On Sunday I attended the National Homeless Persons’ Memorial Day service at St. Peter’s Episcopal Cathedral on 4th Street in St. Petersburg. The memorial was one of four happening simultaneously to commemorate the 12 people who died homeless in Pinellas County this year.
Across the aisle from me sat a woman in pink with a rolling suitcase at her feet. Her hands were trembling and she seemed to be crying, though her face showed no signs of pain. I’ll come back to her in a minute.
The Very Reverend Stephen B. Morris cleared his throat nervously, beckoned for one deacon, murmured something in her ear. The Salvation Army brass quintet began to play. People tattered and well-kept trickled through the wooden doors. Soon, almost every pew was full. Reverend Morris welcomed the congregation.
“One of the blessings of being downtown, in an urban setting like this cathedral, is that we get to spend a lot of time with the homeless,” he said.
The man sitting in front of me hollered amen. His green sweatshirt was faded, his beard untrimmed.
“There are people who die in our midst simply because they are sick and cold,” Reverend Morris paused. “Sick and cold?”
This article appears in Dec 23-29, 2009.