LOCAL STORY CREDIT: GILES CLASEN CREDIT: GILES CLASEN THE PROBLEM ISN’T POVERTY An Interview With Ryan Taylor BY GILES CLASEN RYAN TAYLOR IS THE DIRECTOR of Network Coffee House and the pastor of Saint James Urban Church. Network Coffee House is a ministry serving unhoused individuals in Denver, providing resources and human connection for those living on the streets. Ryan has been involved in both ministries for more than 10 years. The following story includes excerpts from a conversation with Taylor edited for length and clarity. HUMBLE BEGINNINGS Growing up, there wasn’t a lot of chaos in my life, and I am very grateful for that. I grew up in a conservative environment—a very conservative home—but a very dedicated, churchgoing home. Berean Bible Church in Columbus, Indiana was the church I grew up in. It was quite conservative, and we were there any time the doors were unlocked. I don’t think I would be able to do what I’m doing now if I didn’t come from that stability. I had a very traditional Norman Rockwell type of upbringing. I would say my college years and early adult years were a part of exploring the permeable membrane of faith. It was about taking some chances with God. A lot of that started to come through encounters and relationships with people who were experiencing deep poverty and oppression. SOCIAL JUSTICE MUST BEGIN WITH RELATIONSHIPS In my early thirties, I started to realize we aren’t on a telling journey, we’re on a listening journey. Social When you fall in love, you want to advocate for your beloved. Love helps you feel compassion for those who are suffering. Love helps you connect to others and realize, “hey, this person isn’t getting a fair shot.” That is how you get to social justice, by loving. Today, social justice is like a brand. Social justice needs to be a part of the church but it must begin with an ethic of love. If it begins and ends with an ethic of love, then social justice is all about relationship. Relationship is what bonds and binds society together. If a person doesn’t have a shot at being in a relationship with the rest of us—whether it is because of trauma, mental illness, their economic disadvantages—then we’re weaker as a society because of it. It would be ideal to start To make room we need to communicate humanity to people who are easily overlooked and considered an eyesore in society. We had a volunteer who came down one Sunday to serve lunch at an encampment at Logan Street and 14th Avenue. She passes by this tent of a woman who is inside bathing. Karen, our volunteer, asked if she wanted a sandwich and offered to pray with her. In prayer, the bathing woman asked to be relieved of the mental illness and the blockages that keep her in a tent bathing, naked and vulnerable, in front of everybody. Karen’s willingness to look in, see humanity, and pause on a Sunday—that is what this is all about. That is relationship. I think that is what’s distinct about what I inherited here from the perspective of relationship fueled by love. Inevitably, that will lead you to some areas where you feel pretty incompetent. It will lead to a place where you’re using your voice, you’re marching on the streets, and you’re exploring legislation and policy stuff that is going to uplift the overlooked. THE PROBLEM ISN’T POVERTY I think unchecked wealth is a burden on the community. I also think unaccountable capitalism is a burden on our community. I don’t think you can call people a burden on the community no matter where they are living. Downtrodden people can be a prophetic voice to all of us. justice is not the best starting place. Instead, I think starting with love and compassion is the key. Social justice should be born of that love. It can force us to interrogate our own selves and ego. We have to create and provide room for the “inconvenient” people of our society, on the “burdensome”, the “extra needy.” To make room, we have to slow down, check our egos, check our personal agendas, and be able to look somebody in the eye. at Network. We are a ministry and we serve unhoused people, but our central focus is relationships. During the pandemic, we have started providing hygiene products and emergency resources. Our end goal here is to look people in the eye and develop a relationship and not just hand out food or clothing or some other material resources. Our goal is to have a “life-on-life” encounter with people. RELATIONSHIPS HEAL So many of the folks we serve are in the position they are in due to an inability to bond or attach to others, or even attach to reality. This is usually due to childhood trauma, military trauma, or simply the trauma of being on the streets. These traumas create a psychological detachment. The relationship is the balm. The relationship is the invitation to detached people Relationships help people see themselves as a beloved person who is worthy of love and attention. to see themselves again as valued. 6 DENVER VOICE September 2020
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