A Celebration of Training and Development

It has been a while since I wrote something about the goings on in the wonderful town of Kendallville and the wonderful county of Noble County that I have lived in for over a decade. When the recession hit, our county unemployment rose to nearly 20% at one point which, for a time, was the second highest in the state of Indiana behind Elkhart County that borders Noble County on its western side.

But the recession brought our county together in some wonderful, inspirational, and important ways. I was part of several meetings that led to the creation of the Community Table that fed people twice a week without questions and without charge in Kendallville and also in Ligonier on the western side of the county and since has moved to other locations throughout the county. A community garden was also developed with volunteer labor and donations to provide fresh and locally grown produce to those who needed it.

But there is an organization, whose 20th anniversary was celebrated today, that has contributed to increasing the workforce skills and education of employees not just here in Noble County but in the Northeast Indiana area as a whole that continues to be a key part of economic and workforce development vital to a diverse and healthy economy.

Appropriately named Freedom Academy, http://www.freedomacademy.net/ , this organization was begun in 1991 by the late Chet Dekko, a local businessman who believed that education was a vital part of personal and economic development that gave people greater freedom to live a better life.

Today I was reminded in a fun filled setting featuring the theme of ‘Breakfast at Tiffany’s’ from the Academy Award winning film of the same name, (hence the picture of the table at the beginning of this post) of the lift that education and training gives to people and their lives.  I was moved with the story of one young man in his twenties who quit high school but then, through the Freedom Academy, got his GED and is now employed in the health care field and is looking to further his education and become a nurse!

I was glad I went today because it reminds me that I am a part of a wonderful community that values education and training as the means to a better life and I celebrate  with the students, staff, and board of Freedom Academy on their successful 20 years of important work! Congrats Melissa and company!

Thursday Thoughts: Grandparents as Parents

Image by dkaz via Flickr

Around five years ago I met with a group of people here in Noble County, Indiana and discussed various issues we believed needed to be addressed in the county. One of those issues had recently started to appear in what I was reading and hearing – grandparents raising their grandkids. As a result of that meeting several of us pursued a course of action that led to a yearlong participation in a national study of kinship care with Western Michigan University funded by the Kellogg Foundation.

(Found here http://www.wmich.edu/grs/ )

Now I have written about this before but I am re-introducing this topic because I follow Generations United on Twitter (twitter.com/GensUnited) and they recently tweeted some links to articles that I want to briefly highlight which affect thousands of grandparents who live not just in my rural county but across this nation in urban and suburban areas.

The first is a piece from Minnesota Public Radio (MPR) entitled “More Grandparents Raising Their Grandkids in Recession.”

http://m.mprnews.org/11135/show/4dc5298c4117fe1cbd6a470e2c863008&t=b82b2888c64076f280026d2ac5bfceff

In the article is this sentence,” More than 22,000 Minnesota grandparents were the primary caregivers for their grandchildren in 2009, according to the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey. That’s up from around 18,000 a decade ago.” He goes on to note that a variety of factors, including economic, have caused a greater number of grandchildren to be raised by grandparents.

The second highlights one important aspect of kinship care (care by family members other than biological parents) by Michael B Friedman, the retired Director of The Center for Policy, Advocacy, and Education of The Mental Health Association of New York City, in an article entitled “Mental Health Needs In Kinship Care Should be a Priority.”

http://www.michaelbfriedman.com/mbf/images/stories/mental_health_policy/KINSHIP_MENTAL_HEALTH_NEEDS_Print_Friendly.doc.pdf

Mr. Friedman writes eloquently of the mental health needs of children being raised in kinship families as well as the care givers and the parents themselves. He advocates in this article that kinship care needs to be a policy priority with social and mental health agencies.

These two articles (which I encourage you to read) highlight the needs of a group of people who are often active members of a local church but find these needs are not addressed by current programs or ministries. I recently wrote an article for my church’s national newspaper that underscored the need for creating a support/education group (and I would now add advocacy) for these persons who love their grandchildren/nieces/nephews but find their resources, and spirits, drained by the demands of “parenting.” I encourage not just clergy but laity who are either directly or indirectly affected by these issues to consider starting a support group or networking with local agencies for both the caregivers and those being raised. Hard work that takes time, but valuable.

