Being of Service? That’s Family Promise! (Feature Friday!)

A Year of Being Kind blog – Friday, September 26, 2014

Credit – Anna Pereia
Circles of Inspiration

Being of Service? That’s Family Promise! (Feature Friday!)

I wondered what big thing was going on at my friend’s church, every few months. Then I asked. The answer? Family Promise!

My good friend, Pastor Joe McInnes, filled me in. His church—St. John’s Lutheran, in Wilmette—is one of the host congregations for Family Promise Chicago North Shore, which helps homeless and low-income families become financially, sustainably independent. (The formal name for this worthwhile activity at the church is Interfaith Hospitality Network.) This organization is nonsectarian and interfaith, and has an excellent track record at doing what Family Promise does best: mobilizing local community members to come alongside of homeless and low-income families, helping them get back on their feet.

Loss of a breadwinner’s job, an extended period of illness, a sudden accident or even death in the family. Any one of these can be devastating to an individual or a family going through some traumatic event, or even series of events. As someone who has worked as a chaplain for most of the past ten years, I can easily see how suddenly a reduction in standard of living can happen. Even overnight, in some cases. The Family Promise website says it best, in giving us a brief, thumbnail sketch of their activities:

“We recognize that poverty is a multifaceted problem that requires a multifaceted response. We respond by integrating educational outreach, smart programming, effective policies, and the hands-on work of thousands of volunteers. We provide food, shelter, and support services for homeless families. We provide advice and advocacy for at-risk families to prevent their becoming homeless. And we educate people about poverty and the means to combat it.”

Pastor Joe is enthusiastic about how many parishioners are involved in this worthwhile program at St. John’s Lutheran Church. As he mentioned, once every three months, St. John’s offers both meals and housing for up to fourteen people. And, that’s for up to one week. Plus, what about the wonderful volunteers who gather to offer food and hospitality! The excellent location of St. John’s Church, one block from the Metra train station in downtown Wilmette and along several bus lines, offers the clients and friends of Family Promise many options. It’s good to have options.

This is a wonderful way to be of service to others. To offer the gift of hospitality and generosity, and show the love of God to others in a very tangible, loving way. What an awesome way of being kind!

@chaplaineliza

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Helping? Serving? At the Dump. (Feature Friday!)

A Year of Being Kind blog – Friday, May 30, 2014

Helping? Serving? At the Dump. (Feature Friday!)

It’s hard to believe that the month of May is ending. And, another Feature Friday is at hand!

A good friend of mine—Alison—and I InstantMessaged each other several weeks ago. She had some good things to say about one of the Year of Being Kind posts, and I thanked her. She and her husband Ivan had been missionaries to Peru for some years, and now they are back in the Chicago area. While in conversation, I asked whether she knew of any ministries outside of the United States that really touched her heart. Her response? “Really good friend of ours, Rich and Elisa Brown founded IncaLink, which is in Peru, Ecuador and Colombia.” Alison gave me their email, and I contacted them. Now, we’re connected! And once I found out about their work, I was really touched and impressed, too!

This multi-faceted ministry called IncaLink is not only a caring, helping hand offered to many of the poorest of the poor, it’s also a ministry for the 21^st century. Using the tools of social media, Rich Brown (one of the founders) and others who work with him get the important, sharing, caring message of IncaLink out through YouTube videos, Facebook and Twitter. IncaLink’s work also pulls at heartstrings, because much of their ministry involves bettering the lives of women, children, and families.

Rich sent me all kinds of information to start with. More than a dozen avenues of ministry, in three different countries. But I’d like to zero in on one particular ministry, one of the first places where IncaLink concentrated their efforts: a dump some distance north of Lima, in the outskirts of Trujillo, Peru. Some of the poorest of the poor live on the premises of the dump. They eat, sleep and work at the dump, and this place encompasses their whole lives.

Truly heartrending, the idea of people living, working and dying at the dump brought the three founding members of IncaLink to action in 2006. IncaLink has grown and diversified since, but the ministry at the dump remains a foundation for their work. They not only share the love of God with these loving people at the dump—God’s children, no matter where they may be found—but one of their specific ministries is to the children and youth at the dump. They provide a way out, getting the children out of the dump and into school and into jobs and workplaces to better the lives of them and their families. But perhaps most important? IncaLink offers them and their families the good news of the love of God.

Not only do full-time missionaries work with the good people in the dump (and in the other areas IncaLink serves), but they also have short-term teams and individuals who work in special projects and specific areas. What a wonderful way to get immersed in a culture and a worldview that can change your life. Literally.

For further information, check out this video about the dump: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B3O-jh81kDI&list=PL67F8C2BC59CCE665  (And, want to contact IncaLink? www.incalink.org )

@chaplaineliza

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Showing Love, Serving Breakfast (Feature Friday!)

A Year of Being Kind blog – Friday, February 7, 2014

Showing Love, Serving Breakfast (Feature Friday!)

Hungry people are all over the place. Not just in the inner city, or in major metropolitan areas. My friend and fellow graduate from seminary, Grace, is now the youth director at River Falls United Methodist Church, in River Falls, Wisconsin. A little over halfway towards the northern border of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Much closer to the western border with Minnesota and the Mississippi River. River Falls is a college town with the University of Wisconsin-River Falls only a few blocks from River Falls UMC. But other than that, the area for miles around is thinly populated. Small towns, farms, wooded patches, some hilly areas. Few large concentrations of people other than the town itself. Grace commented, “There are no services in any other town really. So many people come [to River Falls] for services. Everywhere else is rural.“

However few or many people live in this area, there are still very real, very human needs. Unemployment. Healthcare issues. Hunger. People struggling to make ends meet, and going without. As Grace said in response to my question about unemployment and under-employment, “It is [sad]. Poverty hides well.”

In the midst of this difficult situation, River Falls United Methodist Church does what it can. The church offers a community breakfast each second Saturday from 8 am to 10 am. Anyone can come. And people do attend. From near, from far—they come to be fed.

Moreover, the faith community at River Falls UMC is also a part of another ministry in town—the Tuesday Banquet that happens on the second and fourth Tuesdays at St. Bridget’s Catholic Church. The folks from the UMC help with the cooking and clean-up. What a wonderful opportunity to work together, to cross denominational lines, and show ecumenical unity. This is truly the way to display the love of God—and not highlight the bickering and division between church groups.

I reflected as I read what Grace messaged to me: what a way to show the love of God in a very real (and filling!) way. I also though of the verse from Matthew 25:40, “Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.” In this larger discourse, the words of Jesus can be stern, even frightening. In this specific verse, however, Jesus gives words of praise to His followers who did not even know they were serving God.

Yes, feeding the hungry is service to God just as much as a service to the hungry people. And River Falls UMC offers to feed the hungry not only physically, but spiritually as well. Satisfying hunger to fill an empty stomach ranks as a primary act of love, as far as I’m concerned. God bless the faithful folks at this church for such a loving, caring ministry of service.

@chaplaineliza

(photo credit – community breakfast, RainierPost.com)