Fresh Start Tutoring Video

Jay Height @ Beacon of Hope Dec. 13

On December 13, Jay Height will be a guest presenter for the Beacon of Hope Sunday School class.

Jay Height has been executive director of Shepherd Community Center since 1998.  Shepherd Community Center working to break the cycle of poverty on the near east side of Indianapolis.

In ten years, Height has accomplished a budget growth from $100,000 to the current $4.2 million and a staff growth from three to more than sixty. In addition, he completed renovations of Shepherd’s old facilities as well as a $3.4 million renovation and relocation to the current community center.

More information on Sheperd’s mission and its work is available here:  http://www.shepherdcommunity.org

Beacon of Hope Schedule

Here is the upcoming schedule for the Beacon of Hope Sunday School class.

• November 15 - Congregational meeting – no class
• November 22 – Conversation with Phillips Temple (tentative)
• November 29 – Eric Lange, speaking on community
• December 6 – Eric Lange, community (cont’d)
• December 13 – Jay Height, Shepherd Community Center



Shane Claiborne in Indianapolis

COMMUNITY and CREATIVITY IN RESISTING CONSUMERISM

An Evening with Shane Claiborne
Author of The Irresistible Revolution, Follow Me to Freedom and other books

Friday November 13 – 7PM
ENGLEWOOD CHRISTIAN CHURCH
57 N. Rural St.- Indianapolis – Near-eastside

Admission is FREE //
(An offering will be taken to support Shane’s work.)
ARRIVE EARLY // Doors open @ 6PM. Seating is limited!

INVITE YOUR FRIENDS !!!
- Facebook invite:  http://bit.ly/ZdoZ6
- Use this printable flyer:
http://englewoodcc.com/consumingfire/shane-claiborne.pdf

This event is part of the Through the Consuming Fire Conference:
A Conversation on Economic Faithfulness in an Age of Consumerism
http://englewoodcc.com/consumingfire/

Fresh Start Tutoring’s New Year

Here’s an update from Ann Weller about the Fresh Start tutoring program – and a request for new volunteers – as the new school year kicks off.

Yes, it is August; school buses are soon to rumble down our streets.  The “Fresh Start” Tutoring leadership committee has been tweaking the format from last year and adding a few new twists and support items for our volunteers.  We are excited for what God has in store for us this year.  Answers to prayer – the new principal at School 48, Carmen Sharp, has opened her heart to our ministry, seeks our prayers for her beginning, and has invited Jane McClelland and me to address the parents of School 48 at their first Open House.

Tutoring Calendar Update:

1. Training Session – August 20th from 4 – 5 PM

Note: This is for EVERYONE – new and returning volunteers.

2. Math Workshop - Thursday, August 27th - 2 – 3:30 PM for the K – 3rd grade volunteers and 4 – 5:30 PM for the 4 – 6th grade volunteers.  Kris Gable will lead!

3. Tutoring begins September 17th at 3:45 – 5:15 PM.

4. School Year Calendar – we will follow the IPS calendar.  Thursday’s 3:45 – 5:15 PM

Note: In the training sessions, we will equip you with necessary information and skills.

I have been invited to attend two functions at School 48 in August to speak to the parents and teachers about our ministry and to pre-register students.  We are anticipating a strong demand for our ministry.  We will be matching volunteers with a student in their preferred grade level / same gender.  After registering the first 40 students, I will develop a waiting list until the volunteer base is confirmed. Please prayerfully consider your involvement for this upcoming school year. In addition, our registration materials will also be placed at The Oaks Academy, Raphael, and Mid North Food Pantry.  My leadership team has been calling our former students over the summer as well. Our feedback has been very positive; excitement is brewing.  In the days ahead, pray for the students and families that might walk through our doors this fall.  Pray for each potential volunteer as they decide if this is the ministry where they want to invest their time ~ and energies.  Pray for the staff at School 48 as they once again open their doors to a new year.

Blessings, Ann Weller

Upcoming Assets Mapping Dates

Upcoming Dates

Assets Mapping will be taking place on the following upcoming dates – be sure to mark your calendars!

• Monday, July 27
• Monday, August 10
• Monday, August 24

Each meeting will begin at 6:00pm.  After a brief conversation from a guest speaker, we will head out into the community at 6:30 to meet and chat with people.  Around 7:30, the group will meet back at Tab to discuss what they learned.  The meetings are over by 8:00pm.  Come join us!

See previous Assets Mapping announcemements here.

Assets Mapping Update

Assets Mapping at Tab is beginning to hit its stride, and these early conversations have already shown that Tab will learn a great deal about the good already at work present in the community and can take part to help the community grow even stronger.

Every other Monday night, the group meets at Tab to head out in the community to get to know neighborhood residents and to learn more about the neighborhood.   At the end of the night, the group comes back together to discuss their thoughts about their conversations.  As people share what they learned, their ideas are recorded as notes on a message board that summarize each conversation and  lists various, talents, abilities and hopes for the community.  As the board continues to fill up, the group will begin to organize and look for patterns in these conversations to see how the group can connect people’s different their talents, passions, and opportunities in creative ways/

These first conversations have underscored how unique and diverse the Mapleton-Fall Creek neighborhood is.  People from all walks of life live in the area.  Some are active in the neighborhood, others are not (and some people are very familiar with Tab, while others have no idea what the church has done in the community).  It is becoming apparent that many people have talents that are “hidden” to the rest of the community and these conversations are beginning to bring these assets to light.  Each of these conversations has shown that there are lots of opportunities for Mapleton-Fall Creek to continue to grow and learn from each other, and the Assets Mapping board is beginning to bring these prospects together.

