Good Shepherd Anglican Church in Longview, Texas, welcomes the wandering into the kingdom.
Every fourth Tuesday of the month, Jonathan Calvin leads a Compline service in the chapel at Hiway 80 Rescue Mission. He is an unusual but passionate officiant. Clad in a bright orange T-shirt, he tells the assembled group of men his story, then leads an altar call in which 12 to 15 men come to the front to receive prayer, pouring out their hearts to God.
Afterward, the Ft. Worth native is beaming. Only a year ago, he completed the drug recovery program at the non-denominational men’s shelter. He is now one of the core team members at Good Shepherd Anglican church, joining shortly after its launch in 2015.
“He has grown wings through doing this,” says Anna Purdum, music minister at Good Shepherd Anglican and a longtime volunteer at Hiway 80. When she planted the church with her friend Amy McCarty, a local Anglican with a similar heart for ministering to the needy, they asked Hiway 80’s director if the church plant could meet in its chapel. “[Amy and I] had a strong yearning for spirit and truth, a solid biblical foundation, but we had a heart for the wandering and the poor and the dispossessed. That became part of our DNA,” Purdum says.
Every Saturday afternoon for a year, men like Calvin from Hiway 80 and several women from a House of Hope, a nearby women’s shelter, came together to sing traditional and contemporary songs, recite the Creeds, and read Scripture alongside Purdum, McCarty and a small group of people from the Longview area.
“Our homeless members received the liturgy very openly and warmly,” Purdum says. “Many come from chaotic backgrounds and to have the predictability of the liturgy is very attractive.”
The first Anglican church in their Bible belt community, Good Shepherd needed a diocesan home. Purdum’s friend and mentor, the Rev. Whis Hays of Rock the World Mission Alliance—a Christian ministry that trains young leaders and helps them launch new ministries—introduced them to C4SO. He thought their vision and nature would be a good fit. After meeting with the Very Rev. Ed McNeill, Purdum and McCarty agreed. They received counsel, coaching and help from C4SO, as well as on-the-ground support from local priests like the Rev. Jed Roseberry of Restoration Anglican Church. In addition to making trips to Good Shepherd himself, Roseberry asked a transitional deacon from Restoration, the Rev. Nobie Hendricks, to perform a deacon’s mass once a month.
“I have so enjoyed the enthusiasm of these men and women, how receptive their hearts are to the Word of God,” Hendricks says. “They long for it. They’re listening—not just hearing it, but wanting to apply it. They truly want to grow.”
The Rev. Canon Kimberley Pfeiler, Bishop Todd Hunter’s Canon to the Ordinary, will also be performing a monthly mass at Good Shepherd until they are able to call a full-time priest.
“Good Shepherd embodies the goals of C4SO: It’s a mission that was created for the purpose of serving others,” Pfeiler says. “It’s a wonderful place to be.”
In June, the church moved out of Hiway 80 into a former school building and began meeting on Sunday mornings at 10. Many of their homeless members made the transition and now comprise half the congregation; some are strong, invested leaders. Calvin plays the djembe in services and returns to Hiway 80 each month to lead Compline. A man named Terry finds lay readers to do Scripture readings; he also vacuums the chapel. Their attitude is “humble, transparent and open,” Purdum says. “All the people have taken off any social pretenses and feel great that they get to be part of it.”
It’s a common misconception, she says, that to minister to homeless people churches must offer them material help.
“Our church doesn’t have anything to give them,” she explains. “We don’t have a bed or a clothes closet. They come because they want something spiritual. Of course, we would give something if someone needed it, but God has primarily called us to reach them spiritually. We’re all in this together. We’re not reaching down to the least of these—we are the least of these.”
Though their resources are few, Good Shepherd has been given much: Longview’s evangelical Christian community has welcomed them with open arms. When the church moved into its new building, a Baptist church provided pews for the chapel. A Pentacostal church donated a projector. A biker church gave them a projector screen. And another nearby Baptist church prays for them every week. When Good Shepherd held its formal building dedication in September, many local church leaders came to fellowship and pray over the church.
Today Good Shepherd is busy volunteering and bringing the wandering home. They return to Hiway 80 each month to lead Compline, making them the first liturgical church to minister at the shelter. Purdum helps lead worship for the men’s devotions there. Peggy, another Good Shepherd member, visits House of Hope each week to listen and pray with the women. And with contagious joy, Calvin continues to share the good things God has done in his life.
“The wonderful thing about Good Shepherd Anglican Church is its acceptance,” Hendricks says. “No matter what they’ve been through, people know they can come and be embraced.”
If your church has liturgical objects you no longer need, Good Shepherd Anglican would be happy to receive them. Contact Anna.
Learn more about Good Shepherd Anglican Church.
