September 10, 2001
Death of homeless man inspires church for ministry
___By Ken Camp
___Texas Baptist Communications
___FORT WORTH--When a train struck and killed a homeless man in east Fort Worth, a Texas Baptist church demonstrated to its community that "no one is expendable."
___The remains of Danny Lee Matchett, 36, were unclaimed by family. And his body mistakenly was buried without ceremony.
___But thanks to friends at Handley Baptist Church, he was not unmourned or unremembered.
PASTOR ANDY ADDIS leads a memorial service for Danny Lee Matchett at Handley Baptist Church in Fort Worth. (Photo by Ken Camp)
___Nearly 100 people gathered at the church Sept. 1 for a memorial service for the man most of those present knew only as Danny. Pastor Andy Addis welcomed what he termed "an eclectic gathering" of church members, including neighborhood merchants and homeless people from a local shelter.
___"God has many treasures in earthen vessels, and they are all around you. Each is special. We need each other," explained Don Anderson, founder of a Fort Worth-based homeless advocacy ministry. "No one is expendable."
___Matchett, a drifter from Southern California, was killed July 24 as he walked along tracks near the Handley Feed Store, where he had slept most nights for the last eight months. Radio headphones apparently prevented him from hearing the whistle of the approaching train.
___At first, authorities were uncertain who he was, since he carried no identification. But Anderson, founder of the One Lighthouse ministry in Fort Worth, established Matchett's identity and started searching for his family.
___Research in California revealed that Matchett had four older siblings--twin sisters and two brothers--but no one could locate them. Anderson said Matchett had told him his mother died of cancer 15 years ago and his father disappeared about 20 years ago.
___Since no family could not be found, Anderson's ministry and Handley Baptist Church had planned to handle Matchett's burial. But Matchett slipped through the cracks in the system one final time. His body inadvertently was turned over to a Hurst funeral home and buried in Mansfield.
___"We don't know where Danny's family is. There's no body here today. We wish we could end the story differently. There are so many things that we wish were different," Addis said at the memorial service.
___"But there's a great gift that Danny left behind. There's a gift in our awareness. He has awakened our church to the fact that there is a world of need outside these stained glass walls."
___Matchett "stumbled upon" Handley Baptist Church when the congregation sponsored an outdoor block party in early June.
___"He obviously was not like the rest of the people who were there," Addis explained. "He was dirty, and he was carrying everything he owned on his back."
___More than a dozen members of Handley Baptist Church began a friendship with Matchett at that event, offering him hot dogs, soft drinks and kindness.
___In the weeks that followed, he began to frequent the church. On weekdays, he came by to use the restroom. On Sundays, he slipped quietly into the worship services, sat near the back of the sanctuary and left just before the benediction.
___"He never asked for money, food or a place to stay. Whenever we'd do an outreach event, he was one of the last to leave. He'd stay to help put up tables and chairs," Addis said. "He just wanted somebody to be nice to him."
___At the memorial service, Anderson described Matchett as "bright and articulate at times," though some people saw only a glaring, Grizzly Adams-like recluse. He had three years of architectural drafting training, and he was gifted at landscaping.
___Matchett was "a private person who liked his time alone," Anderson said. "He was in his element on the streets." He wrestled with mental illness and substance abuse, but he demonstrated a genuine sensitivity to spiritual matters.
___"Danny knew the Lord," Anderson said. "He loved Bible study. And he loved to go to church services.
___"Danny was homeless in that he didn't have a house to live in, but he found a home in this community."
___And the community of faith found something in him as well, the pastor added. "He woke us up to part of the Great Commission that we needed to see. Some parts of the ends of the earth are closer to home than we ever imagined."
___Homeless people sometimes find shelter in an abandoned building across the street from Handley Baptist Church. Now, members of the church cannot look at those people the same way, Addis said.
___"Instead of seeing a nuisance in an abandoned building, we see others like Danny. They all have his face now."
___
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