Religion is so beset with controversy, divisiveness, scandal and conflict, and those who want nothing to do with organized faiths can make a pretty good case. And who hasnt looked from inside his or her chosen or life-assigned religion and wanted to try something else — or nothing at all?More free weekends, fewer assignments and meetings and less busywork. More money to spend on other things. Other places to put our energies.But most of know it isnt that easy. We can compile a list of the merits of being engaged in active religion, even with its warts, hypocrisy and human failings. In most cases, the religious wants and preferences of family members dictate what we can, in fact, do, and we stay put. Surely, organized religion gets high marks for its capacity to deliver good to others on a mass scale just because of the numbers who can band together out of a primal sense of compassion. Debi More of Red Mountain Christian Center in Mesa and its outreach coordinator to Church on the Street Ministry wrote us about what the church and the street ministry do for the homeless who live on Phoenix streets. Our church and three dedicated families have made a commitment to financially help Church on the Street quarterly, she said. When we went in August, there were about 150 men and women in need, she said. The volunteers brought a grill and cooked hamburgers for the people who typically get only hot dogs and beans. The team ran out after grilling and giving out 300 hamburgers. Going into Phoenix and being around the homeless is not for everyone, More said. It is a bit scary, but it is so rewarding. I cant even explain how good you can feel when you help someone who has nothing.She recalled living in Boston where she joined fellow church members in taking food and clothing to the homeless. Nights were bitterly cold. Sometimes you couldnt find all the regulars who came out, and we prayed that they were safe. But in our hearts, we knew that something probably had happened to them. The street people there, she said, resisted going to shelters because they had to sleep away from their belongings. Anything they owned would always be stolen and it WAS all they owned, More said.The volunteer acknowledged that many cant grasp how people wind up homeless. It comes in tormenting steps loss of a job, bills piling up, loss of apartment or home, separation from family. With no address, they cant get a job, she said. When you have nothing, you cant go for interviews because all you own in a T-shirt, a pair of jeans and a pair of sandals. In short order, the new homeless get down on themselves like this is what they deserve, More said. The pattern was marvelously laid out in the recent film, Pursuit of Happiness, starring Will Smith, she said.More noted that as she and other volunteers finished their last outing with Church on the Street, its administrator appealed to Red Mountain Christian Center to help come up with 300 to 400 meals for a Thanksgiving dinner on Nov. 17. We were honored for them to ask us, and, of course, we said, Absolutely!But how would we do this? More wonders. With the help of others, she concluded. We are looking for sponsors or contributors to help with the food, either monetary or donations of food. The church volunteer can be reached at debimore1@yahoo.com or (480) 205-2513.

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