(Two great resources to help you get started are The Extra Parent, by Elaine Denholtz, and To Grandma’s House, We…Stay, by Sally Houtman.)

These are my Thursday Thoughts

Noble County Update: Community Table Celebrates 1 Year of Service/Ministry

At the beginning of 2009, pastors, government officials, citizens, and community leaders gathered to discuss how to care for the fast rising number of Noble County persons out of work and out of food.

The result was a wonderful synergy of the public, private, and faith based sectors who developed, under the leadership of the United Way of Noble County, the Community Table. Based at Trinity Church, United Methodist in Kendallville, the table serves free meals twice a week. Free meals are also served at Trinity’s sister congregation in Ligonier, on the west side of Noble County, at Ligonier United Methodist church.

Between the two sites, according to a report in our local paper, The Kendallville News-Sun,  over 19,000 meals have been served since it began last March.

Now, again according to the News-Sun, LaOtto Wesleyan church, located in the Southeastern part of Noble County, will soon begin serving meals. Other locations, I believe are in process to offer meals as well.

CM has spawned a community garden that, at last report, has grown to three acres in size, and has I am told East Noble Students are helping to grow starter plants for the planting this season. Master gardeners and a group of other vital citizens have formed a board to help the Noble County resident, Bill Parker, who started the garden last spring.

I, along with several members of my congregation, serve the meal once a month at Trinity. It has been very gratifying to serve God and the community in this manner.

To me, it underscores the missional nature of rural and small town churches who continue to be vital partners in not just the spiritual life of a residents but a key player in the life and health of the community as a whole.

What if?

As I read to my two boys tonight about Moses, I thought about the Israelite leaders during the time between Joseph and Moses:
What kept them going? What sustained their faith? What was their faith like?
Did they remember the God of their ancestors? Did they feel like failures? How did they know Moses was truthful?
Did these Israelite leaders feel like failures? Should they have?
How many pastors who faithfully pastor a congregation between pastors of great effectiveness feel like failures?
I am not personalize this at all. It just came to my thoughts as I read the passage. I am relearning the value of reading scripture aloud!

Being In Charge or Being a ‘Charger?’

Wow, I have not posted in over a month anything but sermons and thought as I entered the office, “Maybe you should post something today.”

Well… after I got myself settled in (and my secretary the information that she needed) I opened up The Alban Institute’s Leadership In Congregations edited by Richard Bass and started reading the article by Edward A White, “What Kind of Pastor Will Most Likely Empower the Laity?”

And I read these words…

“One sign of spiritual maturity is when you are secure enough to help others become bigger than you are.”

Inside myself, I sat straight up as I read and then I came to this statement…

“I once heard an Episcopal priest named Jack Harris say, “Every pastor has to make a choice as to whether they want to be in control or whether they want to be taken seriously.”

Whoa…

Then I read on and now almost standing, came to this statement, “Clergy need to care more about internal authority and less about external control.”

Old feelings and passions came to the conscious surface as I read these words (and I need to finish the article) because one of the things that has mattered to me throughout my ministry is the ability to empower the laity to do ministry. I have found no greater pleasure in ministry than in helping lay persons find their voice and place in the ministry and mission of the church.

But, life and all the clamoring for my attention, time, and money for this program or this model of ministry push this passion into the background for a while… and until today.

But now, I want to act on this resurrected passion and start helping my congregation find their voice and place in the ministry and mission of the church.

However, it seems the issue of time and the demands of attractional ministry presents problems today that a more missional approach would not.

How do I begin? Well I already have two ideas in mind that I am going to attempt to implement. One is structural/positional and one is programmatic.

I will let you know…

What about you? How would go about empowering laity?

August 22, 2009 Noble County Update

It has been a few months since I gave a Noble County update.

The Community Table, which began in late March, continues to serve those who need a good meal and, from what I recently heard from a key Noble County leader, has really made a significant inroad in reducing the request for food. Phase 2, the development of a comprehensive case management system, to provide a one-stop system of resource care and aid, is underway and I am currently a part of those discussions. I am very pleased with the holistic assessment approach that is proposed. The Community Garden in Kendallville, continues to provide healthy food and is rapidly coming to full harvest.

Thr!ve Noble County, the rural development program is moving along and each of the ‘pillars’ are meeting to develop their initial strategies. I serve on the Leadership pillar and we had a very productive meeting this past week.

