Servant Ministry in San Antonio
Mexican Christian Church, San Antonio
Today marked the first work day for Disciples Volunteering’s Alternative Spring Break – and it went great! Disciples Volunteering has partnered with Inman Christian Center and Mexican Christian Church to offer this opportunity to serve. Over the next three weeks, Mission Teams from five congregations and two college campuses will come to San Antonio to help with needed rehab and improvements at these facilities. A Mission Team from West Des Moines Christian Church is in town this week, and they wasted no time getting right to work. (Follow their own photo updates at this link.) New showers were framed in and drywall was hung in the basement of Mexican Christian Church; vent fans were connected and are operational; and doors were hung. The work begun at Inman includes: the rebuilding of a sinking office floor; clearing crumbling plaster from office walls that have been unusable due to the disrepair; and beginning a major window rehab and restoration process.
While all of this work is great, the important story for today lies in the way that it is happening. The successes of this first day – and of the entire week – would not be possible without the leadership of a team of Long Term Volunteers. Disciples Volunteering has not been immune to the financial shortfalls that are impacting the church at nearly every level. A real blow was struck to the program last fall when cuts were made in response to shrinking resources. This forced us into a time of creatively re-imagining the ways that Disciples Volunteering can continue to help engage Disciples in hands on mission projects. Our greatest resource is the people who have served in mission through any number of special projects, focused builds, and disaster response stations – especially those folks who have been trained as Long Term Volunteers. Long Term Volunteering is a true Servant Ministry. While these people possess a variety of skills and experiences, they share one common trait: a servant’s heart. They give a few weeks or more of their time to be on site, serving with mission teams that come to a project for up to a week. With this year’s Alternative Spring Break, they have stepped up in a whole new way. They are now the site leaders, the advance prep team, the behind the scenes gophers and logistical coordinators and communicators and so much more. Their service is enabling others to serve.
I am grateful to Dwight, Bernie, Steve, and Randy, who are already on the ground in San Antonio, and for Larry and Jan who will join them. I am grateful for the other Long Term Volunteers, many of whom will be involved in this evolving ministry in Nashville this summer. And I am grateful for those who are not yet trained Long Term Volunteers but who are looking for a way to share their time and their commitment to serving others. If this sounds like you or someone you know, please be in touch with Disciples Volunteering by phone (888-346-2631) or e-mail. Details are being arranged for the next training event this fall.
General Assembly & pre-Assembly Mission Opportunities
UPDATE
Mission Opportunities are available during the General Assembly on Monday and Tuesday (July 11-12). Service projects in the community will run each day from 8:00 am to 2:00 pm. Other opportunities for giving back to the people of Nashville, including a blood drive, will be available in the convention center. We will continue to post details here as information becomes available. Register Now to Serve in Nashville.
Disciples Volunteering is also sponsoring a pre-Assembly Mission Experience in Nashville this summer. The event begins with dinner on Wednesday, July 6 and concludes with lunch on Saturday, July 9. We will serve with a variety of community organizations and contribute to the flood recovery efforts in Nashville. We’re pleased to announce that, with more than a dozen mission teams and 150 people signed up, we are at capacity. Mission groups who are on the waiting list may be contacted if space becomes available; however, we are no longer adding to that list. Opportunities for serving during Assembly are being coordinated, including a blood drive and a knitting room to take place at the Assembly. To receive more information, please register now.
CBS Special Highlights Religious Response in Haiti
From a recent Global Ministries press release:
Examining the faith community’s ongoing assistance to survivors of last January’s devastating earthquake in Haiti, the CBS Television Network will broadcast the religion special “Haiti: Religion’s Response to Disaster” on Dec. 5.
After a 7.0 magnitude earthquake ravaged Haiti, some of the first responders were faith-based relief organizations. These groups continue to assist Haitian survivors.
The special chronicles faith-based groups’ relief efforts begun immediately after the quake and the progress made in the past 10 months. Members of Church World Service (CWS), Catholic Relief Services, Jewish Distribution Committee and United Methodist Committee on Relief share stories about their work with viewers.
Here is a listing of confirmed broadcast times (which can be sorted by state). Plan ahead – you may have to set your dvr to record it if you’re in a 4 am broadcast market.
Helping Hands in Service
Volunteers have been busy the last two weeks at Northwood Christian Church, Beaumont, TX and across Nashville, TN. The work at Northwood is moving along well as volunteers have finished installing the flooring (except carpeting), hung and painted all doors, and completed work on the exterior of the building as well.
In Nashville, volunteers from Beargrass Christian Church, Louisville, KY, and First Christian Church, Hopkinsville, KY, helped in the flood recovery efforts last week and weekend. This week, volunteers are in town from Wauseon, OH and from Janesville, Wisconsin. They have been busy on several jobs, including hanging siding on one home and doing sheetrock work on another.
