Nathan E. Lewis

Last night in Memphis, at the opening of the 34th General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in America, the host speech, included a lengthy warning to be careful downtown at night due to panhandling and crime. The speaker informed us that since Katrina hit New Orleans, a steady stream of homeless people have departed New Orleans, arriving in Memphis. We were told not to give any attention to the poor on the streets. Before I entered my hotel last night, saying goodnight to several brothers, a homeless Irish man, Sean, approached asking me for some money. I told him that I was unable to give him cash, but that at 7 AM I would be meeting my first cousin and brother Stephen for breakfast in the hotel. I invited him to join us and he promised me that he would do so. I didn’t believe him, but this morning, as I walked into the dining room, I saw my cousin and Stephen seated, and right outside the window stood Sean waiting for me! I opened the patio door and seated him at our table. He listened to our family buzz, laughing and sharing his family stories with us as we asked him to do so. I was quite moved by our African waiter, who treated our guest with utmost respect fanning his napkin, pouring his coffee, attending to his every wish. During breakfast he never once pulled a knife on us and I never spied him slipping a butter knife into his pocket.