Community 4:12

5th Annual Celebration Generosity

Over the past 4 years, COMMUNITY has allocated $1.75 million to the work of four missional ministries . . . the NewThing Network, Frontline Ministries in the Philippines, our work in Haiti and Africa, mostly in partnership with World Relief, and the work of Community 4:12.  And this weekend, we will host our 5th annual Celebration Generosity.

I love this weekend and the generosity it inpsires.  To be honest, it is also a bit stressful, because my entire year's budget is determined by what Community 4:12 receives in designated gifts on this weekend.  I've never been particularly concerned about the money . . . God has been amazingly faithful in providing the resources we've needed for the work He's led us to do.  But, I'd be lieing if I didn't say I harbor a bit of human anxiety heading into the weekend.

Here's a snapshot video of some of the things we were able to do as a result of last year's Celebration Generosity. 

Everything we do, from Gift Marts to tutoring, to having space to run clinics and programs is fueled by the funding that comes in this weekend.  Our hope this next year is to continue our various programs and events and to:

• provide at least 150 kids in East Aurora and Joliet with tutors and mentors,
• continue supporting Emmanuel House in East Aurora by helping at least 4 low-income families begin the path of moving into homeownership and out of the cycle of poverty,
• sponsor Gift Marts in Aurora, Joliet, and Chicago to raise thousands of dollars to support educational initiatives at our partner schools.

 In addition to that, three new things we are dreaming about for this year are:

• Beginning a ministry in Chicago that will allow our two campuses to come alongside low-income families and individuals in the city through partnerships with World Relief and other organizations.  
• Increasing involvement in our Parent Mentor program to at least 50 parents in Aurora and Joliet.
• Creating an East Aurora Restore Team of at least 10 families that are committed to living in East Aurora and working relentlessly for community development.  We will not create deep, significant, and lasting impact unless we have families living in the neighborhood and doing life in partnership with the community, so that will be a big focus for us this year.

If you attend COMMUNITY, I hope you will join us this weekend and consider supporting the work of Community 4:12, and/or any of the great causes.  If you aren't able to join us, you can make a donation on-line; just specify in the comments which Team (Community 4:12, NewThing, Haiti, or Philippines) you'd like your donation to go towards. 

My Reaction to Kony 2012

As the Director of the Compassion and Justice ministry at Community Christian Church, a few of our staff have asked me what I think of the viral explosion of the Kony 2012 movement.  (In case you haven't heard of it, you can watch the video here:  http://vimeo.com/37119711).

In response to that explosion, there has also been an explosion of criticism lobbied against International Children and the Kony initiative.  (You can read one such criticism--that is well presented and makes some excellent points that I agree with---here:  http://liferemixed.net/2012/03/08/reflections-on-kony-2012/).

And then, in response to those criticisms, International Children has issued this response:  http://s3.amazonaws.com/www.invisiblechildren.com/critiques.html.

Not that I feel our staff needs my opinion to decide whether or not to support Kony 2012 or not, I love and appreciate that there is a desire to think about this critically and to look at things through a "When Helping Hurts" lens.  So, I shared the following response with them to read IF they were interested.  And I'll share it here for anyone interested in my opinion . . . and it is only that, my opinion.  I don't claim it as the typical "community development" position or as the "right" or "best" opinion.  It is simply my opinion as someone who deeply desires to see long and lasting restoration come to our world, as someone who deeply desires to see people move from apathy to engagement when it comes to issues of poverty and justice, and as a parent of teenagers hungry to make a difference in our world. 

