This “From the Intern Desk” is from Taylour, a current intern at St. Anthony Foundation.

Every morning before my day begins at St. Anthony’s, I spend time at the neighboring Saint Boniface Church to sit, reflect, and take in the Gubbio Project. The Gubbio Project creates a daytime sanctuary for the homeless to rest in the pews after a long night of roaming the streets of San Francisco. By providing refuge, clean bathrooms, a staff of security, and even haircuts and massages provided by volunteers, St. Boniface is transformed into a daytime oasis for the homeless.

Cast in a shadow of amber, a symphony of deep, soothing, snores resonate throughout the dimly lit church. The snores hum through the hall of the church, as others looking for a place to sleep filter in. Pious believers kneel silently, co-existing peacefully, dwarfed by the church’s enormity. In and out, the snores sift through flickering candles, creating an ethereal sentiment and a place of refuge, worship, and warmth. Encrusted in gold, stained glass windows, beautiful murals, and decorated with sculpture, the church creates an ornate grandiose that envelops the weak, tired, and poor.

In a city replete with sharp contrasts, from the ritz and glitz of Nob Hill to the rough streets of the Tenderloin, juxtaposition usually signals a disparity of wealth and lifestyle that creates division. However, in this contrast between the grandiosity of St. Boniface and the homeless man who has not showered in days, a beautiful metaphor emerges, as wealth and beauty welcomes the poor and downtrodden.

This entry was posted on Thursday, July 8th, 2010 at 11:30 am and is filed under Advocacy. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.