The work in Nashville will continue for the next two years (and possibly longer). Have you scheduled your mission trip for next Spring or Summer? Volunteers are also needed in Lake Charles, LA and, if those places are full, work remains in Slidell, LA, too. Visit our “mission opportunities” page at Disciples Home Missions to start planning you trip today!
Related Articles
- A Flood Story – Southeast Nashville Recovery (justnashville.wordpress.com)
Two Days Down…
The volunteers are making great progress on Northwood Christian Church’s new building. We started the week with volunteers from Florida, Washington, Kansas, and Missouri plus a host of long term volunteers. Last night, reinforcements from Missouri arrived (plus a few more long term volunteers) and got right to work this morning. The north end of the building is now sided and mostly painted. More than a dozen doors have been hung inside. Most of the floor tile has been laid and grouted. Trim is cut, countertops installed, and exterior doors are painted. Members from Northwood worked alongside the volunteers today and spirits were high as everyone enjoyed the fabulous weather.
Fall Blitz Underway – Dedication Postponed
The fall blitz is kicking off today at Northwood Christian Church in Beaumont, TX. Volunteers will be busy the next two weeks completing the work on their new sanctuary, classroom and office space. More details and pictures will be coming. One important change has been made: the church has decided to postpone the dedication of the new building until January 2011.
Disciples Volunteering
Let me apologize up front for the silence, for the month without any new posts: I have been unable to write. I don’t mean I’ve been suffering from writer’s block, although it’s true I haven’t known where to start, or what to say. No, it’s just been too difficult – too painful. At the very end of September, a conversation was begun, a process initiated, that suggested something big was about to happen for Disciples Volunteering. I didn’t know if that was good big or bad big, I just knew that change was coming. Two weeks later, eight staff positions were terminated from Disciples Home Missions and six people lost their jobs (two positions were eliminated by retirement). Included in these lay-offs were Carl and Robin Zerweck. These changes were necessitated by decreasing funding support through the Disciples Mission Fund. I may have more to say about the that later; we’ll see. For now, I want to focus on Disciples Volunteering.
Disciples Volunteering came about through the merger of two other ministries, Vision Builders and Volunteers in Mission. Carl was providing leadership to Vision Builders at the time and he transitioned into the role of Director for this new ministry, Disciples Volunteering. Robin has been on nearly as many projects as Carl; in her role as Hospitality Coordinator, she saw to it that no volunteer ever lost weight on a mission project! Over the last seven years or so, Disciples Volunteering has engaged thousands of Disciples in volunteer opportunities and mission projects of all size and scope. Nearly 12,000 volunteers from several hundred congregations have participated in Disciples Volunteering’s Disaster Response ministry, which was birthed after the devastating hurricanes of 2005. Hundreds of homes have been rebuilt, churches repaired, and lives restored through the gifts of these volunteers. The value of the labor contributed by disaster response volunteers is almost $1 million – which translates into direct savings for families and individuals who have been hardest hit by disaster. Other projects have included the construction or complete rebuilding of nearly a dozen churches. And then there are the countless smaller projects that Disciples have engaged in, in partnership with Disciples Volunteering, through General Assemblies and Quadrennials and other events in the life of the Church. Volunteers from every Region have participated in these experiences.
Yet numbers only tell one side of the story; far more important is the transformation that has taken place through these volunteer, mission projects. Individuals and congregations have experienced God moving in a new way as they have answered the call to “Get Dirty for Jesus.” Leaders have been trained through the Summer Intern program, the Long Term Volunteer ministry, and through experiences with Mission Teams. Faith has been stretched, challenged, and grown.
It is with a deep sense of sadness and heartfelt gratitude that Disciples Volunteering now says goodbye to Carl and Robin. In pursuing their call to ministry through Disciples Volunteering and by using the gifts God has given them to serve, they have touched innumerable lives and made a true difference in our world. My fervent prayer is that, where the Church has closed a door, God will reveal a new path for Carl, Robin, and all those affected by these lay-offs. I pray for all those who will not be ministered to because of these changes. And I pray for the Church, that we would receive healing and a renewal of relationships that includes a fresh look at what it means to be in covenant together. May we listen together to the leading of the Spirit and to the needs of those who are around us in order to discern a faithful path forward for service and witness: for the hope, healing, and grace of Jesus Christ is only ever shared from one broken person to another, and I am convinced that God is not done with us yet.
Let me close by inviting you to be a part of the conversation. Please share your thoughts and feelings, as well as your dreams and vision for how God is calling you, your church, or the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) to engage in mission. Call, e-mail, post your comments here, start a conversation on facebook, tweet, whatever – but please, share. Because the more people who are involved in the conversation, the richer and more faithful our mission and service will become as we continue to answer the call to Get Dirty for Jesus and partner in mission with neighbors in need.
