Here, I know a woman. She grew up in Western New York, and attended a small High School. Her guidance counselor told her she would never be accepted to go to the State University, but she was. She and her best friend attended the University of Buffalo, where she majored in Management and Finance. She is intelligent and talented. She enjoys accounting and drawing. Her sketches are vivid and lifelike. She told me she doesn't know anything about poetry, or about composing music, but she writes beautiful songs. She is funny, and loves to laugh. She is friendly, giving, and works well with others - especially children. She volunteers at Rising Hope, and has been a member there for over three years...
This woman has been cut off from a relationship with her mom. She is far from home. She suffered an accident - was run over by a car - and went through surgery. She lost her short term memory. She lives in a homeless shelter, because she has been waiting on disability, which at this rate she is unsure will ever be approved for her. She is addicted to alcohol. When she abuses it, she is uncontrollable - even by herself. She has been picked up countless times by the police. She has a felony, for stealing (alcohol). She has countless Drunk In Public fines. Next week, she has a court date for charges of harassment and trespassing while she was completely wasted.
She is my friend.
Here, I know another woman. She has been a member of the church since 1998. She regularly attends prayer and church services...
She has been kicked out of her apartment by the police because of drug-dealing/use going on there. She is addicted to crack-cocaine. Today, she decided was her last day. Today she decided she is going to Detox. Today she wants to give her life to Jesus, not to drugs. She spoke of how grateful she is for Rising Hope, its people, and how it has been/still is there for her in her constant battle with her addiction. She said when she brings people to the sanctuary she tells them, "welcome to our living room." Rising Hope is her home.
She is my family.
Today I led the noon-day prayer service. I was a vessel... I'm not completely sure of exactly what I shared, but after I spoke, the Rising Hope family opened up. Stories were shared, prayer concerns lifted, support given, and then in one spirit we prayed for one another and those we encounter in our lives, within and especially outside of the church. We read from Galatians 5 and 6 - focusing on 5:24: Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to his cross and crucified them there. We then listened to the song "Let Me Sing" by Andrew Peterson, "let me sing for the love, let me love for the lost, let me lose all I have, for what I've found on the cross..."
Rising Hope's family is made up of many people who have had taken from them all they owned and all they were, but they are holding tightly to the Cross...
Regardless of their backgrounds, cultures, pasts, lifestyles, addictions, Jesus is showing me how to love them... and together with them, we (Rising Hope) are loving those who are still lost.
Friday, June 19, 2009
Thursday, June 11, 2009
"God with skin on..."
"Rising Hope is God with skin on..." Venisa - one of the staff - informed me my first day at work.
Well, as I've spent a little over a week working with its ministries, I've seen Venisa's words come to life. The last couple days I've been shut in an office translating things, running around organizing/preparing things for Saturday's Family Fun Fair, and haven't had as much people-interaction as the social butterfly in me desires. Yet, there's one point everyday, regardless of what I'm up to, where I have the wonderful opportunity to unite with the people of Rising Hope: noon-day prayer.
Everyday at noon there is prayer open to all. Some days it's packed, others it's pretty slim, but it's always unifying and uplifting. Thursday was packed. We read from 2 Corinthians 4.
8We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; 9persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. 10We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. 11For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus' sake, so that his life may be revealed in our mortal body. 12So then, death is at work in us, but life is at work in you. 13It is written: "I believed; therefore I have spoken." With that same spirit of faith we also believe and therefore speak, 14because we know that the one who raised the Lord Jesus from the dead will also raise us with Jesus and present us with you in his presence.
As a mission church of/to the least, the lost, the lonely the members can truly relate to this. Pastor Keary always encourages, "God doesn't waste a single hurt." Here we have a hurting body, a hard-pressed, perplexed, persecuted, struck down group of God's people... but they persevere through their hurts, and they come out as shining witnesses of the glory of God at work in this world.
Well at prayer Thursday, someone new was there. Shahandra was feeling low, the verses shared from 2 Corinthians really spoke to her, and after another's testimony of how he had been a coke addict for 20 years and then had his heart transformed by Jesus and was clean and a living witness, she broke down and shared her feelings.
Shahandra came to the church for a little help from their community services of food/clothing and at prayer time she was just drawn up there, not really sure why, just that she had an overwhelming feeling of being welcomed and of belonging encompass her as she encountered the beautiful people of this church. She's been struggling, and doesn't have anywhere else to turn but God. Then, sobbing, she trailed off, "I don't even have a church of my own..." And our sister Josephine chimed in, "Well you do now! Welcome to the family!" As Pastor Keary began to pray for Shahandra, she was literally surrounded by encouraging brothers and sisters (many going through the same thing) extending their hands in Christ's love and uplifting her situation, her life... reminding her that regardless of her despair, God still has a purpose for her, and he's reaching out to her through His Body at Rising Hope.
