This week a guitar came in Church of the Reconciler’s mail. It wasn’t for our worship music ministry. It was for Jennifer, who recently signed up to get her mail at the church. She was so excited to pick up her guitar when she checked her mail at the church office. “It’s not much, just a cheap 50 dollar guitar,” Jennifer said, “but without a way to play music, I can get really lost in the world.” Of course, we invited Jennifer to open the box and play a little music in the office. She tuned her guitar while playing and singing “Amazing Grace.”
Jennifer’s guitar is just one example of life-changing mail that comes to our church for people who don’t have a mailing address of their own. Our mail ministry, allowing people who are unhoused use the church address for their mail, is one of our longest running acts of service to our community. This ministry is an important resource for our members, and it is a helpful point of contact for us to stay close with our members and broader community. As our staff and volunteers sort the mail, we think of the faces and stories behind the names on each envelope. We notice when someone hasn’t come to check their mail in a while and try to find out where they are. We catch up with members who are checking their mail and pray for them.
The mail ministry helped me get to know the people of our church. When I first started serving here, I was daunted by all that I did not know. I did not know what the important resources in our city were for the unhoused. I did not know how to find safe affordable housing. I did not know the requirements of the local shelters. I did not know how to access addiction recovery. I did not know where to turn if people lacked healthcare or mental health resources. I loved answering the office door and checking mail for someone because it was an easy win. I simply opened the right drawer, checked a name off the list, and made someone’s day by handing them the envelopes with their name on the front. Doing this, I got to meet so many members of our church and learn their names and a little bit of their story. Whereas some pastors struggle to track church members down for a meeting over coffee, I could just wait for them to show up and ask for their mail.
If you’re like me, perhaps you check your mail twice a week and move a bunch of junk mail directly from the mailbox to the recycling bin. At Church of the Reconciler, however, our mail carrier delivers vital communications and resources for a couple hundred individuals. Food Stamps cards, social security and disability benefits, letters from members in prison, family communications, state identifications, birth certificates from around the country. Recently United Healthcare sent out premium rebates, and many of our members were delighted to receive that unexpected monetary blessing. In the aftermath of the covid-19 pandemic, hundreds of people received their stimulus checks here at the church.
Our ministry of mail is more than just giving people an address. It is providing an entry point to relationship and community where people belong. I remember the excitement of first getting mail “at my own place” when I had moved out of my parents’ house. It is hard to imagine the feeling of not having an address, not having a place to land, not having a place where people know that I will be. At Church of the Reconciler, we work with our members toward gaining their own safe housing, but while they don’t yet have that, we love being a place where everyone can be on the map. Everyone can put their name on this location and use the church as a launch point for connection.*
The mail ministry is a great opportunity for volunteers to connect with our church and members. The office stays busy with people who want to check their mail. I know that many of them are waiting for something important like the hard copy of their state ID or communications from Social Security, but often people just knock and ask for their mail to be checked because they want to connect, be seen, talk about their favorite sports team or something beautiful they saw that day. We would love for you to help with this connect with our members by checking their mail. Email us with questions or to schedule a visit. You never know what stories or songs you will hear at our mail desk.
* We do actually have a process of enrolling people in mail here. It’s pretty simple, but you’ll need a form of photo ID. If you’re reading this and need a place to get your mail in Birmingham, be sure to come sign up before you have something sent here. We can’t wait to meet you.