4 Florida United Methodist Review Online

Church follows Jesus’ example, washes feet of poor

members of First UMC, Miami, washing the feet of homeless people

Photo by Alfred Edwards

A team of 23 members from First United Methodist Church, Miami, recently washed the feet of 111 homeless people in their community. "We sure do appreciate the shoes and the socks, but more than anything I appreciate that warm water on my feet," one homeless man said.

By John M. DeMarco

LAKELAND — Many churches in the Florida Conference serve the homeless in one capacity or another on a regular basis. At First United Methodist Church in Miami, members intentionally uphold the dignity of the homeless while increasing their own humility by following Jesus’ example of foot washing.

Thirty-three church volunteers washed the feet of 111 homeless men and women April 21. They also distributed socks donated by church members and shoes donated by a local company called Gator Industries. Also on hand were doctors and podiatry students from Miami’s Barry University who provided foot inspections and preventive care, as well as referrals to a free clinic. Hot dogs and cokes were also served.

First Church is located in downtown Miami near the American Airlines Arena, Bayside Marketplace and the Freedom Tower, an old downtown building known as Miami’s “Statue of Liberty” for its previous immigration services. The church has participated in numerous homeless ministries, fostering a membership culture that produced a strong turnout April 21.

The foot-washing endeavor has typically been a biannual event that usually takes place the Saturday after Easter, according to Elizebeth Carter, the church’s missions chair. The outreach may have first sprung out of a church retreat several years ago that involved washing one another’s feet, she said.

The homeless persons sometimes seemed overwhelmed by the church’s kindness, Carter said.

“One of the things I thought was most touching was when one of the [homeless] men said, ‘Lady, we sure do appreciate the shoes and the socks, but more than anything I appreciate that warm water on my feet,” she said. “Consequently, every night when I get in the shower I thank the Lord for warm water.”

The volunteers spanned all age groups and included some disabled church members. Carter said some volunteers were a little reticent at first. “They didn’t mind helping, but they didn’t want to wash feet. But for some of them, after they started, they didn’t want to give their spot up to somebody else,” she said.

Other volunteers doubted whether they would be significantly impacted by the outreach. “It’s humbling to wash somebody’s feet. But it’s also a blessing, that you see you have so much more than the majority of the folks that come.”

“It makes them appreciate the small things in life you take for granted, like being able to have a clean pair of socks and being able to wash your feet every day,” Leslie Oldroyd, the church’s program director, said.

Carter said the podiatry students’ supervising doctor from Barry University felt his students were having a good time helping the homeless, as well as learning a great deal by addressing foot problems they do not usually face in their studies. The doctor also learned that students had been collecting money for next year’s foot washing outreach.

Miami’s Gator Industries donated “very substantial shoes, not just trashy ones” for the outreach, Carter said. A local linen company donated towels.

Oldroyd said some of the homeless people attend the church regularly and some participate in a breakfast/devotional time that takes place early Sunday mornings.