Well, as I've spent a little over a week working with its ministries, I've seen Venisa's words come to life. The last couple days I've been shut in an office translating things, running around organizing/preparing things for Saturday's Family Fun Fair, and haven't had as much people-interaction as the social butterfly in me desires. Yet, there's one point everyday, regardless of what I'm up to, where I have the wonderful opportunity to unite with the people of Rising Hope: noon-day prayer.
Everyday at noon there is prayer open to all. Some days it's packed, others it's pretty slim, but it's always unifying and uplifting. Thursday was packed. We read from 2 Corinthians 4.
8We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; 9persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. 10We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. 11For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus' sake, so that his life may be revealed in our mortal body. 12So then, death is at work in us, but life is at work in you. 13It is written: "I believed; therefore I have spoken." With that same spirit of faith we also believe and therefore speak, 14because we know that the one who raised the Lord Jesus from the dead will also raise us with Jesus and present us with you in his presence.
As a mission church of/to the least, the lost, the lonely the members can truly relate to this. Pastor Keary always encourages, "God doesn't waste a single hurt." Here we have a hurting body, a hard-pressed, perplexed, persecuted, struck down group of God's people... but they persevere through their hurts, and they come out as shining witnesses of the glory of God at work in this world.
Well at prayer Thursday, someone new was there. Shahandra was feeling low, the verses shared from 2 Corinthians really spoke to her, and after another's testimony of how he had been a coke addict for 20 years and then had his heart transformed by Jesus and was clean and a living witness, she broke down and shared her feelings.
Shahandra came to the church for a little help from their community services of food/clothing and at prayer time she was just drawn up there, not really sure why, just that she had an overwhelming feeling of being welcomed and of belonging encompass her as she encountered the beautiful people of this church. She's been struggling, and doesn't have anywhere else to turn but God. Then, sobbing, she trailed off, "I don't even have a church of my own..." And our sister Josephine chimed in, "Well you do now! Welcome to the family!" As Pastor Keary began to pray for Shahandra, she was literally surrounded by encouraging brothers and sisters (many going through the same thing) extending their hands in Christ's love and uplifting her situation, her life... reminding her that regardless of her despair, God still has a purpose for her, and he's reaching out to her through His Body at Rising Hope.
Friday, June 5, 2009
beautiful people...
This week has been one of orientation... I'm getting to know Rising Hope - its people, its ministries, its management - and falling in love with it.
As I've helped work with the Food Distribution Ministry (as well as the pick-ups, unloading, sorting), and the Clothing Ministry I've encountered a plethora of people... all kind of in a low spot, in need of a little lift up. They are marginalized... homeless, sick, low income, jobless, immigrants, mentally disabled, addicted... and they have lost dignity; they've been humbled to the point of relying on other people for their basic sustenance...
it's sad, it's heart-wrenching.
but, i have rising hope - because I see a thriving ministry reaching out far beyond the walls of that little church building. Fulfilling Jesus' command to love. Modeling themselves after the church in Acts, where everyone participates, everyone gives, everyone helps, everyone shares...
I feel like I am needed, too. None of the staff members speak Spanish, and maybe one or two of the dozens of volunteers speak Spanish. Yet, many of the people who come for help speak little, or no English. I have worked with the Food and Clothing ministries, talking with the Spanish-speaking folks, who are surprised and very grateful to have someone who understands their words.
I feel like I am wanted, too. The members of the church, and those who attend prayer, or worship, or breakfast, or lunch, want to get to know me, to talk to me, to find out about me... to create a friendship... to share with me their lives... and this is how I encounter Jesus everyday. I see people at their lowest, who have lost so much and suffered so much, and I see them filled with the joy of Jesus, and sharing Him with each other and with me.
Last night I attended Celebrate Recovery - a 12 step program where individuals recovering from a variety of addictions (not just drugs and alcohol) can come and find community, accountability, relief, and grace. It begins with Intercessory Prayer, is followed by worship and a devotion, and ends in small groups (right now just a men's group and a women's group as probably between 15 and 20 people attend).
I've always believed everyone is equal, but when I came to Rising Hope I have thought again and again how happy I was that I "would never be like that" (referring to the people here). Then at Celebrate Recovery something Liz said woke me up: "I always used to say that it would never happen. I was never gonna be homeless. I was never gonna need assistance. I was never gonna..." and I realized, it could happen to even me. I've been talking to these people, and regardless of the family support they may have had, the faith they may have held on to, the college degree they still hold, life threw them a curve ball somewhere along the way... and they're hardly making it now...
so, who am I to judge their current state? who am I to be above it? who am I to dare say "it'll never happen to me!"?
What I do know is this: They are Christ's as much as I.
"Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress and refusing to let the world corrupt you." James 1:27 NLT
As I've helped work with the Food Distribution Ministry (as well as the pick-ups, unloading, sorting), and the Clothing Ministry I've encountered a plethora of people... all kind of in a low spot, in need of a little lift up. They are marginalized... homeless, sick, low income, jobless, immigrants, mentally disabled, addicted... and they have lost dignity; they've been humbled to the point of relying on other people for their basic sustenance...
it's sad, it's heart-wrenching.
but, i have rising hope - because I see a thriving ministry reaching out far beyond the walls of that little church building. Fulfilling Jesus' command to love. Modeling themselves after the church in Acts, where everyone participates, everyone gives, everyone helps, everyone shares...
I feel like I am needed, too. None of the staff members speak Spanish, and maybe one or two of the dozens of volunteers speak Spanish. Yet, many of the people who come for help speak little, or no English. I have worked with the Food and Clothing ministries, talking with the Spanish-speaking folks, who are surprised and very grateful to have someone who understands their words.
I feel like I am wanted, too. The members of the church, and those who attend prayer, or worship, or breakfast, or lunch, want to get to know me, to talk to me, to find out about me... to create a friendship... to share with me their lives... and this is how I encounter Jesus everyday. I see people at their lowest, who have lost so much and suffered so much, and I see them filled with the joy of Jesus, and sharing Him with each other and with me.
Last night I attended Celebrate Recovery - a 12 step program where individuals recovering from a variety of addictions (not just drugs and alcohol) can come and find community, accountability, relief, and grace. It begins with Intercessory Prayer, is followed by worship and a devotion, and ends in small groups (right now just a men's group and a women's group as probably between 15 and 20 people attend).
I've always believed everyone is equal, but when I came to Rising Hope I have thought again and again how happy I was that I "would never be like that" (referring to the people here). Then at Celebrate Recovery something Liz said woke me up: "I always used to say that it would never happen. I was never gonna be homeless. I was never gonna need assistance. I was never gonna..." and I realized, it could happen to even me. I've been talking to these people, and regardless of the family support they may have had, the faith they may have held on to, the college degree they still hold, life threw them a curve ball somewhere along the way... and they're hardly making it now...
so, who am I to judge their current state? who am I to be above it? who am I to dare say "it'll never happen to me!"?
What I do know is this: They are Christ's as much as I.
"Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress and refusing to let the world corrupt you." James 1:27 NLT
Monday, June 1, 2009
introductions
On Sunday morning I was picked up at the airport a little bit after 11. I made it to Rising Hope's church service probably around noon - so it was near the end. Walking in I looked around the congregation of diversity, made up primarily of the poor and homeless, the mentally disabled, the addicted, the unstable, the marginalized of society and I did not feel uncomfortable or out of my element.
I sat down and listened to them during a time of "Joys and Concerns" as they praised and asked for prayer. I saw deep caring in the faces of church members as they listened to bits of others' lives. Then, my supervisor stood up and introduced me as the church's intern for the summer and I was overwhelmed by the feeling of warmth and acceptance as their faces returned looks wide smiles and bright eyes.
We entered into Communion followed by song, and my eyes were tearing within a few minutes as I - one who has home, functional family, job, healthy mind, no addiction, many friends, high school education, college enrollment, and a paycheck coming in - took the Body and Bread alongside of these people. It is one thing to recognize that the Lord's Table is open to all, and an entirely new experience to live it.
After the service I had the opportunity to meet many of the church members, the Pastor and his family, some board members, etc. I ate lunch with the church family, as the church serves a meal after the service. I ate with the Pastor's daughter Kaitlyn, she's 16, and 5 young girls ages 6-11 surrounded us, clung to us, fought over our attention.
I am already welcomed, accepted, and loved and am excited to begin working tomorrow. Keep me in your prayers!
I sat down and listened to them during a time of "Joys and Concerns" as they praised and asked for prayer. I saw deep caring in the faces of church members as they listened to bits of others' lives. Then, my supervisor stood up and introduced me as the church's intern for the summer and I was overwhelmed by the feeling of warmth and acceptance as their faces returned looks wide smiles and bright eyes.
We entered into Communion followed by song, and my eyes were tearing within a few minutes as I - one who has home, functional family, job, healthy mind, no addiction, many friends, high school education, college enrollment, and a paycheck coming in - took the Body and Bread alongside of these people. It is one thing to recognize that the Lord's Table is open to all, and an entirely new experience to live it.
After the service I had the opportunity to meet many of the church members, the Pastor and his family, some board members, etc. I ate lunch with the church family, as the church serves a meal after the service. I ate with the Pastor's daughter Kaitlyn, she's 16, and 5 young girls ages 6-11 surrounded us, clung to us, fought over our attention.
I am already welcomed, accepted, and loved and am excited to begin working tomorrow. Keep me in your prayers!
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