SOLES FOR SOULS
a Mychal's Message Project
New York City, 28 January 2003
Many of you have
asked about our day in New York City distributing the sneakers. Here is a
recap of our trip.
Counting the Sneakers and Packing Our Cars
We counted 650 pairs of new sneakers that were collected for the homeless
over the last three months, sent to us from all over the United States. And
we thanked God! The sneakers, or "soles" as we called them, were packaged
in white bags, each with a pair of socks and a prayer card and labeled by
size, "Souls for Soles, a Mychal's Message Project."
On Monday evening, January 27th, our cars were tightly packed with 450 pairs
of sneakers as we prepared to head into New Jersey where we would stay the
night before.
New York City
At 4:30 a.m. on Tuesday, January 28th, the alarm clocks rang, and our day
began. We dressed in layers with long johns and turtlenecks. We put toe
warmers in our shoes. It was less than 10 degrees outside. We thought
about the homeless and how cold it must be for them today. There were eight
of us all together.
By 6:15 a.m., we were on West 31st Street where homeless men and women had
already begun lining up for their free sandwich and coffee. We found
parking right in front of the church, as we always do ... thanks to a little
help from above. The homeless men and women couldn't help but notice us.
We were there for them, and they suspected that. One homeless man
approached us and asked if we were giving something away. He was elated
when we told him we were giving away new sneakers.
By 6:30, Father Cassian Miles greeted us. We gathered together and prayed,
praying for every man and woman who sent sneakers to us and for every man
and woman who would receive them. We ended our prayer with the very
appropriate, Mychal's Prayer, and prayed for Father Mychal's soul. Father
Cassian then blessed the sneakers, and we quickly began unpacking the cars
and organizing our packages by size along the sidewalk. Two homeless men
helped us carry these heavy bags full of sneakers from our cars.
By 6:45, Brother Tom Cole and Father Peter Brophy met us outside. Father
Peter, the pastor of St. Francis of Assisi Church, greeted us dressed in a
brown Franciscan cloak with a hood. My father remarked how this brought him
back to the time of St. Francis.
Before the Line began, several men approached us and asked us if we had
brought any gloves. It was so cold outside. We had about 50 pair - all
donated - and some warm fleece hats. They were grateful for the gloves and
hats. We could have given away 300 pair. Three men approached us and asked
us for coats - we had only 2. We offered them to two of the men, then
dressed the third in a Mychal's Message sweatshirt we had brought along with
us. They were all grateful.
We began walking along the Bread Line with a neon-yellow oaktag size chart
that Shannon had created by tracing sneakers. Whoever didn't know their
size could step onto the chart.
Promptly at 7:00, the Line began. We had people positioned at different
sizes. We had spent months planning and organizing how we could make this
work. It was working. One by one, each homeless man and woman shared their
size and was given a package of sneakers.
In the midst of the distribution, my mother remarked to a curious passerby
on his way to work ... "It just doesn't get any better than this!"
One woman approached us wearing a shoe on one foot and a plastic bag on the
other. She had only one shoe and was very grateful for a new pair of
sneakers.
We heard these words over and over from our homeless friends that morning
... "Thank you" ... "God bless you." Thank YOU and God bless YOU,
we thought.
Father Mychal was there. We felt his presence. He was with us, and we knew
it.
By 7:30, it was almost over. Most of the men and women had received their
sneakers and were gone. Some of them had gone down to Penn Station and sent
others. "We heard you're giving away new sneakers today!" was what we heard
from the grateful men and women who were quickly walking up the street to
where we were.
By 7:45, our cars were packed up again, and it was over. Everyone had
received their packages, their sandwiches and coffee ... and they were gone
... back into the streets.
We were invited back into the friary by Father Peter for some tea, coffee
and hot chocolate. We felt so welcomed by these Franciscan priests and
brothers, who we now gratefully call 'our friends.' We looked up at the
clock. It was 7:50 a.m. How quickly the Bread Line was over.
We left the friary and stopped in at the church. We visited the stained
glass window shrine and received Communion together. It all seemed so
fitting ... so appropriate.
We then got back into our cars and drove a few blocks to West 41st Street
where a homeless shelter was awaiting our arrival. There, too, homeless men
and women were gathered together. We began unpacking our cars again.
Within minutes, the remainder of our packages were given away.
In all, 450 "souls" benefitted from the "soles" we brought into New York.
Our morning wasn't quite over yet. There was one more stop to be made ...
Ground Zero. We'd been there before, but this day it seemed rather fitting
to end our morning there. A certain sadness fills the air above the hole
which now replaces the Twin Towers. We found Father Mychal's name on the
memorial wall and remembered his love for the homeless, for New York City
and for God.
Lord, take me where You want me to go. Let me meet who You want me to
meet. Tell me what You want me to say. And keep me out of Your way.
On To Our Next Project
According to my husband, Joe, the next project should be entitled "The
Seventh Day Project: A Day of Rest." So after we rest up a little (key
words, a little), we'll be on to the "Surprise Party" project
celebrating what would have been Father Mychal's 70th birthday this year
(May 11th).
My mother recently said, "our minds were on fire with ideas for the next
project before our cars had even left New York" last week. Watch the
website,
www.mychalsmessage.org, for more details.
God bless you all for your kindness and support.
Mychal's Message
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