Open Door Community

I spent the last two weeks at the Open Door Community in Atlanta, Georgia. The Open Door is an intentional, covenental Christian community that focuses on providing hospitality to those who are homeless, abolishing the death penalty, and other social justice issues. In the house are people off the streets, resident volunteers, local volunteers, men released from prison, and partners who are here for the long haul. Two days a week they host a soup kitchen, welcoming 120 people into their house for a warm meal each day, about 10 women (on Tuesday) and 60 men (on Wednesday) get showers with a clean set of clothes, new (ish) shoes, and whatever other needs they can fill with what has been donated or brought to them.

So I have helped serve in the soup kitchen and helped with the women picking out clothes before their showers. I've cooked dinner for the community and cleaned up after meals and when the days are done. On Tuesday, January 27, at 755pm, Georgia murdered Warren Hill, a man on death row who was mentally disabled. It is illegal in the US to execute the mentally disabled, but his appeal to the Supreme Court was denied. We stood in front of the state capital vigiling in the hopes of a stay of execution or clemency. With words from Open Door leaders and other clergy members, we asked for justice and we read the names of the 50+ people who have been executed in GA since 1976.

On Wednesday we went to the Carter Center to hear Brian Stevenson speak. He is a lawyer who works with people on death row in Alabama as well as children who have been tried as adults and are in prison. He wrote the book Just Mercy and I highly recommend reading it and if you have the chance to hear him speak, do so.

The next week we attended a vigil for Kevin Davis who was shot by a police officer in his house after he had called 911 for help. The officer is back on the streets without an inquery into the matter. The vigil was to ask for the GBI (Georgia Bureau of Investigations) to look into it. Many stayed all night in front of the Dekalb County Courthouse.

It has been a full and beautiful, heartbreaking and eye opening week. Geaorgia has just put an execution date on its only female prisoner on death row, Kelly Gissendaner, for February 25th. Prayers please.