Street roots
Nov. 11, 2011
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Thirty years of hospitality: a personal reflection on Operation Nightwatch
BY COLE MERKEL
nights a weekend without fear of judgment
STAFF WRITER
given the opportunity to play guitar for the
or harassment It’s a space where all are
elebrating a 30th birthday can be
crowd. From experience, I know that Tony
welcome.
difficult While the third decade is
plays music for everyone in the hospitality
Looking around the Sanctuary in S t
center each evening Nightwatch is open.
certainly a milestone, it is also the
Stephen s Episcopal Church — Nightwatch’s
beginning of an era where the first signs of
That he was able to showcase his talents for
home for the past 12 months — I was struck
aging set in. Many want their 30th birthday
a larger crowd reflects the Nightwatch
by the diversity o f the community present to mission as a whole: it is not a space where
to pass quietly and uneventfully with very
support and celebrate the organization’s
little pomp and circumstance. In the case of
individuals are asked to change or ascribe to
core mission of hospitality. Those present
Operation Nightwatch, the 30th anniversary
a particular philosophy. Rather, the
filled a spectrum reflective of the
of the organization’s incorporation as a non
community reinvents itself organically based
organization o n any given Thursday, F rid a y
profit was celebrated on October 29 in a
on the individuals who cultivate it — guests,
or Saturday evening. It included homeless
low-key environment surrounded by
volunteers and staff alike - and from that
or formerly homeless indviduals, people
chamber music, food and plenty of friends.
individual investment, safe-space is created
who are employed and unemployed,
Rather than show its age, Operation
where change can take place.
members of the Nightwatch board of
Nightwatch used the evening to a n n o u n c e
A cup of coffee, a sandwich, a board
directors, donors to the organization,
signs of new vitality and the promise of a
game, a pair of socks and a genuine
vibrant future with the wisdom that only 30
congregants of S t Stephen’s, volunteers and conversation three nights a week; it may not
years of life can provide.
guests of Operation Nightwatch. All were
seem like much, but strong community can
there to commemorate the agency’s past
In the year I had the opportunity to serve
save lives. Weekends can be a tough time to
as Operation Nightwatch’s Jesuit Volunteer
while looking ahead to its future.
be alone, especially when a person is
and Program Coordinator, I was privileged
Even on stage, the performers and
fighting to stay sober. Loneliness can
to become part of one of the most diverse
performances were diverse. Coordinated by
overcome a person living in a single-room
communities in Portland. Primarily,
Joshua Kingsley, director of Portland
occupancy apartment, especially when all
Nightwatch is a drop-in center for people
Chamber Music, an organization based out
that person’s old friends are still living on
who are low-income and/or experiencing
of S t Stephen’s which brings the power
the streets. What Nightwatch’s mission of
homelessness. More than anything,
music to those who do not have access to it
hospitality creates, then, is a safe, clean
Nightwatch’s weekend hospitality center is a otherwise, the arrangement was an
environment for individuals to simply be:
space of friendship and camaraderie for
amalgamation of classical and contemporary: present with one another, and treated with
those who are lonely and have no place else
Mozart to the Black Eyed Peas with a few
the respect and equality they deserve.
to go. People of all colors, genders,
Ukranian folk songs in between.
At times, the concertwas a walk down
identities, orientations, ages and socio
One of the more moving performances of
memory-lane with a slideshow deta ilin g
economic backgrounds frequent the S t
the evening occurred when Operation
Operation Nightwatch history r e m in d in g
Stephen’s Episcopal fellowship hall three
Nightwatch’s regular guest Tony Clure was
attendees of how far the organization has
B
come since it began in 1981 as a clerical
mission serving Portland’s “night
population” (loosely interpreted, that often
meant visiting people at bars on late
weekend nights). It was a ceremony to
acknowledge three volunteers of the year,
and three churches that have been integral
in the organization’s growth in the past year.
The concert was also a time to reflect on
the many community events Nightwatch
facilitates outside its regular weekend hours:
monthly comedy movie nights, monthly
outings to parks and attractions outside the
downtown core, weekly worship services
and bible studies, biweekly foot care and the
Mobile Hospitality Center, an RV that brings
basic services and routine medical care to
individuals living in East County twice a
week.
And finally, the Operation Nightwatch
30th anniversary concert gave'a space to
look forward. Earlier that week, the
organization received a grant from the Spirit
Mountain Community Fund to partially
endow the Nightwatch Healthcare Initiative,
a plan to bring more health services like
acupuncture, massage and basic medical
care to those who are most vulnerable. After
30 years, it seems Operation Nightwatch is
evolving toward a strong future.
Cole Merkel is the Jesuit Volunteer and
Program Assistant for Street Roots
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