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It's been a little over 5 months since I came to Open Table Ministry as a ministerial intern from Duke Divinity School and I had no idea what I was getting myself into. Homelessness is always something I’ve observed from a distance. I’m from Richmond, VA where one of the largest areas of concentrated poverty on the east coast of the United States is in our city. I grew up roughly 6 miles from this area and always felt like I had to “stay away” from that area. It’s easy to live comfortably and then pray from a distance, give from a distance, or even weep from a distance because we can’t imagine what life would be like without a home to sleep in. Open Table has given me a chance to shorten that distance. Christ shortened the distance by living nomadically. Luke’s Gospel reminds us that even the Son of Man had nowhere to lay his head while even foxes and birds have more places to sleep. I’m not saying give everything up and live without a home, but I am saying try shortening this distance by volunteering with us. Come and listen to the stories of the people who come and receive help. You’ll learn that we are not that much different than them. I can say my life has been enriched by a shortening of this distance, I hope yours can be enriched as well.

-Rajeev Tiwari (Ministerial Intern)

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