Let us pause on the first day of February; Black History Month, to recognize and celebrate the hopeful present and bright future where all people are honored and life is sacred.
On February 4th, 1968 Martin Luther King Jr. delivered a sermon entitled 'The Drum Major Instinct' to the Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, Georgia. This is one of my favorite speeches by Dr. King, second only to his speech as he received the Nobel Peace Prize. In the Drum Major Instinct sermon, and nearing the end, Dr. King recites an old poem;
If I can help somebody as I pass along
If I can cheer somebody he’s traveling wrong
Then my living will not be in vain
If I can do my duty as a Christian ought
If I can bring salvation to a world once wrought
If I can spread the message as the master taught
Then my living will not be in vain
And not more than two weeks ago, our Nations 44th President, Barack Obama took the oath of office of the President of the United States - our nations first black President. Nearing the end of his Inaugural Address he said;
"So let us mark this day with remembrance of who we are and how far we have traveled. In the year of America's birth, in the coldest of months, a small band of patriots huddled by dying campfires on the shores of an icy river. The capital was abandoned. The enemy was advancing. The snow was stained with blood. At the moment when the outcome of our revolution was most in doubt, the father of our nation ordered these words to be read to the people:
"Let it be told to the future world...that in the depth of winter, when nothing but hope and virtue could survive... that the city and the country, alarmed at one common danger, came forth to meet [it]."
America: In the face of our common dangers, in this winter of our hardship, let us remember these timeless words. With hope and virtue, let us brave once more the icy currents, and endure what storms may come. Let it be said by our children's children that when we were tested we refused to let this journey end, that we did not turn back nor did we falter; and with eyes fixed on the horizon and God's grace upon us, we carried forth that great gift of freedom and delivered it safely to future generations."
With Hope and Virtue,
Dan
Sunday, February 1, 2009
Monday, January 26, 2009
Biblical Rescue Intensives for February 09
First Alliance Church
2201 Monroe Street
Toledo, Ohio
43624
We are pleased to accept the kind invitation from Pastor Keith Sholl to bring the Biblical Rescue Intensive to First Alliance. Pastor Keith has graciously offered to open this Intensive to the entire community.
If you would like to register for the February Intensive, please contact Ashely Hall at ahall@cherrystreetmission.org or 419-242-5141. Registration deadline will be Monday, Febrary 16th.
Dan
2201 Monroe Street
Toledo, Ohio
43624
February 19-21
Thursday 6-9 p.m.
Friday 6-9 p.m.
Saturday 8-4
If you would like to register for the February Intensive, please contact Ashely Hall at ahall@cherrystreetmission.org or 419-242-5141. Registration deadline will be Monday, Febrary 16th.
Dan
Monday, January 19, 2009
The Parent
2009 is the Year of The Parent!
As we launch into the deep of community transformation, let us be mindful that a reduction of homelessness, or any other community ill, will require us to gather ourselves together like never before and with focused, sustained and combined effort strengthen the roots of parents and family.
However, around these vital roots are the entanglements of poverty, illiteracy and spiritual deformity. These entanglements have a strangle hold on the stability of the home and are feeding the repetitiveness of incarceration and homelessness like never before in our history.
We can see this stranglehold on the family, as each spring seems to reveal new batches of young people on our streets. The young men are standing idle on our corners and too many of the young women are finding ways to sustain their living through prostitution.
These are our sons and daughters – something must be done, and it must be done quickly.
I have been asked several times; "Why should Cherry Street focus on, or participate in, parent initiatives?"
For us the answer is quite simple – the data Cherry Street has gathered has led us to conclude that the disenfranchisement of parents has lead to the break down of the family which continues to be the primary contributor to homelessness.
For 62 years we have seen the effect of brokenness in the home and the realities of both the brokenness in men and women along with the restoration of them, have taught us valuable lessons and keen insights that life transformation must also be a preventative measure, rather than just a cure.
Parents are the very head waters of our society – what flows from those headwaters and how it flows through the tributaries of our communities determine whether we have a high productive community or a high risk community.
One hundred percent of the men and women arriving at our doors come from somewhere – more than the home, more than the family. Our men and women come from parents.
If there is to be lasting and enduring change within our neighborhoods and communities, our plans must include our utmost and valiant effort to reach the parent.
In it together,
Dan
As we launch into the deep of community transformation, let us be mindful that a reduction of homelessness, or any other community ill, will require us to gather ourselves together like never before and with focused, sustained and combined effort strengthen the roots of parents and family.
However, around these vital roots are the entanglements of poverty, illiteracy and spiritual deformity. These entanglements have a strangle hold on the stability of the home and are feeding the repetitiveness of incarceration and homelessness like never before in our history.
We can see this stranglehold on the family, as each spring seems to reveal new batches of young people on our streets. The young men are standing idle on our corners and too many of the young women are finding ways to sustain their living through prostitution.
These are our sons and daughters – something must be done, and it must be done quickly.
I have been asked several times; "Why should Cherry Street focus on, or participate in, parent initiatives?"
For us the answer is quite simple – the data Cherry Street has gathered has led us to conclude that the disenfranchisement of parents has lead to the break down of the family which continues to be the primary contributor to homelessness.
