MSCC to Host ‘Stories from the Streets’ Presentation

Rev. Lorenza Andrade Smith, an ordained elder in The United Methodist Church of the Rio Grande Conference, will make a special presentation at Mid-South Community College on Monday, Nov. 4.

“Stories from the Streets,” sponsored by the First United Methodist Church of West Memphis and MSCC, will feature some of Rev. Smith’s experiences while serving/living on the streets for the past two years. The event will begin at 6 p.m. in the Wilson Conference Center in Magruder Hall on the College’s South Campus. There is no admission fee, and everyone is welcome and encouraged to attend.

Smith will offer insights into what kinds of ministries and services are helpful for the homeless and vulnerable.

She asked to be appointed to the street ministry in San Antonio, Tex., and received approval in the summer of 2011. She gave away her household possessions to family, friends, and members of her congregation; sold her car, and began living on the streets.

Smith said she wanted to show solidarity with the poor and, as she is always careful to add, learn from them. She almost gave up during her early days on the street, when the temperatures were in the triple digits, and she found herself struggling with everything from fatigue to hunger to her own body odor.

“When I felt the lowest, it was the hospitality of the people living on the streets that opened my eyes,” she told Sam Hodges, former managing editor of the “United Methodist Reporter” who was writing an article recognizing United Methodist newsmakers. “I clearly saw Jesus in each of my friends. God was indeed with me.”

Smith specializes in Women, Society and Church Studies, and she advocates for the poor and marginalized by leading the charge for systemic changes. She said she does not accept honoraria, and tries to stay in a shelter or on the streets when traveling. She serves without pay and medical/retirement benefits.

“My calling is to do nothing but communicate the love of God,” she says. “Communicating the love of God is, for me, to be present, to listen and to learn. And when I am obedient to my call, I am at peace and empowered.”

A veteran air traffic controller of the United States Air Force, Smith earned bachelor’s degree in Business Administration with a major in for-profit management and minor in non-profit management. She also holds a Master of Divinity degree.

Even before her street ministry, Smith was arrested in a Dream Act demonstration, and last summer she spent a night in jail after being ticketed for sleeping on a park bench. She remains a passionate voice on homelessness and immigration issues.

“The Rev. Lorenza Andrade Smith stands just 4 ft. 11 inches, but she carries a high profile—and lifts the hearts of many—through her highly unusual ministry of living on the streets,” Hodges wrote in his Jan. 2013 feature.

For information on the presentation, contact Rev. Michelle J. Morris, Associate Pastor, First United Methodist Church of West Memphis, at (870) 735-1805 or michelle.morris@arumc.org.