Despite the fancy name, Assets Mapping is a really simple idea – go have conversations with people in the community, learn what they are passionate about, and then connect people together to bring these ideas and dreams into reality.  No one can predict where these conversations will lead; it is a very open-ended process without a predetermined end goal.  In some respects, participating in Assets Mapping is a small leap of faith: you might not know who might answer your knock at the door, and people might not be willing to open up and share their opinions about the community.  However, almost all of the group’s conversations so far have been encouraging.  The group has left each night hopeful that this work will help Tab learn about the talents, passions and skills already present in Mapleton-Fall Creek.

Often, it takes some time to “break the ice” to explain what Assets Mapping is and what we are trying to accomplish.   Many people have jumped right in and let their ideas and comments flow freely about the neighborhood.  I have been impressed with people’s eagerness to engage in conversation with us and their hospitality (I shared a hot dog with one family last time out).  But, in a few rare instances, some people have remained reserved and held back their thoughts and comments.  However, it is always possible that these first introductions can spark people’s imaginations about what they can do (and already are doing) to leave a positive mark on the neighborhood.

If you’re interested in participating, come by this Monday.  It is a wonderful opportunity to enjoy a nice summer night meeting new people and learning where God is already at work around Tab’s neighborhood!

Submitted by Eric Lange

Assets Mapping – June 29th

Neighborhood Assets Mapping Meeting
Monday, June 29^{th
6:00pm-8:00pm}

The next meeting will include a chance to get to know and converse with people in the neighborhood.

We will have a guest speaker from 6:00pm – 6:30pm.  Afterward, we will go out and interview neighbors from 6:30pm – 7:30pm and then come back to Tab to discuss our conversations.  Questions for the conversations will be provided, and anyone who is interested in meeting our neighbors is welcome to join us.  For additional information feel free to contact Ann Reynolds at 923-5458 ext 130, or Nancy Russell at 475-0959.

The Source of Growth

When he came and spoke in Indianapolis a few months ago, Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove mentioned that often we have a misleading idea of what it takes to create a healthy community.  Ministry is not a linear process of gradual improvements until someone “makes it.”  Working in disadvantage communities – and encouraging a health community – is not like repairing a broken machine, where replacing a cog or making small adjustments will make the engine run correctly.

In contrast to this image of a broken engine, Wilson-Hartgrove argued that creating a healthy community is more like gardening.  In a garden, there is always something to do – soil to prepare, weeds to pull, plants to water.  Without this dedication, a garden will never flourish.  However, even when a gardener puts her blood, sweat, and tears into a small plot of land, there is nothing she can do to force the plants to grow.  She can provide the conditions for growth – and encourage what is already growing to become even stronger – but she cannot make a seed sprout into a flourishing plant.  Gardening is relying on that mysterious power of growth to take place and grow.

This reality is the same in ministry.  There is always much to do – arrangements to be made, people to encourage, programs to build and sustain.  Many times growth is impossible without this work.  However, the real transformation of individuals and communities is out of our hands.  We can set the stage for growth, but we can’t make growth occur by ourselves.

Building a health community comes in stops and stars, breakthroughs and setbacks.  Sometimes people seem to be stagnating for years only to put everything together in a moment of clarity.  At other times those who have all the tools they need to move to a better place simply don’t recognize and use what God has provided them.

The Apostle Paul used this same image in a letter to the Corinthians.  The church’s growth was encouraged by the work of many church leaders, but their efforts alone weren’t enough.  Paul writes:

I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow.  So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who makes things grow. (1 Corinthians 3:6-7)

The same is true in ministry.  When a church commits to the work of ministry in its context, it aims to bring the Kingdom of God to that place.  This transformation is so dramatic that it can only be the work of God.  Therefore, the fundamental work of any ministry must be prayer.

“Praying for the kingdom means praying for restored identity and for restored vocation, knowing that at the most fundamental level these are things only God can do…Praying the kingdom means remembering that bringing the kingdom is God’s business…We must not assume the burden for something we cannot do.”

-Myers, Walking With the Poor

Indy Grace Place Dedication and Open House

Tab members, ministry partners, members of other churches, neighbors and friends met Sunday to celebrate Dan Gushee’s work through Indy Grace Place, a home that helps men leaving prison to transition into independent living.  Pastor John Gable reflected on the significance of the Prodigal Son – and the grace of the Father – new start when facing the challenges when leaving incarceration and then led the group in a prayer of dedication for the ministry, the home, and the transformation taking place within the home’s walls. 

The group shared a meal, toured the house, and heard stories about the home and its residence.

The house has gone through a remarkable change since Dan moved in eight years ago: the house has been redesigned and renovated through hard work by Dan and the men living in the house.  Just as the house has undergone a significant transformation, so have similar changes taken place in the lives of the men who come through Grace Place.

Its residents have – and continue to – work hard to get on their feet after leaving prison.  Most importantly, the stories of those of those who have successfully moved out of the house show God’s faithfulness and transformation in their lives.  God has used this house – and Dan’s efforts – 

to help encourage those leaving incarcerated life to make a successful transition from incarceration into productive and full lives in the community.

 

See more information on the ministry below.