Undercover Bag Lady

Whatsoever you do to the least of my brothers, that you do unto me.

After leading a small nondenominational church and helping to serve the homeless community for 30 years, former pastor Kimberly Bowman set out on a social experiment that was decades in the making. A lifelong curiosity in human interaction and a passion to enact social change distilled themselves in the Undercover Bag Lady project.

Carefully disguised in tattered layers of dirty rags, Kimberly Bowman assumed the life of Jean, the homeless bag lady, and approached 10 different churches from the heart of the Bible Belt. Over the course of eight weeks, Jean attended Sunday morning services and took note of the reception her indigent character received.

From outright hostility to overwhelming generosity, the undercover bag lady encountered the full spectrum of humanity’s potential for acceptance. In beautifully poignant prose, “Undercover Bag Lady: An Exposé of Christian Attitudes Toward the Homeless” examines the silent hypocrisy and the humbling benevolence that exist beyond the closed doors of the Christian church. In beautifully written prose, this unyielding exposé of a silent, fringe community’s experiences turns the mirror on the Christian Church and compels it to examine if it is truly following Christ’s message of unconditional love.