Prodigal's Home :: Sunrise on a Saturday, Valentine's Eve

This morning we saw the sunrise as we made our way on Highway 101 to Prodigal's Home where sausage and pancakes are served up on behalf of homeless and homed alike, sharing breakfast together around many round tables on the big green lawn. Loco played his electric flute as people gathered and a blue bus came and went in two shifts to gather men and women living on the streets to share in this meal and a time of genuine community.

After a "grace" was said and sausage was served, I began to play songs that I could have only hoped would connect with an audience I've never shared life with in any other capacity. They welcomed me warmly, though, and seemed excited, surprised and even valued to have an artist come 2,000 miles from Minneapolis to share a gift of song with them. They clapped, smiled, gave thumbs up in appreciation. I was told they don't always do this.

They sang along between bites of pancake and toothless gums to traditional tunes Down by the Riverside and Amazing Grace. A woman who suffers from mental illness stood on the periphery with a beaming smile, eyes closed, head slightly tilted to the side, swaying back and forth to the rhythms. She seemed soothed and thoroughly delighted.

A wooden box nearby was for their quarters, dimes, pennies. None of the collection goes back to paying for the Prodigal's Home maple syrup, coffee or eggs. Last year, this community of men and women with little or no jobs and possibly no safe or comfortable place to lay their heads at night, collectively gave $5,000 for a cause entirely beyond themselves in Belarus. When the announcement about this was being made, they were on the edge of their seats and they clapped and cheered. We saw the dignity, hope, a sense of purpose and a sense that ALL can make a difference in our world.

In this time where some of the most unlikely dining companions all had a place of honor at the table, where songs were sung, mutual service and love where shared, I felt like I saw the sunrise again in the tired, worn eyes that surrounded me and I felt it rise among us from deep within our hearts.