I applaud the intention, the initiative, the call to action, and the inspiration of Kony 2012.  I believe that apathy and ignorance are two of the worst evils and biggest obstacles to overcoming poverty and injustice.  Kony 2012 is trying to blow both of those to smithereens.  Is Kony 2012, if successful, going to end injustice or really impact the horrible situation in Africa?  Even if it is, is it the most effective and helpful way to do so?  I would say possibly, and maybe even probably, not to both of those questions.  Does that mean we shouldn't get involved?  I would say no to that, too.  What I would hope, though, and what I am encouraging my own family to do, is not so much rally around the poster plastering on April 20th, as to use this as an opportunity to enter a passionate debate and dialogue and rally with others around the bigger issue of poverty and injustice and what our role and responsibility as human beings and as Christ followers is in these situations.  So, if people are organizing and planning "poster plastering" rallies and events, I would hope they will also include a time of discussion and reflection and a follow-up "debriefing/what do we do from here?" conversation.

The biggest tragedy to me in all of this will be if millions of people are mobilized and excited about Kony 2012 and April 20th, but then life goes back to "normal" by April 25th.  And the reality is that will probably happen for many if not most people who get involved.  But, if a few dozen or a few hundred or maybe even a few thousand people are inspired to move from apathy to long-term, thoughtful, smart engagement and involvement in poverty and justice issues, I will say it was a job well done.

 

All It Took Was a Team

For the past couple of years, I have received an email every month or so letting me know about the need for volunteers to help at citizenship workshops in the area.  These workshops help immigrants with green cards navigate the complicated process of applying for US citizenship.  In order for volunteers to help at a workshop, they understandably have to go through a training to learn about that complicated process.  Every time I received the email I would think, "I would really like to do this . . . I really should do this . . . it is such an important issue in my community."  But, alas, month after month it felt like I didn't have time to give both a Friday night and a Saturday, so it remained on the "should do" list.

Until this month. 

Last Friday night, most of us on the East Aurora Restore team attended the two hour training and then on Saturday went to East Aurora High School to help residents attending the workship fill out the long and rather confusing application.  It was a fantastic experience, and now that we have been trained, any of us can (and I am sure will) help at future workshops.

So, why was this month different?  What motivated me to take action after all this time?

Having a team to do it with.  And not because I was scared to go alone or felt intimidated by the process.  Doing it with a team was simply more fun and provided more accountability and incentive to move from thinking about doing it to actually doing it.

And that is exactly the reason we needed to form this East Aurora Restore Team.   Not because we need to come up with a grand new vision about how to impact our community.  But because as a Team, I believe we are 100% more likely to do all those things that as individuals we've been thinking we "should do" or "would like to do."  But, I do suspect that as we do those things we will develop a bigger vision for how we can impact our community. 

All it took to move from thinking to doing was having a team. 

Then make me truly happy by agreeing wholeheartedly with each other, loving one another, and working together with one heart and purpose.--Philippians 2:2

 

Meet the East Aurora Restore Team

Last week I presented a brand new team we are forming in East Aurora--the East Aurora Restore Team that will be made up of 10 - 15 families living in our focus community in East Aurora. These will be families that have relocated to the neighborhood from more affluent communities, and families that have lived in the neighborhood for years. This Team will exist to engage deeply and relationally in the neighborhood, to identify community assets and challenges, and to work with people inside and outside the community to tackle those challenges.

I'd like to introduce you to the 5 families committed to launching this team:

 

Scott, Kirsten, Erik (14) & Brian (12) Strand
  We moved to East Aurora from Naperville in 2007, and our kids have attended the public elementary and middle schools in District 131.  Kirsten directs Community 4:12 at CCC, and Scott teaches 3rd grade at one of our partner schools, Bardwell Elementary.  While we've worked and served in East Aurora since 2003, it has only been since moving here that we have built deep and lasting relationships that have quite honestly been life changing . . . from a teenage girl we've been able to mentor to a single mom and her kids that have become like family to us. Our boys have experienced cultural and economic diversity and learned "life lessons" that can't be taught in even the best of schools.   We absolutely love living in East Aurora!