Unemployment continues to be a serious issue, and statistics released this week indicates that Noble County, at 16.6% unemployment is number two in the state.

Noble County Update

It has been a while since I posted on what is going on in Noble County, at least in the circles that I travel. Here it is…

Thrive Noble County (which is our Hometown Competitiveness program for Noble County, a comprehensive rural development program) is underway after a great mid-April launch. We are currently in the assessment phase that will last for a few more weeks. The goal is 1,500 completed surveys and two versions, one for adults and one for middle and high school students have been created. Some of us were sent 5 surveys to share with people we live and work with. Others can take the survey on the website. http://noblethrive.com

If you would like to follow this important program, you can do so on Twitter. http://twitter.com/thrive_noble_co

Community Garden is well under way.  This was the creation of two members of my congregation and was in response to the growing (and still current) economic downturn in our county. Many organizations and businesses, (including the local garden club, I was told this morning) have contributed to this important community work. It is about 10,000 sq ft and includes vegetables and herbs. No chemical fertilizers will be used on it and it will include both sunflowers and marigolds to interest the local rabbit population!  Planting began about two weeks ago and already radishes and other items are coming up!

The Community Table is continuing to do good work. This was the program that grew out of discussions with community leaders, Mayor Suzanne Handshoe of Kendallville and the United Way of Noble County earlier this year. It started on March 20^th and is meeting a vital need. I have yet to make a visit as my Mondays and Thursdays night are usually full but I am hearing good things about it. The fresh veggies and herbs being growing in the Community Garden will be available to those who need it at the Community Table. The Table is not just about providing food but also job assistance and other kinds of community support to those who need it. I recently attended a meeting where a plan was unveiled that, if implemented, should help to improve the ability to serve those who need some kind of assistance – energy, education, training, etc in a far more helpful and holistic manner

‘Talk[ing] it Out’ and finding their voice

It has been a while since I have written about this amazing and diverse community I live in called Noble County. Yes, I live in the ‘largest’ town in the county, Kendallville, which has a population of around 10,000 persons, and yes, I am concerned with the affairs of my congregation who live in and around Kendallville as well as Noble County. But I am also concerned about those who are a part of my community as well.

Pastor-preachers often say they have a ‘verse’ out of the Bible that shapes their work. That might seem strange to some but it really isn’t. I think that it is one of the ways that God directs us in our care and service to others in His name.

Early in my time here in Kendallville a verse, actually verses that became my ‘verse’ is Jeremiah 29:4-7:

The Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, sends this message to all the captives he has exiled to Babylon from Jerusalem: “Build homes, and plan to stay. Plant gardens, and eat the food you produce. Marry, and have children. Then find spouses for them, and have many grandchildren. Multiply! Do not dwindle away! And work for the peace and prosperity of Babylon. Pray to the Lord for that city where you are held captive, for if Babylon has peace, so will you.” (NLT)

This passage, with the word to “work for the peace and prosperity” of Babylon, also says to me, “Bloom where I have planted you Jim.” And I have tried to do that these past nearly nine years.

Today, I attended a meeting with some other community leaders and servants and also a member of my community whose voice needs to be heard more and more in our community. It is part of the “peace and prosperity” work that I believe God has called me to do and I do think is a part of His Kingdom work in the church. (Not peace and prosperity in the way that some have interpreted it, however.)

It is about a new curriculum; a new process designed to help those in our community who have lost their job and all the resultant challenges to personal mental and emotional health as well as the impact on one’s relationships. It is called “Talk it Out.”

One of the presenters was a member of the community who shared her story of ‘talking it out’ and who is now reaching out to others to help them ‘Talk it Out.’ After she shared, I was struck with the thought that “here is someone who has found her voice.” And I realized that in “working for the peace and prosperity” of Noble County, we help others “find their voice” to serve and care as well.

The discussion guide is only 15 pages and is a five-week guide. I am going to re-purpose our Thursday night small group in another week and use this guide, with those members of my congregation who so desire it, to help them “find their voice.”

The guide should be available on-line at www.nec.org within the week as a pdf file and has already found its way to places like New Orleans and Washington, D.C.

NEWS FLASH!

I just received a tweet that that East Noble “Boomerang Backpack Program” will appear on NBC Nightly News’ “Making a Difference” segment tonight. This was featured in an article about our county that appeared last month in the Christian Science Monitor. Tune in!

