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'If not for God's poor'

Chicago's homeless revitalize a struggling church

It's hard to see how the closing of a church door can lead to a multicultural ministry to feed the homeless, but that's just what happened in Chicago's Logan Square neighborhood.

First Lutheran Church was in decline when it embarked on a ministry to feed Sunday breakfast to homeless people from a nearby shelter. Now the congregation is slowly growing.

Rosaline Neace enjoys Sunday breakfast (inset) at First Lutheran Church in Chicago's Logan Square neighborhood.

"We have been saved by our friends from the shelter. We would have closed if it were not for God's poor," said Eardley Mendis, pastor. The homeless ministry has given the congregation a renewed sense of mission and purpose.

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