The pastor of Green Lake United Methodist Church, Pastor Lisa, authors a very eloquent blog which we have quoted from before.
Once again, Pastor Lisa has written a heartfelt post about a member of the Green Lake homeless community. You can read the entire post on her blog, “Pastor’s Page.”
Suicide at Greenlake during Holiday Season
It didn’t make headlines, probably because suicide is now a fairly everyday occurrence. It is sad to me to note that the United States ranks among highest in the world for depression and suicide.
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This person who took his life in November could have been related to anyone in our neighborhood.
The gentleman who committed suicide in November that I’m speaking of, Gerald, was homeless and the Women in Black held a vigil in his honor at city hall, as they do for all who die on the streets of Seattle in our homeless community. It seemed more than appropriate to stand in respect for this neighbor and so I headed down on this very cold Wednesday to stand with 7 other women and 2 men who were distributing information to remember Gerald and all those who pass on our streets. When I first arrived a man approached me who wanted to acknowledge that he knew Gerald and his dog, they had the same payee, and how much he appreciated us standing for him. He described Gerald as a very nice man, but very troubled, he felt he was finally at peace, Gerald was only 42. The man who spoke with me was also homeless, had slept outside the night before, a night where the temperatures dipped below 20 degrees. He came simply to say thank you for the prayers and the remembrance of a friend. The warmth of his heart, the depth of compassion to take the time to come down on that cold day touched me deeply. He and Gerald weren’t close, but he knew him, he cared. Those standing touched me as well, some homeless, some advocates, some clergy, old, young, dedicated. The men passing out information to passer-bys telling the story of those struggling on the streets to all who would hear were amazing as they engaged people of all types with warmth and dedication. It was a time of great caring and dedication.
The afternoon made me mindful of two great needs: for more outreach of compassion to those who are living with distress and depression who are living, and for the importance of memorializing all who pass from this world.
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The Remembrance Project in Seattle is a great effort from many wonderful advocates to ensure that folks like Gerald are remembered with dignity in a special setting. The City Parks department has approved a memorial planned to be in Steinbrueck Park, you can give by going to their web site: www.homelessnessproject.org . For those of us who’ve lost friends and loved ones who passed away homeless, we can have a place to remember, to pray, to know that in their depths, they are honored. We all need sacred space.
