Monday at the Mission
The Newsletter of People's City Mission, Lincoln, Nebraska
Providing Basic Necessities to 10% of the Lincoln Population
Emergency Shelter Transitional Housing Distribution Center |
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| The Fourth Monday in Lent 2008
Monday, March 3, 2008 |
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Greetings!
When the fire alarms went off last week and the sprinklers started spraying water into the room where the sprinkler head had been broken by an 8-year-old, all of our residents quickly grabbed their most precious belongings and headed for the door! It is a simple act. It was a natural thing to do. Our guests want to save everything that is valuable to them and frankly, our guests don't have that much to save.
I've thought about that fact a lot this week and I think it's mainly because in contrast, I have so much to save. I know that I would want to save all the photos of my children. The photos are irreplaceable. Of course, I would want to scoop up the tax records....particularly as April 15 approaches. Then there are handmade quilts, blankets and furniture items that were made by family members, long departed from this earth. Now that my mother has passed away, even items with her handwriting are precious to me. My husband's lifetime of sermons and our computer. There are so many treasures stored up around my house that I would probably die in the fire trying to save them all!
I contrast my situation with that of our guests who have so little. And, in making the contrast, I hear the words of Jesus, "Lay not up for yourself treasures on earth, where moth and rust consume (and where water or fire may destroy all you own...) but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven." Matthew 6:19. I realized that one of the great tests of life lies in determining what we treasure in this life. And anyone who treasures "things" is bound to live a life of disappointment and fear for things are never permanent.
Now, even though I am not a theologian, I believe that when Jesus was speaking of treasures in Heaven, he was referring to those things that are eternal and which endure forever ... such as acts of kindness, mercy and love. Acts like those the PCM Staff shared with the little boy who set off the fire alarm last week by playfully sticking a stick into the sprinkler head. He had no idea of what he was doing. The poor boy, a recent immigrant from Sudan, was terrified. He thought he was going to be taken away to jail and separated even further from his already fragmented family. But the PCM staff knows about young boys and their attraction to "gizmos" in ceilings and our staff calmly handled this "event" in a kind and loving and forgiving way. Watching them lovingly nurture this frightened young boy, who knew that he had done something very, very wrong, was a moment to be "treasured in heaven."
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| PCM - Church Advisory Board Meeting |
Thursday, March 6, 2008
7:00 P.M., People's City Mission Cafeteria, 110 Q Street
The Advisory Board will meet this Thursday to honor Rick Ragsdale (pictured at right) and to introduce the Advisory Board members to our staff. If you are on the advisory board, please plan to attend!
How do you get to the Mission without the Harris Overpass? Easy.
From the South: take Highway 77 until it intersects with West O Street and then turn east.
From the North: take Sun Valley Boulevard to West O Street and turn east.
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| Congratulations! |
Six women graduate from the Mirror Program!
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| Last Friday, graduation ceremonies were held at the Mission for six women who completed our Mirror Program. This is a program of recovery and healing under the supervision of Renita Tyrance.
Please join me in congratulating our graduates and praying for their continued success as they start life anew. May the Holy Spirit be with them, guide them and protect them and may they Praise the Lord all the days of their lives.
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| Lydya Omondi needs our help. |
Tuition Assistance.
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 Lydia Omondi would like to enroll at SCC to study Early Childhood Education. School is important to Lydya for two reasons....the education will help her find work in the US and will allow her to stay here legally under student status.
Lydia's tuition will be around $800.00 and she also will need textbooks. Enrollment is Friday, March 7.
If you would like to make a financial contribution to help Lydya with her tuitin or books, please contact Rebecca Weber at 475-1303. |
| Curtis Center |
Full Occupancy!
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| We made our goal! All of our rooms in the Curtis Center were rented by the end of February.
Edie McNeese has been working with applicants for three months. Edie reviews applications, explains our programs to the men and does background checks. She also helps applicants save for the first month's rent. Not surprisingly, this is difficult for some of our tenants.
The Curtis Center men have great respect for Edie, calling her Mom. If you have some "odd jobs" around your home and would like to hire one of our Curtis Center tenants, please call Edie at 475-1303. We have some great workers!
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| Please join me in prayer |
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| Lord, hear our prayers. We have a guest who is in danger of losing her newborn son to CPS. Her two daughters were taken and she relinquished custody of them to avoid having her newborn automatically sent to foster care. Lord, be with this new mother. Help her to parent successfully and to set her life on a new path. Soothe her grieving heart as she prays for her daughters.
Lord, hear our prayers for the families that have found housing and are leaving the Mission this week. Life is difficult for them. They are barely hanging on financially. Guide and nurture them in their daily struggles. Set them on the path of a better life.
Lord, hear our prayers for Michelle's daughter. Michelle has abandoned her to her grandmother. However, the biological father now wants to remove her from the grandmother's home.
Thanks be to God for the six women who graduated from the Mirror Program . It is God alone who can truly change lives and we give thanks for thy loving care and tender mercies to those in need.
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Barbara McCall, Director of Donor Development
People's City Mission
110 Q Street
Lincoln, Nebraska 68508
402 475-1303 |
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