Saint Among Us:           

Jim Feldmayer

         A detective for the Philadelphia Police Department turned Disciplinarian (really, the Assistant

Director of Student Services) at Mercy Vocational High School, you can bet this guy can get things done. But Jim Feldmayer doesn’t exude that kind of assertiveness, but rather a humility and gentleness that makes him fulfill his job description far better than anyone would expect. When Jim first came to St. Francis Inn in 2002 with M.V.H.S., he felt at home and has since dedicated himself to our ministry every Wednesday since 2005.
          Jim typically joins the Wednesday night team of dishwashers, but he is more than willing and able to work wherever needed, bussing, maitre’d, outside in the frigid winter, or up to his elbows in soapy dishwater. He says that being among the guests is what he likes best. Many people, he says, get discouraged by seeing young children walk through our doors, pull up a booster seat, and dive in to their bowl of soup and carton of chocolate milk. But Jim knows that when he sees the kids at the Inn, they’re getting the love and attention of the volunteers and a warm meal, at least for the fifteen minutes they are in the dining room.
          It’s hard to see the same guests, day after day, week after week, year after year. So I asked Jim how he thought we could make a lasting impression in the lives of those we serve. Simply, Jim said, “We need to be kind. Sometimes kind and firm, but definitely kind.” He added that the only thing that will make change is the power of prayer, that we’re not just keeping them alive physically, but alive in our own prayer lives as well. Though addiction, homelessness and chronic poverty are issues faced by our guests, there’s always more to the story. I asked Jim what he believed the root cause of the problems of our guests was. Greed, some people have too much without consideration for the people that don’t have enough. “Christ came to be poor, if we’re ever going to make it, we need to follow his example.”
           Jim uses his experience at the Inn in his daily life. Handling the discipline cases as well as attendance issues, some of his students live in our neighborhood. Instead of criminalizing them, he now understands

what they’re seeing and experiencing when they’re not in school. He is better able to serve them because he has had more insight into their home lives.
           When he’s trying to recruit students to come to the Inn, or teaching them some great life lesson, he tells the story of a guest, whose name he can’t remember, that continues to impact his life. This man is a former Cincinnati Bengals player who made bad choices that led him to the streets of Philadelphia. For his students that think that money would solve all their problems, he recounts this story; for him, it is a reminder to be grateful for what he has.
            When I started the interview with Jim, I told him that the reason I wanted to recognize him was because every Wednesday since I first arrived at the Inn, Jim walks into the kitchen with a smile on his face ready to work; that when we asked him to come while the Team was away, he was there; that he doesn’t do it for

show, but does it to feel Christ and to be Christ. Graciously Jim agreed to be interviewed, but I think if he had

it his way, he would’ve put the spotlight on anyone else. “To come and feel like you gave something, you might as well just leave and never come back. But I come here as tired as can be, but when I leave, I feel like the richest man in the world.”