 

Obe & Jack Arellano

  We moved from Villa Park to Aurora in 2007 with the plans of planting a church.   We felt God leading us to do so in the East Aurora community.   We first got connected with what was going on there, volunteering with not-for-profit organizations like Community 4:12, which led to Obe doing a Leadership Residency at CCC. We started a bilingual campus in the heart of East Aurora in January, 2010. Obe is the campus pastor and Jack works with Emmanuel House, an organization that helps low-income families in East Aurora purchase their first home. We have recently moved just down the street from the campus and love opening our home to the community. 

 

Drake, Josie, & Grace (9) Schopen

  We moved to East Aurora in July, 2011, and Grace is currently attending Bardwell Elementary. Drake owns his own Pest Control business (which he hopes to move to East Aurora in 6-8 weeks) and Josie works at CCC-EA campus as the Kids' City Director. We began helping in East Aurora with several Community 4:12 events and after helping and building a relationship with Kirsten and hearing her story we decided to move to the community. We continue to help with events, but I have now begun to help and become a permanent fixture in Bardwell School. I am trying to build relationships with staff and parents. And now by living 3 blocks from the church and 4 blocks away from the school has made it a great middle point for the kids that we have built friendships with to stop by and hang out. We look forward to the day when their parents join them!!

 

 

Mike, Jeannene, & Amanda (21) Miller

 We have spent the last year physically (you know, all those ongoing home repairs), mentally and emotionally preparing (ourselves & families) for our move to East Aurora, which we are praying will happen in 2012.  We have served for many years in the East Aurora area; from the events through Community 4:12, being a part of the EA Campus & their launch team, to being a part of the Tuesday night Kids City program.  It has been through this continued involvement and evolving friendships, that we have felt the prompting to take the next step.  We really want to get to know these kids, their families & this community.  It is extremely difficult to build true deep relationships when commuting from Naperville to EA , without sacrificing one or the other.  We are looking forward to being a real & constant part of this community.  I can't wait to see what happens when families and cultures are blended and our "family" is extended.

 

Lou Peryea
  I spent the first third of my 63 years growing up in an affluent suburb, assuming that I knew a lot about the real world.  Going off to college in the late sixties introduced me to a world filled with color, diversity, excitement and injustice.  These last 4 decades have been spent in a variety of diverse settings - raising our family in a small but multi-cultural city - being blessed with friends from a broad range of racial, ethnic, educational and economic diversity - helping to raise children who have experienced challenges that break my heart  - and traveling to nations, thus witnessing the profound faith of the truly impoverished.  Jesus continues to stretch my comfort zone and open my eyes.  Life is good........ being a neighbor on the East Side of Aurora is good....... understanding that I can truly contribute to the healing of the world is good!

 

Restoration Depends on Incarnation

If you have come to help me, you are wasting your time.  But if you have come because your liberation is bound up with mine, then let us work together.  –Australian Aboriginal Activitst, Lila Watson

 

Since 2003, Community 4:12 has been working in East Aurora with the goal of creating a model of community development and restoration that can be replicated in other communities.  We’ve established programs around educational and housing challenges that many under-resourced neighborhoods face and have replicated some of those in Joliet.  A large part of our strategy has been to mobilize Community Christian Church attenders to come and serve in lower-income communities.  While this has been effective in many instances, it has not created a model that depends on truly coming along side and partnering with the people in the neighborhoods where we work.  And we believe that significant and lasting change absolutely depends on that type of incarnational ministry.  So this year we are launching a new effort in East Aurora to help us better achieve our hope of truly uniting people of different races and cultures and economic backgrounds to restore communities.  I am very excited about the launch of this new East Aurora Restore Team.

 

The East Aurora Restore Team will be made up of 10 - 15 Christ-following families living in the focus neighborhood in East Aurora.  These will be families that have relocated to the neighborhood from more affluent communities, and families that have lived in the neighborhood for years.  This Team will exist to engage deeply and relationally in the neighborhood, to identify community assets and challenges, and to work with people inside and outside the community to tackle those challenges. 

