And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in bands of cloth, and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.   Luke 2:7

In the midst of Christmas celebration it is easy to forget that there was no room for Jesus in the inn, that his birth took place in a shelter for animals, and that early in his life he was a refugee in Egypt to avoid the wrath of Herod. And, we all too often fail to recognize the families and children in our own communities that face homelessness and who have no place to call their own.

The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania ranks 14th in child homelessness, meaning more than 43,103 of our state's children experience homelessness each year. All it takes is the loss of a parent's job, a serious illness, a divorce, or a relocation that doesn't work out for a family become homeless. In fact, families are the fastest growing segment of our nation's homeless population, and 20% of children in America live in chronic poverty. The fact that any child goes to bed hungry and homeless in America is cause for lament.

Lower Susquehanna Lutherans are working ecumenically to provide solutions for homeless neighbors through Family Promise of Harrisburg Capital Region (FPHCR). Family Promise is a nonprofit agency-one of more than 170 affiliates in 41 states-serving families who recently lost their homes.

"This program addresses the root cause of hunger and poverty by helping families get back on their feet with the skills they need to break the cycle of poverty," says Bishop Jim Dunlop. "Most of our traditional shelters cannot accommodate families, so this program meets the needs of an underserved and growing population."

The program's success rate is a strong one: 75% of families in the program get back on track and are in their own homes in 90 days or less. Seven LSS congregations partner with 12 congregations of other denominations to support this critically important ministry.

"People who live in poverty are like everyone else," says FPHCR Director Chrissy Marshall. "They struggle with sticking to a budget, their kids forget their homework  until the morning it's due, they wonder if they are good at being parents and if they're doing enough for their kids, and they desire to make every wish their child has come true. They are not different from you and me."

Family Promise takes a comprehensive, cost-effective approach to eradicating homelessness. Host congregations provide on-site lodging, meals, and hospitality  for three to five displaced families at a time. Evening volunteers accompany the families by preparing, serving, and eating meals with them, helping with homework, providing breaks for weary parents, by simply being present with them.

"Helping people in poverty is caring for the least and the lost, caring for Jesus himself," says Marshall. "It's not always the most fun and can be challenging to give respect to and love people, but Jesus didn't say it would be easy or fun. He just told us to love. We encourage you to join this ministry-to roll up your sleeves and love."

The hub of Family Promise's operations is the Day Center, located in a house next door to and owned by Trinity Lutheran Church in Lemoyne. This house is "home base" for families. Here professional staff help adult family members revise resumes, get financial counseling, and look for affordable, permanent housing. A 15-passenger van makes transportation between host congregations and the day center possible.

"Our greatest needs are for congregational partners, financial support, and volunteers for our Day Center," says Marshall. "Congregational partners connect with a hosting congregation and provide all of the volunteer support without needing to have the floor space to host families. Volunteers at our Day Center typically answer phones and assist with administrative tasks, play with children, and help adults get items they need."

Currently, the ministry can serve only 10% of the referrals they receive. Daily costs for a displaced family range from $70 to $90, so Family Promise relies heavily on the generosity of individuals, congregations, businesses, and foundations to keep this important program functioning.

When asked what ultimate goals Family Promise hopes to accomplish, Marshall says, "Ideally, children and their parents wouldn't be homeless anymore. That is our ultimate goal. Realistically, because Jesus has told us that the poor will always be with us, we know that isn't possible. Therefore, we dream that every family can have a safe place to be, learn, grow, share, and live for a brief time until they are able to be self-sufficient."

"By feeding, housing, teaching, and accompanying homeless families, congregations are cooperating to do God's work in the greater Harrisburg area," adds Bishop Dunlop. "We are a church that believes Jesus is God's 'Yes' to us, and here is one way we can a 'yes' to our neighbors who hunger."

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Are you interested in learning more about how you or your congregation can be involved with Family Promise? Here are three contacts to get you started:

Chrissy Marshall, Family Promise Director, (717) 737-1100, fphcrdirector@gmail.com

Pastor Larry Hawkins (St. Michael, Harrisburg), Board President, (717) 234-0092

Pastor David Schreffler (Trinity, Lemoyne), Board Member  (717) 763-7555

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Note: Our Synod's World Hunger Committee recently conducted a survey of congregations to determine what kinds of hunger ministries congregations are engaged in and/or supporting. Responses were received from 77 congregations, and the variety and breadth of ministries is truly amazing. Look for more ministry highlights in the remaining weeks of Advent and throughout 2014. If your congregation is engaged in a ministry and you didn't yet respond to the survey, please share information with us. Contact either Cheryl Burns at cherylsburns@gmail.com or Pastor Sharron Blezard at sblezard@lss-elca.org.