Quote of the Week

I like a good quote and for while I would enter a quote in something I read in a file that I call ‘quotes’ and then share them with a group of young adults that I ‘bought stock in’ a while back.

I have become busier since then and have stop writing down the quotes, but now I am going to start it up and again and share one with you each week.

Today’s quote came at the end of the on-line version of an editorial regarding grandparents raising grandchildren in yesterday’s Sunday paper.

I like it because it reflects my philosophy that you can talk about change all you want to and express it at the ballot box, but real change comes to you and to others in the day-to-day living in your community by getting involved through your place of worship and faith, community clubs,  the schools, etc and making a difference in those who live with you and next to you.

“Volunteering is the ultimate exercise in democracy.  You can vote in elections every year, but when you volunteer, you vote everyday about the kind of community you want to live in.” Marjorie Moore

Inspiring Rural/Small Town Resiliency

This past week, I found through some sources (which I name as I go along) some very inspiring stories about the resiliency of rural and small town America during this time of our history. They moved me and illustrated the growing truth (and perhaps reminded us of an old truth) that the rural and small town environment can, does, and still does, take care of one another in humanizing and exciting ways.

The first story is of my own county.

Last week my friend Grace Housholder, who is a member of our local paper’s, The News Sun, editorial board, posted a link on Facebook from The Christian Science Monitor about volunteer efforts here in Noble County in light of our economic situation with an unemployment rate of nearly 18%. (and just short of neighboring Elkhart County that leads the nation in unemployment).

 The stories told in the article reveal a community that has risen up to care. Some of the names in the article are familiar ones to me (one is a member of my congregation) and the grade school mentioned is where my wife works and my kids have been educated. Our county is a resilient county with many caring people, something that rural residents have known all along, and I think that our nation is going to be reminded of in the days and weeks ahead. You can find the article here: http://features.csmonitor.com/economyrebuild/2009/03/16/amid-18-percent-unemployment-indiana-county-finds-unity/

(The Community Kitchen mentioned in the article begins today here in Kendallville.)

A “rising Sun” The Sopris Sun that is… A fellow “twitterer,” Jack Schultz (@jackschultz) is the source for the second story that moved me. It is a LA Times story about a small Colorado community, Carbondale, whose only local paper, The Carbondale Valley Journal, shut down and left its community and readership without its source of vital information.

As a result, the original owner and founder of the paper, Rebecca Young, sent out an e-mail to asking if anyone was upset by the closure. They were.

So, a group of volunteers, led by Young, organized and started the The Sopris Sun, a free weekly paper that is “named after a snow-capped peak towering over the Roaring Fork Valley.” The first issue was distributed on February 12, 2009 with a run of 3,000 copies. While there is a paid editor and reporter on staff, several volunteers help with ad sales and the paper’s production.

What caught my eye (and my heart) was the statement of Colin Laird, a board member and the head of the local community Development Corporation, “Every town should have a park, a library and a newspaper.”

With all of the talk (and good talk) of volunteerism by President Obama and his administration, here is, in my opinion, true volunteerism at its finest. You can read the story at: http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-volunteer-newspaper23-2009mar23,0,699154.story

The rural community, a new incubator for entrepreneurship?

The third and final story comes from that wonderful tool, Google Alert, which I learned about from another twitterer, Pastor Bob aka @RuralRealities on twitter. I am able to receive e-mails at a frequency that I select (once a day) about various subjects that are of interest to me. One is “rural development.”

In today’s in-box there was a link to an article from the Omaha World-Herald. The article’s title really says it all. “Researcher sees increase in rural self-employment.”

The researcher is Randy Cantrell, a development specialist for NU Rural Initiative. He believes that self-employment accounts for “18 to 30 percent of jobs and virtually all job growth” in rural counties. He wants to be sure and will be factoring in self-employment in a new survey to be sent to rural areas.

As I read the article, I was reminded of the resourcefulness of people who can re-invent themselves in a new line of work no matter where they live. I am hoping that this kind of economic growth will take place in my county so that employment stability can take place. You can read the article here: http://www.omaha.com/index.php?u_page=2798&u_sid=10592959

Again, I am very impressed by the strength of character and compassion that I read (and see) in these various rural and small town communities.