 

In my next post, I will introduce the 5 families that are committed to launching the East Aurora Restore Team.  All of us are people who have intentionally moved to East Aurora to be part of community restoration efforts.  We have been praying for several months that 3 – 5 more families would feel—and respond---to God’s call to join us.   Would you join us in praying for that?  And if you have any sense that God may be tugging at YOUR heart to consider a missional move, or to be part of a focused incarnational ministry team, I invite you to join us for dessert and to hear more about the vision and dreams of this Team.  We will meet at Community Christian Church, Naperville Yellow Box Campus, on Monday evening, February 13^th at 7:00 pm.   Leave a comment, or send me an email at kirstenstrand@communitychristian.org and let me know if you’d like to join us or want more information—no commitment or obligation, just come and learn!

Aurora Churches for Education

I had the opportunity to attend the news conference today announcing funding for a new Early Learning Initiative to help ensure that every child in Aurora has access to pre-school opportunities.  There are currently only 49 "slots" for every 100 three and four year olds in Aurora who are at high risk of not being ready for kindergarten.  And all the research shows that children who enter kindergarten without key skills (social skills, self-control, early literacy & math, and vocabularly) are highly likely to remain academically below grade level and are at very high risk of not completing high school.

"Coincidentally" this news conference happened right before a meeting we had scheduled that included several church leaders and our state representative Linda Chapa Lavia to talk about . . .how churches can get more involved in early childhood education.  The meeting was scheduled months ago.  Tne news conference was announced this week.  So, all of us church leaders showed up at the news conference where we learned about this partnership between the Aurora school districts, the city of Aurora, and  the United Way and area non-profits.  The missing piece?  The local church.  This gave the Church the opportunity to stand up and say, "We care about this issue, too, and we want to be a part of the solution!" 

Our previously planned meeting suddenly grew in attendance as representatives from the City of Aurora and this new SPARK (Strong, Prepared and Ready for Kindergarten) initiative joined us and we began to dream about the role the local church can play in helping to educate the young children in our community.

I can't help but think that God was smiling today as he saw church and state uniting around this huge need in our community! 

My Convenience = Their Oppression

I recently read this book that chronicles the experiences of five Latina immigrant mothers in Oakland, California as they become informed and engaged advocates for their children's education.  It has generated a lot of thought and reflection, but one statement in particular has really stuck with me:  "whites . . . have become so used to speaking for the 'Other' that they are not aware of how their speech silences those who most need to be heard. [There is] deep paternalism underlying many progressive change efforts initiated by whites, where people of color are spoken about, rather than invited to speak as experts of their own experience."

I know and believe in the value and importance of speaking "with" and not just "to" or "for" a community, but if I am really honest, I know this statement is true of me at times.  Not all the time, but there are times when it is easier and more convenient to "speak on their behalf" rather than coordinating challenging work schedules and getting translators when I am involved in meetings and discussions about programs and activities we are doing, or want to do, in the community.

This was a potent reminder that avoiding inconvenience fosters the exact kind of oppression we are working to alleviate.

Choosing a Justice Cause

It has been so long since I've posted . . . hopefully I'll do better in 2012.  In the meantime, this post on Dave Ferguson's blog is too good not to share!

Avoiding Segregation

A few weeks ago we did a message series at church called "Poverty in My Own Backyard" that was based on the book "When Helping Hurts."  One of the messages was titled, "Poverty of Community," and focused on the topic I blogged about recently . . . the idea that unless we have true friends that are different from us racially, culturally, economically, we are "poor" when it comes to community.  A friend just shared this very interesting exercise that she had to do for a college class that demonstrates that quite literally if each of us chose to be near just one person who is different from us, we could end segregation.  Check it out . . . http://www.understandingprejudice.org/segregation/.

Everyday Lives of Love and Justice

A great post on "the justlife" . . .Everyday Lives of Love and Justice.