When I arrived at St. Herman’s House, the first thing I encountered was an inebriated homeless woman. The second thing I encountered was the Theotokos.

I’ll explain.

I reached Cleveland after an eight-hour drive, parked in front of St. Herman’s House—the men’s shelter where I would spend the rest of my summer working—and walked up to the gate.

On the front porch stood my soon-to-be boss and soon-to-be coworker. Between us, just inside the gate, swayed a woman in her mid-fifties. I could tell just by looking at her face she’d had a hard life, and I could tell by the way she moved she was under the influence—probably of a less than legitimate substance.

I’ll admit I was startled. Even more so when she asked my boss for a cigarette.

Even as this scene unfolded, I glanced to the right and noticed St. Herman’s beautiful garden and, nestled within it, an icon of the Theotokos. Her presence was as unexpected as it was familiar and a wave of comfort washed over me. I remembered then that the woman who stood before me was my sister and an image of Christ; in fact, she was the very reason I’d come to St. Herman’s to serve.

Before I had time to reflect further my boss talked the woman out of a cigarette and ushered me inside. And just like that my summer had begun, with all the chaos, joy, hard work, friendship, and memories it would bring.

Now, several weeks into my internship and with a little more time to contemplate, I realize that my first moments at St. Herman’s were a timely summation of one of my greatest challenges this summer. Every day at St. Herman’s I engage with dozens of homeless people. Sometimes the interactions go well, sometimes they go less well, and often they’re just strange—this morning, for example, someone aggressively and incoherently explained baseball to one of my fellow interns, seeming to mistake him for someone else.

It’s easy for me to see the painful outward dysfunction of the people we serve and mistake it for the people themselves. But that moment in the garden, my very first at St. Herman’s, reminded me to turn to Christ and the Theotokos and that, through their aid, I can perceive the image of God in every human person and love them as myself.

It’s hard, and I suspect I’ll spend the rest of my life trying to get it right. But if anything is worth attempting, this is. 

Stationed in Cleveland, OH with our partners at St Herman’s House in FOCUS Cleveland, Eliza Corder is a Media Intern for summer 2021. You can directly support her and our ministry work by clicking the support button below.