The Harry Tompson Center is committed to providing a calm and caring environment in which to serve the needs of the poor and homeless in the downtown New Orleans area. The Center is dedicated to improving the quality of life for all those who come to us in need, not merely by responding to physical needs, but also by attending to the whole person with respect and compassion, after the example of Jesus.

We are Family

I'm getting really cheesy here-forgive me.  I've resorted to quoting the Jackson five.  But then again, if you've read any other entry, it's only in keeping with my style.

Nevertheless, the feeling is undeniable.  When I look out over the Center and see people laughing, talking, reading, and spending the day with one another, there is a feeling that comes over me that is hard to describe.  Since day one at the Center, I have walked into the Center feeling not once like I'm headed for "another day at the grindstone" but that excited feeling you get when you're about to spend quality time with your family. 

Of course, that's not to say we all get along perfectly.  I did, after all, compare them to family (and the Jackson family at that).   Sometimes we drive each other up the wall.  Sometimes our personalities clash like nails on a chalkboard.  But amidst all our faults and quirks and peculiarities, I believe that we are truly seeking to love one another.  Why else would we be here offering showers and laundry and a place to sit and enjoy the sunshine?  And most of the time, it's those very peculiarities that make the whole endeavor so worthwhile.  Because I'll tell you, I've never found myself amidst a more random, diversified, strangely beautiful mix of people in my life.  There's Spencer who every day awakens you with the most illuminous smile and booming salutation, alongside Russell who barely says a word but whose eyes twinkle up at you during as you pass him feverishly writing his poetry.   Lance is showing me his dream catcher art and explaining Indian medicine from his Nez Perce heritage, and a few moments later Julie is showing off her skills as a seasoned New Orleans second-line dancer.   One laundry basket fills with Thomas's paint-stained uniform, the next with handmaid pieces of Richard's brightly colored clown costume, and the next with food stains speckled over Tim's white chef coats.  Every single person with a unique and beautiful story to tell.

I'm grateful that we're here to listen.  because every day, new chapters of hope and joy and love are being written.  We come together as a new kind of family that cares deeply about one another despite (and often because of) our differences in walks of life, socio-economic backgrounds, religion, culture, hometown, personalities, ways of seeing God and the world.  We spend our days together sharing stories, dirty clothes, food, our hopes and dreams, our frustrations with New Orleans, our love of New Orleans. 

"To me, you are my brother," Terry wrote to my recently.   We couldn't have come from more different walks of life, but here in New Orleans, love and friendship makes all our blood flow purple and green in flecks of gold.

         

    
Dan Thelen 2008-07-29

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