For St. Francis of Assisi Episcopal Church, Lent is a season of love and giving. For proof, just look to the boxes of shoes and socks piled in the foyer of the church in the name of Michael, the late son of beloved local priest Buckley Robbins.
The Rev. Lou Parsons tells the story of how all this came to be, every year, as a kickoff to the church's Walk in Love Shoe Drive.
Michael was the estranged son of Robbins and sought out his father, relocating to Chattanooga in the early 2000s. At the same time, Brother Ron Fender decided to come be a part of Chattanooga's Community Kitchen.
"And it came to [Fender] that his ministry would be to help with the feet of the homeless," Parsons said. "It's something that maybe some people don't think about when they think of the homeless."
Robbins heard of Fender's ministry and, after dealing with the insurmountable grief of losing Michael to a senseless murder before his birthday in March, came to Fender with a pair of shoes in Michael's size one afternoon.
"And a man peeked into his office that afternoon and said, 'Brother Ron, do you have any size 10 1/2 shoes for me?' The two men, bewildered, looked at each other. And Ron said, 'They're right here,'" Parsons recounted. "From there they knew they had something."
So now, St. Francis of Assisi collects walking shoes, socks and foot care products for homeless adults who come through the Community Kitchen. Each year the stacks of shoes grow throughout Lent, leading up to Easter.
"Many people bring in shoes sized 10 1/2 for Michael," said Parsons. "It's just a great thing, to see our church fill up each Lent with shoes for people who need them."
She said the church has collected as many as 100 pairs of shoes a year since it began this ministry in 2005. The church will bless them and gift them to the Community Kitchen on Maundy Thursday, the Thursday before Easter, which this year falls on April 20.