Enter the Cathedral Chruch of St. Paul’s basement at 9:30 on Tuesday morning. The space is full of people and while some are chatting and having something to eat, most are busy writing—about their experiences. Each has their own story, yet they share at least one common thread: they are all unhoused, transitional, or recently housed, and many are crafting contributions for The Pilgrim, a magazine lifting up the voices of Boston’s unstably housed with subscribers across the globe. This writing space, the Blackseed Writer’s Group, is guided by Atlantic staff writer and editor of The Pilgrim James Parker and has produced features that have been highlighted on public radio and The Atlantic.
The Writer’s Group is one of many offerings in the cathedral’s MANNA (Many Angles Needed Now and Always) Program aimed at empowering members of the unhoused community to discover their gifts, advocate for themselves, and connect with others and critical services. Emerging from the Monday Lunch Program that was established in 1985, MANNA has been offering programs for the unstably housed for 15 years—and has experienced a 35 percent increase in engagement since COVID.
Programs Run by and for the Community
Here is a window into a week in the MANNA program:
- 217 pounds of food are served weekly to hundreds who show for Monday lunch and other meals. Five partner parishes— St. Michael’s Milton, Christ Church Needham, Trinity Church Concord, All Saints Brookline, and St. John’s Newtonville—provide, prepare, and serve the hot meals alongside community “servant leaders.”
- Monday worship follows lunch, with members of the community serving as preachers, the altar guild, singers, prayer leaders, and lectors. The liturgy follows the Episcopal model although all are invited to worship in whatever way resonates. All are also invited to Sunday worship at the cathedral.
- Blackseed Writer’s Group Dozens show up each Tuesday to write and have their writing transcribed with the help of volunteers. Content has been published in more than 50 editions of The Pilgrim and 70 authors have had their works printed into broadsheets, allowing them to sell their work on the street and at readings regularly held at Brookline Booksmith and other locations.
- Recovery Group, recently started at the request of the community, led by the community, and facilitated by MANNA Community Coordinator Timothy Collingsworth, welcomes people recovering in all forms, from alcohol and drugs, to regaining a sense of oneself.
- Meditation on Tuesdays provides a quiet space of silence where people can lay down their burdens and center themselves in God. Once led by clergy, this space is now entirely led by community leaders.
- Psalm Singing Group, led by Cathedral Music Director Louise Mundinger, engages community members in a Psalm chanting workshop.
“We’re all looking for some place to belong,” says community participant Shan. “MANNA is that for me. Just when I think I am better or worse than anyone, I come here and remember we’re all the same, going through the same stuff. The general sense of camaraderie keeps me coming back.”
A Space of Continuity
“We aim to be the place of continuity for the unhoused and unstably housed community,” says Christie Towers, Program Director for MANNA. “One of our participants recently said, ‘I know you will always be here.’ We want everyone to feel that way—that this is a space where they are welcome, no matter what, and can connect with services that they need, with Healthcare for the Homeless, Pine Street Inn, and others regularly coming by. The program is somewhat unique among programs for the unhoused, with our deep focus on enabling participants to lead their community—having them determine what we are doing—and in the process experience their own gifts.”
As part of this effort, MANNA organizes trips to the State House so members of the community can advocate for the Homeless Bill of Rights and other relevant legislation, and recently helped community members contribute their thoughts to a letter that was sent to representatives.
Celebrating Together on Thanksgiving
On Thanksgiving day, the community will gather for a Thanksgiving meal, provided by the Jum’ah community, which has been partnering with the cathedral for 25 years, and the Blackseed Café. Fill out the forms in the following links if you would like to contribute a pie or volunteer to help at the event.
For more information about MANNA or to offer your gifts in supporting the unhoused community, reach out to Christie at ctowers@diomass.org.
WHERE DOES IT GO? by Avi M., aka The AVATAR, published in The Atlantic
thinkin on the many times I near singed both of my feet
drinkin milkshakes, any kitchen, binged on decks with Kelis
sinkin in, that subtle itchin, hinged on valves for release,
tinkerin with thermostats, switchin to dad: conserve heat
Oh now, here we go, holdin on for the ride,
tryin to keep breakfast down, time to swallow my pride
I’d prefer it if you didn’t press my pass to imbibe
Coercion is, in sum, a very bad vibe
Hum all you truly meant, to change the air in the room
is it the summer of your discontent, a son light, on fumes
say true, shove gentle into that good strong doom
so long, I row with Eliot, my whimpers go boom
come now