MC3

This coming Second Saturday we’re going to bomb Monroe Circle with 5000lbs of chicken! 

Along with the usual distribution of the PCI (Personal Care Items) boxes, each family will receive 2 5lb bags of chicken.

The chicken is donated by Galen Miller who is the owner of Miller’s Amish Country Poultry in Goshen. What an amazing gift!  We would also like to thank Elton Keifer, the member of GCC who arranged this amazing donation. Martins have also donated 600 grocery plastic bags for us to distribute the chicken. I love it when the community works together like this. Whatever is left over will be given to our good friends at the Center for the Homeless.

The truck that is bringing the chicken is scheduled to arrive at MC3 between 8am and 8:30am.

So, all hands on deck!  Show up with your friends and family as we bring the goodness of God to some of the must vulnerable folks in our community.

I dare you to be there…or are you a chicken (bawk, bawk, bawk)?

This past Sunday morning the Monroe Circle Community Center was featured on the Focus on Faith segment on Newscenter 16.  Dan and LeRoy were asked  great questions and provided brilliant questions.  Take a minute, check out the video here, and drop in a comment to encourage the news team that made this possible. 

I’m glad GCC is a church known for what is is for, not for what it is against.

“Quit criticizing and start creating.  Don’t just focus on what is wrong. Do something right.  Don’t just make noise. Make a difference.”                                         Mark Batterson

I received an email yesterday that made me so happy, I was bent over with laughter.

Back story: The US Department of Veterans Affairs estimates that 154,000 vets are homeless on any given night.  The VA adds, one out of every three homeless men found sleeping by a dumpster has risked his life serving his country.  These brave souls who once stood in the line of fire to protect our freedom, now wear hand-me-down clothes and sleep in an alley. Unbelievable. This story has to change.

New story: South Bend will soon be the home to America's first shelter exclusively for homeless veterans!  God's people are now writing a new story for these homeless vets.

Through a collaborative partnership between GCC, EnterMission, Center for the Homeless (CFH), and Miller's Veterans, a recently purchased building on 747 S. Michigan St. will be renovated into a place of safety and transformation for homeless Vets.

Amazing, eh?

The real catalyst at the middle of this great new work is Robert Miller, Former Superior Court Judge and retired lieutenant commander in US Naval reserves, who served in WW2 and Korea. 

Last December, while reading a story in the paper on homelessness, Judge Miller saw a picture of a homeless vet sleeping in a coffin-like box. The image shook him to his core. 

"When I looked at the picture…I didn't sleep much that night. I kicked the covers for three or four more nights and thought, I better find out what I can do."

Those sleepless nights birthed, Miller's Veterans, a new "platoon" of homeless vets who were living at the CFH. They've formed a drill team and began marching the parades, leveraging the community created to renew their spirits, help them regain self-respect, and give them a fresh start toward a new life.

That vision has blossomed into a vision for this new facility.

Two years ago, when GCC was building Monroe Circle Community Center, 70% of the labor was volunteer labor, both skilled and unskilled.  After a tour of the Community Center, lead by our Director of Life Mission, Jack Magruder, the quality of the work the people of GCC had accomplished in partnership with the people of Monroe Circle left Judge Miller almost speechless. 

So…it's building time again!

The GCC construction team, Granger Student Ministries, and Merge, under the leadership of Maribeth Roncz, GCC's leader of the CFH Team, are getting geared up to be the muscle and backbone behind this great new project.

It's time to add on to the Kingdom, bringing up there down here for homeless vets in MIchiana.

A few days ago, we sent off our "Letter of Intent" for partnership to Steve Camilleri, Executive Director at the CFH, and Former Superior Court Judge Miller.

It was Judge Miller's response email that made me laugh with joy.  These are his words.  I hope his heartfelt eloquence moves you the way it moved me.

