Not Home. Come Home.
2025 Lenten Reflections
ANGLICANS ON THE STREETS
Illustration by Eunice Sunmie Derksen
ANGLICANS ON THE STREETS
Throughout Lent, we will highlight Anglicans across North America who are doing the work of bringing HOME to those who need it most. At the Matthew 25 Initiative, we regularly tell the stories of these practitioners through a video series called "Anglicans on the Streets." If you would like to learn more about this series and how Anglicans are serving as Jesus' hands and feet among the vulnerable, you can watch these videos here.
Meet Gary Moorehead
If Gary Moorehead could be introduced using a song lyric, “I’ve been everywhere, man,” would be his. Gary’s former addresses include Ohio, Northern Ireland, England, Canada, Afghanistan, and most recently, Boston. So it is only fitting that a man who has changed the location of his home so frequently would also be a man so committed to the care of refugees.
Gary is the Founder and Director of Kataluma, a migration hospitality ministry located in the greater Boston area. According to their website, Kataluma is a “very old Greek word which refers to a guest lodge or guest room where visitors can lay down their load, be fed, sit for conversation, sleep, and prepare for the next stage of their journey.” This definition sums up their mission, vision and ethos.
“Angels May Show Up”
Most Christians could give you the biblical reasons for why immigration care is so important to God – such as Exodus 22, where God’s children were reminded that they were once “foreigners,” or that Christ himself had "no earthly home" (Matthew 8). And probably many will quote the first part of Hebrews 13:2, which calls us to “show hospitality to the stranger.” Gary would agree with all of these, but, laughing, he’ll remind you of another, less frequently quoted reason, referencing the second half of Hebrews 13:2: “Because, you know what? Angels might show up! You never know!”
Though he says this with a smile, he is actually quite serious – and the thought is profound: “God has this huge project, you know? To reunite a divided, fractured world.” Gary continues, “And this includes the supernatural and material world.” Care for the refugee isn’t just a nice thing to do. It is deeply connected to God’s plan of redemption for the entire universe – physical, and spiritual. The holy act of hospitality is key to the church demonstrating God’s “kingdom come” in all its facets.
A Kataluma gathering to celebrate the "Magi Feast" for Epiphany. Three amazing cakes represented the three gifts of the Magi and were enjoyed over a retelling of the Holy Family's flight to Egypt.
The Hardest Aspect of Refugee Ministry
The reality of living in a physical world means that Kataluma has physical and practical needs – such as administrative tasks, fund-raising, and other “house-keeping” types of jobs. And alongside these daily realities, sometimes the greater systemic inefficiencies can bog things down and waste time. “It’s a serious drag,” Gary says candidly. Navigating complex political dynamics and administrative red-tape can easily make Gary and Kataluma’s volunteers feel frustrated, irritated, and downright disheartened.
The Best Part of Refugee Ministry
While the reality of living in a physical world involves tangible needs that sometimes feel insurmountable, there is also a profoundly positive flip-side to this physical existence. At Kataluma, the volunteers and refugees know how to gather together and feast. And in these gatherings, Gary and his team can see glimmers of the eternal.
“We get amazing food and we feast together. We talk, we pray, we get to know each other.” Gary recounts these events with joyful enthusiasm. “It’s a time of real connection. Sometimes spontaneous singing happens! Kids are playing. It is profoundly symbolic, but it's more than symbolic – it’s substantial. We're actually breaking bread together.”
These feasts, for Gary, the volunteers, and the refugees they serve, are a glimpse of heaven – of the physical and spiritual redemption that is to come when our longing for “Home” becomes a true reality.
A Kataluma gathering to celebrate Thanksgiving.
Call to Connect: Do you work with migrants?
A big part of what M25i does is pray for you, learn from you, and connect with you and others doing similar work. We regularly host virtual events with practitioners who "get it" with the goal of equipping and sustaining each other in this work. We look forward to hearing from you!
Give
Your Lenten almsgiving helps bring HOME to the “not home” by supporting the work of practitioners like Joel Siebersma. Would you consider a gift this Lent to the Matthew 25 Initiative? Your gifts mean that more men and women can leave addiction behind and find HOME.