Don

Don had been coming to The Bowery Mission for many years.  No one seems to remember the first time Don showed up, but he became a fixture at chapel services and meals.  Older than most of our guests at 68 years of age, Don could have easily slipped quietly in and out of our famous red doors.  Thanks to Pastor Reggie, though, no one goes unnoticed at The Bowery Mission and everyone is invited to make a long-term life change by entering our Discipleship Institute program.  Don’s alcoholism, unfortunately, kept him from saying “yes” to that invitation and so he remained homeless.  Still, Don could always come to The Bowery Mission when he needed a meal, a shower, or a place of refuge from the harsh streets.

Then Don went missing.  At first, Reggie didn’t think much of it.  It is not uncommon for our regular guests to “disappear” for a while, only to return to their regular pattern a couple of weeks later.  After three weeks, though, Reggie sent out an urgent prayer request to The Bowery Mission Chapel Ministry Team:  Don is missing.  Please pray.

Reggie didn’t stop there, though; he went looking for Don.  The police suggested that Reggie contact the city morgues.  Sure enough, after a round of telephone calls, that’s where Reggie found Don.  Don’s body was discovered alone on a Number 6 subway train in May.  Without family or friends to identify him, Don had been renamed “John Doe.”  His body was headed for “Potter’s Field,” a slip of land on Hart’s Island in the Bronx designated for the forgotten.  Don was to be buried in an unmarked grave.

Thanks to Reggie, Don would not suffer this anonymous and ignominious fate.  Compelled by his strong belief in the worth of every human life, no matter how broken or tragic, Reggie was determined to honor Don’s life.  Reggie contacted a funeral home to prepare the body.  He secured a burial plot from Catholic Charities.  He recruited longtime volunteers to cover the remaining costs and to send flowers to The Bowery Mission.

On Friday, June 16th, homeless men and women gathered in The Bowery Mission chapel at noon, just as they do every day.  On this particular day they found themselves at a funeral.  Reggie led New York’s homeless community in remembering and eulogizing one of their own.  The message was clear:  At The Bowery Mission, everyone matters.  Because of our belief in Jesus Christ, we will not leave the “least of these” behind.  Every life is worthy of dignity, a cause for hope, and an opportunity for redemption.

Soon after Don’s death, a man named Lino approached Reggie.  Lino was well-known to Reggie already.  Like Don, Lino had been coming to The Bowery Mission for years.  Like Don, Lino had repeatedly refused the invitation to join the Discipleship Institute.  Don’s death sharpened Lino’s focus.  This was a life-and-death issue.  Lino decided to take a leap of faith and choose life.  Lino left the street and entered the Discipleship Institute that day.


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