| |
The Heart of Mission
January 12, 2021
My mother texted me a picture of her back deck. She lives in Central Texas. It was covered with a thick layer of snow! Snow! What a rare sight in Central Texas! But, snow is not rare here in Champaign during January and February. It is COLD here! All the more reason to highlight this week the ministry of CU at Home, one of our mission partners. February 5 is the 10th anniversary of their One Winter Night, their primary annual fundraiser/education event.
CU at Home chooses to rely upon local funding from churches, families, and businesses rather than pursue state or federal funding; although, they are a 501(c)3 organization and money donated to them is tax deductible. They rely solely on the community to financially support their efforts.
Remember what I said last week about building relationships in order to reduce poverty. Friends, this is truly a partnership ministry in our neighborhood, with our neighbors for our neighbors. The Champaign Urbana community has come together during these last ten years to develop a top notch program to help our friends without an address. CU at Home thanks us and all their business and church partners for that but we should be thanking them.
This is what CU at Home does:
Phoenix Daytime Drop-In Center: (12:00-5:00pm, Tuesday-Friday)
The Phoenix is a casual, welcoming space with a living room, computers,
board games, musical instruments, and most importantly, companionship.
Each person who enters the facility has access to showers, laundry, and
assistance from our staff. The facility offers our friends with an address an
opportunity to build a lasting relationship with our friends without an
address. Whether you have an address or not, anyone is welcome to come
and enjoy an experience that could change their life.
Transitional Housing: C-U at Home operates a six bed Men’s Recovery
House, Step Above House, a two bed Women’s House, and small Family
House. Residents stay for 6-12 months and are provided with weekly case
management and a spiritual advisor. Our goal with each resident is to
support, encourage, and mentor them so that they can successfully become
more independent, self-sufficient, and enjoy a stable life on their own.
Year-Round Emergency Shelters: C-U at Home took the C-U Men’s
Emergency Shelter and Austin’s Place Women’s Shelter under their umbrella
of services at the close of the 2019 season to be a refuge for those who
have no place to be safe at night. The need for a ‘damp’ shelter for those
who might be under the influence of alcohol or drugs is vital both to save
lives and to alleviate the frequent overuse of medical and law enforcement
resources, when they are not the best solution.
Transportation Ministry: Through the use of donated vehicles and
volunteer drivers and riders, we are able to provide safe transportation for
friends who seek detox, shelter, and housing assistance in other
communities across Illinois.
Street Outreach: The street outreach team takes time each week to go
into the streets and connect with all of our friends without an address. This
allows us to continue to build relationships with them. The street outreach
team is on-call 24/7 and often receive calls from local law enforcement and
hospitals to provide assistance in person or over the phone.
Education & Advocacy: We provide an opportunity for the community to
learn more about our friends without an address, the specific challenges
they face, and how we break the negative stereotypes associated with the
“homeless” population. This is done through viewings of our documentary
film, The Phoenix: Hope is Rising and speaking engagements at churches,
schools, etc.
C-U at Work: As a collaboration between C-U at Home and the City of
Champaign Township, the C-U at Work program offers our most vulnerable
friends without an address an opportunity to work doing municipal
beautification projects for the city of Champaign. At the end of each 4-hour
shift, participants receive payment for their work as well as a meal.
Please contact Rob Dalhaus III at 217-991-0356 or rob@cuathome.us with questions or to find out more about how to sponsor C-U at Home One Winter Night 2021. It is an opportunity that will impact our community in positive ways throughout the next year!
Find out more about One Winter Night by going to www.cuathome.us/one-winter-night/
Let’s build relationships with people in our community who are helping our community.
Peace,
Rev. Dr. Rachel Matthews, Mission Coordinator
Let us keep all our mission partners in our prayers, those who are waiting to go back to their place of ministry and those who are able to work where they are. Listen for God’s call to you in their ministry.
Our PC(USA) Mission CoWorkers:
Mark Adams and Miriam Maidonado Escobar (Mexico)
Farsijanna Adeney-Risakotta (Indonesia)
Jeff and Christi Boyd (Central Africa)
Jo Ella Holman (Caribbean and Cuba) – And, for the mission coworker you are preparing to take her place.
Bob and Kristi Rice (South Sudan)
Our regional and global mission partners:
Kemmerer Village (and Camp Carew)
Lifeline Pilots
Marion Medical Mission
Mission Aviation Fellowship
Opportunity International
Friends of Presbyterian Education Board in Pakistan Presbyterian Cuba Partnership
Special Offerings of the PC(USA)
Theological Education Fund
Young Adult Volunteers
Here in Champaign – Urbana:
CU at Home
CANAAN S.A.F.E. HOUSE
CANTEEN RUN
COURAGE CONNECTION
DREAAM
eMPTY TOMB, INC
FAITH IN ACTION
JESUS IS THE WAY PRISON MINISTRY
THE REFUGEE CENTER
RESTORATION URBAN MINISTRY
SALT & LIGHT
Here at First Presbyterian Church
FPCC Amateur Preachers
FPCC Environmental Committee working with Faith in Place
FPCC Presbyterian Women
FPCC ESL
FPCC Children, Youth and Families
FPCC Mission Possible/Go and Serve
302 W. Church Street
Champaign, IL 61820
217-356-7238
info@firstpres.church
|
|
