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| Monday,
January 7, 2008 |
Monday at the Mission
The Weekly Newsletter of People's City Mission |
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Greetings!
A dear friend called before popping in for supper the other night, saying that she would be bringing the evening meal with her. For me, after a day at work, that's a real treat! Little did I suspect that the meal she was bringing to our home would rival Belshazzar's feast in Biblical proportions! What a grand dinner it was. She and my husband and I were at table for almost three hours and I enjoyed every minute of it!
The next morning at breakfast, as my husband and I were still re-living our enjoyment of the evening before, we realized that we were talking more about the pleasure of being in the company of our guest than about the food itself. The food, at first glance, was an overwhelming delight, but by evening's end it was the companionship and the conversation that was of enduring and endearing importance. It then occurred to me that such was often the case when in the Scriptures we read about Jesus sitting at table. It's His conversation that we remember. We often don't even know what He ate. But his words have engaged our hearts and our minds to this very day, as we think about the time when He:
Sat down at table with a Ruler. Luke 14:11
Sat down at table with Lazarus and his friends. John 12:2
Sat down at table with Sinners. Mark 2:16
Sat down at table with a Pharisee. Luke 11:37
Sat down at table with the Apostles. Luke 22:14, 24:30
It occurred to me that its something of that engaging conversational relationship that binds us here together with Christ every time that we sit at table together in the dining room of the Mission. Wendy Barber understood this when she brought cake for lunch....enough for all the staff and guests... to enjoy together at table today.
I often stay here for lunch. I have discovered that as much as I enjoy and appreciate the variety of meals that Edna Pickett and her staff prepare in the kitchen....it's really the company and the conversations with our guests that I enjoy the most. Which I suppose is why so many of us offer as a mealtime prayer these words:
Come Lord Jesus, be our guest,
And to us these gifts be blest.
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Move-In Day for the HIS Center |
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Emergency Shelter for Men (HIS Center) Moving to New Location Today!
Our emergency shelter for men is moving from the former Myers Electric Building, which we call the Homeless Intervention Services (HIS Center), to the newly remodeled rooms on the west side of the Mission. The entire west end of the existing Mission building at 110 Q Street was remodeled as part of the Curtis Center construction project.
The HIS Center is free bunk space for homeless men. A guest in the HIS Center is able to stay for 30 days. In order to extend this stay, the guest must be working with his case manager and making progress toward the goals he has identified that support independent living.
HIS Center guests will have access to the Agape Cafe, a coffee house type day area. The Agape Cafe will also be open to those men who participate in our "Day Watch" services. Bathing and laundry facilities, coffee, snacks, meals, case work services and recreational activities are available in the Agape Cafe area.
Men who are tenants of the Curtis Center have separate lounge, laundry, bathing and day service areas. The staff offices are in between the Agape Cafe and the Curtis Center lounge. |
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Mattress Pads for the Curtis Center |
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 As our men move into the Curtis Center, we (through your generosity) provide each of them with a set of twin-size sheets, a pillow, towel, blanket and some basic toiletries. Howver, we also need twin-size mattress pads!
January is the month of great sales in many stores. Would you be willing to donate a new or gently used twin-size mattress pad for one of our men? We need 60 mattress pads. You can deliver it to the Distribution Center, labeled "for the Curtis Center" or bring it to 110 Q Street. Thank you!
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Year-End Financial Information |
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God Blesses Us Each Day
Thanks to you, we achieved our December goal of $500,000.00 in cash donations.
This sum includes the proceeds of the Dollar Offering which was $885.00. Thank you to the churches that participated in this offering.
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Got Work? |
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Curtis Center Tenants Need Our Help
Many of our Curtis Center tenants are available to work on projects around your home or church. They need the extra money and want to work. Our tenants who pay child support are required to pay 50% of their disposible earnings toward current child support obligations and/or unpaid back child support. This means that they must earn double the amount that they need for their basic living expenses.
If you would like to hire one or more of our men for an hour, a day or several days, please call Edie McNeese at 475-1303.
Our men can do moving, cleaning, maintenance, painting, small construction projects, yard work, landscaping, snow shoveling, and similar tasks. Last week we sent one of our men to program a remote control device!
The suggested rate of pay is $10.00 per hour.
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Happy Birthday Pastor Tom! 
Tom was born January 7 |
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Staff Plans for 2008 |
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Off-site Meeting at LIBA Office
The management staff of the Mission and Distribution Center will meet for two days (January 10-11) at the LIBA offices. At this meeting we will set our specific, individual goals for the upcoming year....the first year of our second century.
This will be a year of many challenges. This will be the first year of operation for the Curtis Center. Our shelter will be able to accommodate 400 overnight guests, which increases our capacity by more than 50%. We have plans to open a free medical clinic on our Mission campus.
Pastor Tom has asked the staff to dedicate Wednesday, January 9, as a time of fasting and prayer as we prepare for the off-site meeting. Please join us in praying for guidance and direction.
Thank you.
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Lincoln Journal Star Article Today |
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Live Interview
The front page of today's Lincoln Journal featured an article about the Curtis Center. This article is available on the web at www.journalstar.com If you move to the whole article on the web page, you will find a bar for other media. If you click on this, it will take you to a tour of the Curtis Center featuring Tom Barber and two of our tenants, Steven and Rick.
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| Barbara B. McCall
Director of Donor Development
People's City Mission
110 Q Street
Lincoln, Nebraska 68508
phone: 402 475-1303 x103 |
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