"The poverty of the human language will not permit me to fully express the acceptance, approval and deep appreciation for your Letter of Intent to Partner and the extremely generous terms therein contained. I have just concluded a discussion and review with your good friend Steve Camilleri, speaking on behalf of the Center, who has gladly directed me to advise that his sentiments are identical, and even more so, if that is in fact possible. This isn't like we have to take your word for your proposal. Your work products scream of your talents and abilities."

If you're wanting to get your fingerprints on this, you can come to any Second Saturday starting this fall and join the party.  In addition, we'll have deeper opportunities throughout the week for those with the availability and certain skill sets.

BTW for Church Leaders: We often get asked about partnership and the tools we use to develop them.  If you'd like to take a look at the Letter of Intent, you can download it here.

Download Letter of Intent to Partner-CFH

Today's post is brought to you by our Director of Local Mission, Dan Blacketor.  Dan's one of my heroes. 

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Its official. Major league baseball started last week and the South Bend Silverhawks start this week.  All the signs say, "Spring is here!" But I have even more exciting news. The boys of Monroe Circle will be participating in Little League Baseball this spring and summer!

Ryan Kring is our head coach and we have 14 eager players ready to start practice this week.  Games start on April 24th. The South Bend Silverhawks players will also help coach and mentor the kids when they are in town.  In addition, we are finalizing how the kids might be able to spend time in the Silverhawk dugout during games, get a behind the scenes tour of the locker room, and other fun stuff.

Opening day parade is scheduled for Saturday, April 24th and the 16 game season is from April 24th thru June 27th. The team will play in the Maurice Matthys league and home games will be played at Matthy's Park   Once we get the schedule I will post it,  so if you are interested in cheering on the MC3 Bravehearts, you can stop on out.

The Gathering made the front page of the South Bend Tribune this morning. In fact, the article about the Gathering took up more real estate than the article about President Obama coming to town today!

The good news of Jesus is still front page material!!

The Gathering was launched by LeRoy King and his small group last fall.  Our original vision was to start a couple small group Bible studies.  Within a few weeks time, the building was maxed out with 120 people in attendance.  The Gathering has become a catalytic community in Monroe Circle. 

My favorite quote from article appears at the end,

"You don't hear one person talking (at the Gathering)," says Seiler, a retiree who also picks up food boxes each month.  "You can hear a lot of people getting the message across about Jesus Christ.  In church, you only hear one person, and everyone else has to shut up."

I won't hide it from you.  I started crying when I read that.  Beautiful.  That's how the church grows:  Not one talking head behind a pulpit, but thousands of voices in everyday conversation sharing the good news of Jesus.

Full Article Below:

Article published Feb 9, 2009

As bread is broken, neighbors find unity
Free meal fills stomachs, lifts spirits each Tuesday.
By JOSEPH DITS Tribune Staff Writer

SOUTH BEND — "I heard they feed well," says 21-year-old Tony Elliott, among the first ones to line up in the bitter cold.

Several minutes later, Lorraine Bailey also walks up to the door of the Monroe Circle Community Center at Western Avenue and Taylor Street. She comes as much for the conversation as the food.

"Nice people you see on the street every day," she says.

And, she adds, there's the spiritual message that comes each time they dine.
At 54, she was laid off from her hotel housekeeping job in November and is waiting to be hired back in March or April. She goes to some food pantries but doesn't really go to other free community meals.People sometimes wait outside an hour or more for these weekly Tuesday meals, known as The Gathering. Sometimes they are turned away because there's enough space inside for just 55 adults, plus some kids, says coordinator LeRoy King.

Doors typically open by 6:30 p.m. — make that 6:19 on this night. The crowd steps into a thick, warm aroma of gourmet coffee and hot cocoa. Volunteers from Granger Community Church greet them. Smiles. Handshakes. Hugs.
The diners take their seats at cozy little round tables draped with white cloths, maroon place mats and white and black balloons. Volunteers take orders, then deliver potato chips and dip with tall cups of soul-thawing cocoa or coffee.
"We are trying to create a place where they can have community with their neighbors," King says. "Our goal is not to treat them as second-class citizens. One thing we always tell them is that they matter and that they are loved by God."

