The Very Left* Reverend Brian Baker was one of the seven
spiritual leaders that the Sac News & Review interviewed as part of
publisher Jeff VonKaenel’s October 1, 2015, cover article “What would Jesus say about Poverty?” regarding homelessness, mental illness, folks
living on the street, yadda, yadda.
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| SNR 10/1/2015 cover |
Baker is well known in the homeless community, as a
prominent figure advocating for justice and because of the contributions of his church, Trinity
Cathedral; church members’ activities; and Trinity’s association with Safe
Ground in providing sleep space for solo homeless adults two or three nights
per month.
In the SN&R piece, a central thing that Baker says is
this: “I don’t see my job as feeding the hungry. My job is to help convert
people so that they feed the hungry. ‘Convert
people’ [means] 'open their hearts.' The more-foundational thing is the
preaching, the liturgy and the environment we create that opens people’s hearts
to live more compassionately.”
My personal experience of being homeless for about four
years had nothing to do with wanting others’ compassion. Now, obviously, I am
only speaking for myself, here, but if the process at Trinity is to get
congregants to be compassionate, maybe Baker should avert a lot of bother and buy each of them a cute kitten.
Now, of course, there are some homeless people who are
distraught regarding their circumstance. And a subset of those who are
distraught are eager to receive sympathy, often from whatever sources they can.
But, generally speaking, I think what homeless folk seek
when there’s an “overnight” at Trinity Cathedral or another church is something
starkly practical: food and space to sleep. For most, the last thing homeless folk need is for people who see them as the lowest of the low to be looking at them compassionately (i.e., sanctimoniously).
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Since Baker is on the left side of the political spectrum –
amongst us liberals – I think he should drop “Right” in his title and insert “Left.”
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