Quite frequently Jesus would take his disciples apart from the crowds and go to a quiet place where they could be alone.  Usually it was when they needed to regroup and pray after some traumatic event such as the death of John the Baptist when he called his disciples together and said to them, "Come ye apart to a lonely place and rest awhile."  Mark 6:31

 

This is one of the great disciplines of the Lenten Season... to be able to separate ourselves from the rush of the things of this world and find a quiet place where we can meditate upon the things of the Spirit.  For many, Lent has become a time of study and meditative introspection and the cultivation of the spiritual life.

 

Likewise, here at the Mission, many of our guests also need to have a place where they can go and separate themselves from the noise and the rush and the commotion that is part of their daily life.  Knowing that, we designed and set apart a room in the new Curtis Center that is called the "Tranquility Room".  This is where our men can go and find peace and quiet.  It is acoustically set apart from the rest of the building.  Books and computers are available for the men to use.

 

 

I think this is one of the most important design decisions made in planning the Curtis Center.  Hopefully, it will give our men a place where they can discipline themselves to the thoughtful process of the power of God working in their lives.

 

All of this, of course, makes me ask myself where is that quiet place in my home where I can discipline myself during this Lenten Season to literally "come apart" and rest for awhile and contemplate the things of the Spirit?

 

February 23

 

Where? Coming to

your door

 

Who? Dare 2 Share

youth

 

What for? Collect

 

 

 

What an exciting opportunity for all of us here at the Mission. The episode will air in a few months. 

I'll provide more information about the show as it becomes available.

 

Rebecca Weber   475-1303

 

 

 

In the HIS Center (emergency shelter for men), we have had mattresses on the floor every night for several weeks.  Todd Schmeeckle, our HIS Center manager, reports that many of the men who usually sleep outside have come in for shelter on the particularly cold nights. 

 

Todd tells me that there is a group of men in our community who intentionally choose to live outside.  They take pride in their independence, even though it means living in conditions that most of us would not tolerate.  However, when conditions become extreme, these men will come into the shelter for short periods of time to get warm, to shower, perhaps obtain warm clothing and food.  We do our best to help these men, even if our contacts with them are intermittent and of short duration.

 

The services we provide are available to our community because of your help and support.  Thank you for all that you do!

 

While there are some free services available at Clinic with a Heart and People's Medical Clinic, they don't come close to meeting our needs....either because of long waiting lists or limited hours of operation.

 

Our goal for 2008 is to remodel the building we previously used for the HIS Center...just north of our Mission building...converting this space to a free health clinic, staffed by volunteer medical professionals and other volunteers.  We believe there is a strong need for these services and that providing this care will be a valuable service to our guests and also to our local Emergency Rooms. 

 

Look for more information on our free medical clinic in Monday at the Mission!  If you would like to be a professional or non-professional volunteer in our clinic, please call Beth Vavrina, 475-1303.  Beth is in charge of this project.