The Gathering started in June. It's part of the Granger church's ministry here in a strip of old storefronts that the church renovated into a sleek, modern school, food pantry and other programs.The meal, King says, targets next-door neighbors in the apartment complexes of the South Bend Housing Authority and the 46601 ZIP code area, but anyone is welcome.

"It's more like home," says David Johnson, 46, who lives in the Monroe Circle complex and often brings neighbors with him.

What he enjoys, he says, is "to see people eating here, to see them in a more relaxed atmosphere."

"It allows you to meet people from other walks of life," says Eileen Wade, 56. "When you think you have problems, you find someone whose problems are worse than yours."

But make no mistake, she says: That one meal makes a financial difference "when you're on a limited income and you only get a lousy $10 in food stamps (per month)."Raymond Seiler, 64, tunes in to the spiritual presentation, a scaled-down version of the church's weekend services. Some of it is on the TV screens in the room, a Christian message with a rhythm-and-blues beat that moves the diners to sway. King also speaks, but so do other church members, like Mike Jackson, who had seen President Barack Obama's inauguration in Washington, D.C.

"You don't hear one person talking," says Seiler, a retiree who also picks up food boxes here each month. "You can hear a lot of people getting the message across about Jesus Christ. In church, you only hear one person, and everyone else has to shut up."

Meanwhile, children are in a room next door with more elbow room for their energetic bodies. They are coloring sheets of Noah's ark, sipping water and munching on chips. Ten to 20 kids show up weekly for a meal and a Christian activity.

The food then comes in both rooms. In the past there has been spaghetti, turkey, soups … really, just a variety. This time it is a form of broken bread, that biblical symbol of communion: Subway sandwiches.

A couple weekends ago at the Food Drop, Mayor Rea pulled me aside to inform me that he had nominated me for the Martin Luther King Drum Major award.  This award, sponsored by the Martin Luther King Foundation, City of South Bend, City of Mishawaka, and the Chamber of Commerce, is given to six people each year from Michiana who are recognized for their dedication to community service.

The Drum Major award was inspired by Dr King's speech at Ebenezer Baptist Church on February 4th, 1968

"Every now and then I think about my own death, and I think about my own funeral…I don't want a long funeral.  And if you get somebody to deliver the eulogy, tell them not to talk too long…Tell them not to mention that I have a Nobel Peace Prize…Tell them not to mention that I have three or four hundred other awards…I'd like somebody to mention that day, that Martin Luther King, Jr., tried to give his life to serving others.  I'd like for somebody to say that day that Martin Luther King, Jr. tried to love somebody…Say that I was a drum major for justice.  Say that I was drum major for peace.  That I was a drum major for righteousness.  And all of the other shallow things will not matter…I just want to leave a committed life behind."

Here's what I said this morning:

On behalf of Granger Community Church, I am privileged beyond words to receive this great honor that carries the name of Dr King.  He is one of the  brightest lights in our country’s history. On this day, we all find our lives elevated by his great faith, his great work and his great vision. Especially in light of tomorrow’s inauguration, it is right for us to pause and recognize what a an emotionally powerful and historic moment this is.  One that goes beyond the ordinary politics that we are all accustomed to. In large part due to legacy of Dr King, the whole world will now see an idea of American Leadership that reaches beyond white males.  Tomorrow, the whole world will see the American ideal of racial equality realized in a whole new way.

Regarding the Drum Major award,  I stand here merely as a representative of the people of Granger Community Church. As is true of any great endeavor, the work that Mayor Rea described as our gift to this community extends so far beyond the gifts and talents and devotion of any one person. If it weren’t for the willing hearts and hands of the people called Granger Community Church, if it weren’t for the support and brilliant leadership of our Senior Pastor Mark Beeson, a much smaller story would have been told this morning.

On behalf of Granger Community Church, I want to say, it is our commitment to continue the great work of service that Dr King has called all of us to. These are his words..

