The Kingdom of the Poor

Charles Strobel (1943–2023) was the founding director of Room In The Inn, a continuum of care for unhoused people living on the streets of Nashville and beyond. A Catholic priest, Strobel was known for his innovative advocacy on behalf of human rights and economic equity, his ecumenism, and his opposition to the death penalty. He is the author of Room In The Inn: Ways Your Congregation Can Help Homeless People. He played in amateur baseball leagues into his seventies and was a passionate New York Yankees fan. Katie Seigenthaler, the niece of Charles Strobel, is the coauthor with Dr. Alex Jahangir of Hot Spot: A Doctor’s Diary from the Pandemic, published in 2022 by Vanderbilt University Press. She is a managing partner with FINN Partners and a former journalist with the Chicago Tribune. Amy Frogge is a long-term volunteer for Room In The Inn. She is an attorney, grant writer, former member of the Metro Nashville school board, and current member of the Nashville Symphony Choir.

Foreword by Ann Patchett

Prologue: Why I Was Born

Part I: How Much Is Enough?
Chapter 1: Mutt
Chapter 2: Sadie and Tony
Chapter 3: Horace
Chapter 4: Clayton
Chapter 5: Mr. Orskiborsky

Part II: Worthless Servants
Chapter 6: Aunt Mollie and Aunt Kate
Chapter 7: Mr. Albert
Chapter 8: Mama

Part III: Change Your World
Chapter 9: Father Dan
Chapter 10: Prof Al
Chapter 11: The Anawim
Chapter 12: Ol’ Grange
Chapter 13: Larry Munson
Chapter 14: Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Chapter 15: Myles Horton

Part IV: Room In The Inn
Chapter 16: Mrs. Hopwood
Chapter 17: Lulabelle
Chapter 18: Michael “Bear” Hodges
Chapter 19: Madeleine DeMoss
Chapter 20: Gwen Benford
Chapter 21: Melvin Scates
Chapter 22: Rachel Hester

Part V: The Miracle of Forgiveness
Chapter 23: Bill Denton
Chapter 24: Antony and Cleopatra
Chapter 25: The Murderer
Chapter 26: Jap

Part VI: Getting Ready to Die
Chapter 27: The Pastor
Chapter 28: Vince
Chapter 29: The Man in the Morgue
Chapter 30: The Chaplain

Epilogue: Pick Up the Burden