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By Bobby Ross Jr. | Religion Unplugged
HOUSTON — When Maurice Costabile first showed up at a Houston church a few years ago, members had no clue his late father, Duilio, was a beloved TV cameraman dubbed the “Mayor of Yankee Stadium.”
They had no idea his late mother, Maria Landa, was an Ivy League-educated psychologist.
They just knew the son of Cuban immigrants looked homeless — and desperately needed a bath.
“I mean, Jesus is for everyone,” said David Duncan, preaching minister for the Memorial Church of Christ, which averages Sunday attendance of about 800. “Nobody’s going to be turned away. And he obviously had some very dire needs.”
Costabile, 59, who battles a variety of physical and mental health issues, saw a banner advertising the congregation at Houston’s Memorial City Mall.
He walked 1.3 miles from the shopping center to the church building, just off Interstate 10.
“Let’s be honest: There have been conversations where people are like, ‘He doesn’t need to be here. It’s not safe for our kids,’” said Mike Avery, Memorial’s community minister. “Some people don’t want him around. But that’s because the church is human, right? And they’re scared, and they’re fearful.
“But I’m happy that our church overall has really worked to help him and not kick him out,” Avery added. “So we’re really trying, and we’re not going to give up on him.”
This column appears in the online magazine Religion Unplugged.
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