(“Brick of the Day” idea shamelessly stolen from MadPriest)
Pastor Bob Book of the Church of the Common Ground in Atlanta, GA, and his wife scrub the feet of three dozen homeless men every Monday, based on the concept of Jesus washing his disciples’ feet, with such pedicures including a soak, pumice-rubbing, nail-trimming, and massage, topped off by a clean pair of socks. Book says his crusade makes the down-and-out feel more confident, and the “worst ongoing” threat, according to him, is not Satan in men’s minds but fungus in their toes. “It eats away and destroys the toenails and just makes it very hard for people to walk.” [The State (Columbia, S.C.)-AP, 1-22-09]
I found this in “News of the Weird” today. However, it is not weird. It is a ministry of the most basic kind: loving one’s neighbour as oneself. There are other similar ministries, such as the one here in the UK which does nothing but give gloves to people who are sleeping rough and have nothing to keep their hands warm, and another similar one which gives out socks. There are lots of places for homeless people to get food, basic clothing, counseling, a place to doss down at night. There are very few places where a homeless person can get their feet tended to. And, after all, many homeless people are on their feet for hours a day, going to the various places they need to go to for their basic life needs.
Wouldn’t you know it, when I did a websearch for the Church of the Common Ground, and found its website, it’s a ministry of the Episcopal Church.
For actually living out the Biblical imperative to love one’s neighbour as oneself, I say that The Rev’d Bob Book, his wife, and the other people involved in the Church of the Common Ground, are my personal
BRICKS OF THE DAY!