Living on the street, a pastor connects with Sacramento’s homeless, raises money and learns about himself

On his fourth day of impersonating a homeless man, the Rev. Rick Cole was starting to look the part.

Beneath a black baseball cap, his face was pale and unshaven. His eyes were bloodshot and weary, framed by deep creases. Cole, pastor of the giant Capital Christian Center on Micron Avenue, stood inside Cesar Chavez Plaza in downtown Sacramento on Wednesday morning wearing jeans and a blue hoodie, and contemplating where he might clean up and brush his teeth.

He had last showered on Sunday, in a communal facility at the Union Gospel Mission. He had not eaten since Tuesday, when he had chicken noodle soup and a sandwich with hundreds of others at the Loaves & Fishes homeless services complex on North C Street. It was farmers market day at Cesar Chavez, and the aroma of kettle corn and jumbo hot dogs were starting to make Cole hungry.

Cole, 57, was on a mission to find out what it is really like to be homeless in Sacramento, and in the process raise consciousness and money for a program that offers shelter to street peopleduring cold and wet winter nights.

http://www.sacbee.com/2014/10/...street-a-pastor.html