“.. Jesus gave us a new norm of greatness. If you want to be important—wonderful. If you want to be recognized—wonderful. If you want to be great—wonderful. But recognize that he who is greatest among you shall be your servant. That's a new definition of greatness… by giving that definition of greatness, it means that everybody can be great, because everybody can serve. You don't have to have a college degree to serve. You don't have to make your subject and your verb agree to serve. You don't have to know about Plato and Aristotle to serve. You don't have to know Einstein's theory of relativity to serve. You don't have to know the second theory of thermodynamics in physics to serve. You only need a heart full of grace and a soul generated by love. And you can be that servant.”

Some of my favorite people in the world were there.  Let me say, this award belongs to them even more than it belongs to me.

To God be the glory!  If it weren't for Jesus, I would still be stuck on the smallest thing in the world: self.

PHOTOS:  R Mark Beeson (My Favorite Photographer)

In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.    Jesus, Matthew 5:16

Word is getting out.  See what the community is saying…

South Bend Tribune

Elkhart Truth

Fox News

NBC News

I loved how some of the recipients specifically mentioned this as a "gift from God."  Even more, how they were surprised that the people of GCC showed up despite the weather. 

A little snow is not going to slow God's people down.

Hey, people of GCC, "Well done, good and faithful servants!"

Second Saturday is coming this weekend.  We're packing food boxes that we'll deliver to over 8000 needy families during our Food Drop, January 10th.  In addition, we'll be serving our friends down at Monroe Circle via Son City Kids and the Food Pantry.   Here's an inside look of Second Saturday we put together for Innovate this year.  Grab a friend and invite them to make an impact with you.

About a month back, Dan sent me the following email.  I've been meaning to post it and this last weekend's services reminded me to get this "small intervention" story out there.

Rob;

As you know the parking lot at MC3 was rough graded last fall when Cutting Edge installed our dry wells to meet city code for occupancy.  Josh Walk (GCC member) is one of the owners of Cutting Edge and he not only donated the men and the equipment to install the surface and building water drains but donated the four dry wells that contain all the water runoff.  We estimated the value of this to be approximately $10, 000 to $12,000.

This spring Josh brought a crew back in an re-graded the lot to fill in the mud holes and ruts created over the winter and spring thaw.  At that time I shared with Josh that we really wanted to pave the lot but the bids were coming back in around $15,000 to $18,000 and we didn’t have the budget for this expense but I was still looking for a funding source.  No funding came in so I was resigned to “dealing” with the parking lot again this winter.

Tuesday night Josh called and asked if we got the parking lot paved.  I shared that we had not and that we were just going to deal with it again since every dollar of our budget needed to be allocated toward programming.  He asked if I minded if he sent a team over on Wednesday with a load of limestone and I shared again we had no money let alone the $4 to $6,000 it would take to bring in 3” of limestone.  He stated that he was not asking me to pay a dine but he wanted to donate it to the mission – he believed God had really been blessing his business over the last few months and he wanted to return the blessing.  So, last night I swung by MC3 and pulled into a smooth, lime-stoned parking lot and I began to cry.

God has been so good to us and gives us full-blown miracles every day but I just race by them most of the time – lately, I have begun to envy Raj and our Indian pastors that get to witness miracle after miracle because without God’s intervention it would not have happened.  Well, yesterday I had nothing to give and Jesus showed up in Josh Walk’s skin and dropped it in my lap.  Maybe that is exactly why God is allowing us to deal with our present budget crisis because we have become so self-assured and self-reliant that we miss God’s hand of provision over and over again.

As remarkable as the miracle is the back story on Josh.  Last year he was taken for hundreds of thousands of dollars by a large contractor that found a loophole for not paying but Josh was committed to act with integrity.  Fuel prices kept escalating higher and higher this summer but he was committed to operate his business debt free and pay his employees on time – everyone got paid.  His wife and he are dealing with all the real life issues of a blended family but he keeps doing the next right thing.  Quite frankly, it humbles me greatly when God continues to allow me to lead and influence people like Josh that possess a faith like a lion.

Thanks for allowing me to be part of your team.

Dan