart.

So rest in peace, child of God, and breathe easy, Bobby Lee, in the glorious light of the Lord. Your work here is done, my brother, but the light of your love for Jesus and for each one of us continues to illumine our way in this world.

The Church is Not a Building…but buildings sure are nice for sheltering the poor among us in a pandemic.

By: Brittany Fiscus-van Rossum

I get it: our defiantly hopeful need as Christians to remind ourselves this year as our church buildings sit empty through the Easter season that the church of Jesus Christ is not, nor ever has been, the building in which we worship. And theologically, I agree whole-heartedly with this bold and true assertion: the body of Jesus Christ is made up of beloved human beings and cannot be reduced to any one place where those humans gather. From the day the once-mourning women stumbled from an empty tomb, to the early days of our faith when scared yet defiant followers met in catacombs, homes, and upper rooms, it is markedly “Christian” to experience worship outside an immaculately decorated sanctuary. The tomb is empty, the sanctuary is empty—we’re being faithful in this unprecedented time. I get it.

I get it, and yet if I am bold enough to be honest, something about these prolific church-is-not-a-building assertions rang a little hollow for me this Easter season. This probably sounds absurd coming from a pastor whose congregation rents our space and doesn’t even own a building of our own, but I did not find comfort in this particular self-reassurance. Because, yes, while the assertion is true, buildings sure are nice when you believe the work of the church is to shelter the poor and homeless, cook food for the hungry, and care for the sick and hurting.

To be the church that does what Jesus taught us to do is to have room to spread out—bathrooms, a stove, a fridge, a storage freezer, and busy working hands. This church is incarnational, embodied, and it takes up and uses space. The church may not be a building, but Jesus sure did teach us how we might utilize one. So, what are we to do when the faithful way to protect some of us is to shut those buildings’ doors? The answer cannot be to merely assure ourselves with Facebook proclamations, “well, the church wasn’t the building anyway!”

 For those of us at Mercy Church this process has been an exhausting and ongoing journey of discernment. Hear me say, I know it has been difficult for all of us and ranking congregational struggles is not a competition in which I would willingly partake. But I do believe our community was faced with some unique and specific challenges when the resounding word became “stay home.” Because, you see, the majority of our congregation does not have a home. 

 As a church congregation (not a separate mission or service organization—but as the church itself) our community serves one another nine meals a week. We share clean and dry clothing with one another. We give access to space that allows some of us the only place in the neighborhood where we can go to the restroom and wash up indoors. Our worship space is used to shelter from the rain, heat, and chill—the only place to be indoors for a little while to get some rest without being told to move along. Our “sanctuary” can be a place to charge your phone or if you do not have one, the only place to connect with others who have information about what is happening around you. We not only disseminate nourishment, but vital information about how to stay safe and well.

 As more knowledge about the severity of the virus became available and “flatten the curve” joined the collective vernacular, for us, each day became an intense brainstorming session about how to best keep our community safe, fed, well, and informed. Every day we were troubleshooting and creating new “best practices.” Every day we were reaching out to our medical professional partners begging them for recommendations and information. We had to ask ourselves and others we trusted “how do we keep our community safest?”  How do we keep our community safest, not just from the virus, but from hunger, misinformation, violence, the elements, and ostracization? How do we safely cope with our growing numbers as other services for the homeless grind to a halt or shut down? Is the city doing anything to respond to these concerns? What must we do in the meantime for those we claim as our brothers and sisters in Christ?

 If I can once again be so bold as to be brutally honest, the process of daily discerning, researching, and seeking advice not only made me exhausted, but sometimes it left a bitter taste in my mouth. Every time I got online, I saw the active, vibrant conversations of my colleagues in ministry about Zoom calls and online worship—new opportunities for exciting creativity, partnership, and collaboration—and for a time I felt alone in our work. Important though those conversations were, few of them seemed relevant to meeting my congregation’s needs. For us it was never as simple as imagining worship in a new way or staying connected on a different platform (important as those things are), it was about how to keep our congregation connected to essential resources they depend on and need to survive. I became exceedingly frustrated with comfortably middle-class friends’ “stay home if you’re a good Christian” Facebook posts (flavored with the predictable amount of ‘I’m woker-and-more-intelligent-than-thou’ judgment). And while yes, for many of us, staying home is the faithful response, let us not be decidedly oblivious to all the poor people out there for whom “staying home” is not a moral prerogative.

 Fortunately, God only ever tolerates my self-righteous bitter thinking for so long, before revealing the gifts of grace and inspiration that surround me. Something I have long believed about Mercy Church is that we do not do the work we do alone, and that has been revealed now more than ever. First and foremost, what we do is by the grace of God, but it is also through an abundance of faithful partners and friends. Though our challenges felt unique and scary, others were there to faithfully help. Countless friends and volunteers stepped up to say, “what do you need?” sending cleaning supplies and hand sanitizer, paper products and canned goods, making us food and sewing us masks, praying for us, and supporting us monetarily. My pastor friends reached out and asked, “how is your community doing? What can we do to help?” Our longtime friends at Druid Hills Presbyterian Church opened up even more of their space to us, allowing us to serve more food and give access to bathrooms safely, and helped us partner with Love Beyond Walls to get an outdoor sink on their property. Our friends at St. John’s Lutheran Church gave us an open invitation to use their kitchen and other space for any of our needs in the current crisis. Maurice Lattimore from Feet on the Streets Ministry showed up each morning to help us serve and clean and sanitize. Together, and yes, with a lot of tireless work and commitment on our own part, we could do this: we could safely care for our community even in a pandemic.

I soon learned of other individuals and ministries creatively answering Jesus’ call to be present to those on the margins—to remember those without homes in which to shelter—and I felt reinvigorated and even hopeful in the work we do together as the church. The church is not a building, no, but I’m exceedingly grateful to Druid Hills Presbyterian and St John’s Lutheran, who share theirs with the poor. The church is not a building, but it does take up space: it needs a place for its people to wash hands, to sleep, to eat, and to shelter. The church is not a building, but buildings sure are nice for sheltering and caring for people in a pandemic. So, I give thanks. I give thanks for the spaces we can still safely utilize for cooking, cleaning, caring, and distributing. I give thanks for the incarnational acts of human bodies sharing goods, makings masks, cooking soups, and bending knees in prayer for the poor among them. I give thanks and I pray that our beautiful and diverse body of Christ will continue to creatively seek God’s guidance on how most faithfully to use our sacred spaces long after this pandemic has passed. I pray that when all our doors are joyfully and safely reopened, we will not take for granted the physical spaces we are blessed with and will share them with the poor with gratitude and abandon. Maybe one day God will even see fit for Mercy to have its own building to share—more miraculous things have happened. But in the meantime, I’ll be thankful for embodied grace, for creative resilience, for community in the many forms it can take, for knowledgeable and generous partners, for weary and loving pastors masked and gloved, for the tireless work of so many Christ-followers, and for buildings… when they’re empty and when they’re graciously shared.