On the establishment Christian churches running out of poor people, a reader in one of my favorite states (anagram of “MOAN, ANT!”) offers some first-hand experience:

Derb, I think you’re on to something about the Church running out of poor people — at least, they’re running out of pliant poor people. I volunteered at a local Catholic-sponsored homeless shelter and soup kitchen for a few years, and was appalled to find that the religious element was entirely missing. There is nary so much as a crucifix on a wall anywhere. The religious connection was all hush-hush.
See, it is so totally uncool to try to preach to or convert anyone, don’t you know, and the parish wouldn’t dare try to tell the regulars in the lunch line how to straighten up their lives or that they might be doing anything wrong. The regulars wouldn’t listen to them anyway, tell them to p*** off, and get highly irritated about having religion “pushed” on them just because they rely on religion for a handout and a place to sleep and any amount of counseling and referrals to where they might find work.
That’s just the way it is. Mexicans are probably more used to the Church and would be much easier to work with so we can all earn our little halos.

[Me] I’d be interested to get some input here from Salvation Army volunteers. Ministering to the poor is an even bigger thing for them than for the establishment churches, isn’t it? What’s their position on amnesty? Any Sarah Browns out there in NRO Readerland?