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Brown, featured in Monday's article by Amy Dominello, uses a public library computer to write a Web log about being homeless.

I was struck by his entry of Feb. 20, the day he and his family entered the Guilford Interfaith Hospitality Network program in Greensboro:

"The volunteers are some of the nicest people I ever met, so nice in fact, I actually felt guilty about them having to stay and deal with us. It's always bugged me having to ask for help, and even more so now that I think of these good people spending time away from their own friends and families to be with us."

That night, my wife and I stayed in our church in High Point with three homeless families as hospitality network hosts.

Making anyone feel guilty was the last thing we wanted to do.

As Kenyatta Richardson, GIHN executive director, said of volunteers, "They're glad to do this; this is their pleasure."

The network -- or networks, one in Greensboro and another in High Point -- consists of churches that house homeless families overnight for a week at a time. The guests are taken to a day center in the morning, where they can shower, wash clothes and see to other needs. Kids go to school, parents to work if they have jobs. Every family has a case manager. The program provides the chance for people to live at little or no expense for up to three months and work on getting back into their own home. The success rate is nearly 75 percent, Richardson said.

My church has been involved for more than two years, and I'd guess 100 members have participated as volunteers. There are plenty of jobs to do: converting classrooms to bedrooms, transporting families, serving as overnight hosts, washing the week's sheets.

Our church regularly sends mission teams to Peru and dispatches work crews to Mississippi, but the hospitality network offers a chance to carry out an important ministry at home. What could be easier, or more appropriate, than opening the doors of a church to those who need shelter?

(It's not only churches; the B'Nai Israel synagogue in High Point is a supporting congregation.)

Despite the openness, it's not hard to understand Brown's point of view. He's used to providing for his family, and finding himself in need of assistance makes him uncomfortable.

What you learn from a program like this, though, is how easily good, hard-working people can suffer a setback that costs them their home.

"These are people who are just like me and you, they just need a break," Richardson said.

They're not alcoholics or drug addicts. They're not mentally ill.

"They're people who really don't want to continue to be homeless," she added. Instead, they make a commitment to work at improving their circumstances.

Brown fits that description, vowing on his blog to work his way out of the program in record time.

His blog entries, found on the Web at http://view-sidewalk.blogspot.com, offer insights that hospitality network volunteers often don't gain even from direct contact with guests.

For one thing, we're instructed not to ask about their life story. That's a good rule; I'd get tired of answering the same questions over and over even from well-meaning volunteers. Besides, staying in your church doesn't obligate them to give up their privacy.

Beyond that, these folks are often tired. Having a place to stay makes their life easier, but not easy. They have to get up and out early every day. They're looking after their children. Many are working, some more than one job. And, at the end of each week, they have to pack up and move on to the next church. In the evenings when I meet them, they're getting their kids ready for bed and are planning to follow as soon as they can.

They're also living in fairly close quarters with others who may not be all that compatible. Their kids might not get along; parents may not agree on bedtimes or rules for kids' behavior. Then there are new strangers -- the volunteers -- to meet and get used to every day. Not to mention the stress of trying to overcome the problems that put them where they are in the first place. It's all got to be physically and emotionally exhausting.

I don't try to pry conversation out of them. My job is simply to be there and offer any assistance needed, not to pretend to be some sort of counselor.

It's gratifying, then, that Brown wrote this about his hosts last week:

"So thank you, Westminster Presbyterian Church of Greensboro, for showing an old cynic that there are indeed people left on this polluted mudball who give a fig for someone else, and for being excellent hosts to a family going through a period of travail. 'By their works shall you know them.' "

I'm sure the people at that church, as at mine, would say, "It's our pleasure."

So, Michael Brown, put your mind at ease. And keep writing.