For 62 years we have seen the effect of brokenness in the home and the realities of both the brokenness in men and women along with the restoration of them, have taught us valuable lessons and keen insights that life transformation must also be a preventative measure, rather than just a cure.
Parents are the very head waters of our society – what flows from those headwaters and how it flows through the tributaries of our communities determine whether we have a high productive community or a high risk community.
One hundred percent of the men and women arriving at our doors come from somewhere – more than the home, more than the family. Our men and women come from parents.
If there is to be lasting and enduring change within our neighborhoods and communities, our plans must include our utmost and valiant effort to reach the parent.
In it together,
Dan
Friday, January 9, 2009
Because of you - lives are transformed
They spoke the Lord's word to the jailer and everyone in his home. At that hour of the night, the jailer washed Paul and Silas' wounds. The jailer and his entire family were baptized immediately.
Acts 16: 32,33
More than likely, you’re familiar with the above chapter and verse from the book of Acts. It’s the story of two friends, Paul and Silas being imprisoned for openly sharing their faith. While in prison they sang songs and praised God and the place where they were being held shook violently setting them free. The jailer, was so astonished Paul and Silas had not run away, decided to take them home.
The greatest thing for me in this account of Paul and Silas is that the whole jailer’s family experienced life transformation. All because two guys decided not to let their circumstances dictate their belief or their behavior.
To the hundreds of men, women and families arriving at one of our doors each day – you, our loving friends, are a lot like Paul and Silas. Despite the economic realities and the circumstances of your life – you give and have given your time, talent and treasure.
Because of you, lives are transformed - like Larry.
Larry is one of the men being served in our Ready For Life Program and is learning to read and write for the first time in his life - how? A volunteer! Someone just like you who decided to matter to someone who matters. Imagine the joy of Larry's son, who is fighting in Iraq, receiving a letter from his Dad recently - amazing!
I hope you will see God at work through your hands and heart as you continue to reach into the lives of the guests of Cherry Street Mission Ministries.
To volunteer you may contact Roz Goodwin at rgoodwin@cherrystreetmission.org or call our main switchboard at 419-242-5141.
See you at the Mission,
Dan
Acts 16: 32,33
More than likely, you’re familiar with the above chapter and verse from the book of Acts. It’s the story of two friends, Paul and Silas being imprisoned for openly sharing their faith. While in prison they sang songs and praised God and the place where they were being held shook violently setting them free. The jailer, was so astonished Paul and Silas had not run away, decided to take them home.
The greatest thing for me in this account of Paul and Silas is that the whole jailer’s family experienced life transformation. All because two guys decided not to let their circumstances dictate their belief or their behavior.
To the hundreds of men, women and families arriving at one of our doors each day – you, our loving friends, are a lot like Paul and Silas. Despite the economic realities and the circumstances of your life – you give and have given your time, talent and treasure.
Because of you, lives are transformed - like Larry.
Larry is one of the men being served in our Ready For Life Program and is learning to read and write for the first time in his life - how? A volunteer! Someone just like you who decided to matter to someone who matters. Imagine the joy of Larry's son, who is fighting in Iraq, receiving a letter from his Dad recently - amazing!
I hope you will see God at work through your hands and heart as you continue to reach into the lives of the guests of Cherry Street Mission Ministries.
To volunteer you may contact Roz Goodwin at rgoodwin@cherrystreetmission.org or call our main switchboard at 419-242-5141.
See you at the Mission,
Dan
Saturday, January 3, 2009
It's a New Year!
This will be Cherry Street's 62nd. year of service to the many communities of Northwest Ohio and Southeast Michigan. I'm so very grateful to God for everyone who comprises the ministries of Cherry Street; from our guests to our donors it is truly a blessing to serve.
With the new year it will be easy to think there will be new challenges - in fact there won't be new challenges as much as there will be old challenges on new faces. The old challenges are as ageless as time - you know them as well as I do.
The new faces? That's another issue all together.
The faces are younger in that the median age of homeless men and women in the U.S. has dropped from the mid 50's to the mid 30's in the last ten years, are more generational in that homeless men now may be sharing the same shelter with their adult children, and the younger faces involve more children - much more children.
The solutions will require an ever increasing sophistication in services to those who come to us in need AND an equal eye toward prevention - understanding that an ounce of prevention is still worth a pound of cure.
Yes - 2009 will be an exciting year.
Join me,
Dan
With the new year it will be easy to think there will be new challenges - in fact there won't be new challenges as much as there will be old challenges on new faces. The old challenges are as ageless as time - you know them as well as I do.
The new faces? That's another issue all together.
The faces are younger in that the median age of homeless men and women in the U.S. has dropped from the mid 50's to the mid 30's in the last ten years, are more generational in that homeless men now may be sharing the same shelter with their adult children, and the younger faces involve more children - much more children.
The solutions will require an ever increasing sophistication in services to those who come to us in need AND an equal eye toward prevention - understanding that an ounce of prevention is still worth a pound of cure.
Yes - 2009 will be an exciting year.
Join me,
Dan
Wednesday, December 24, 2008
Seriously - Thank God!
What a year 2008 has been.
Along with the normal challenges of life and ministry this has been a year where we voted in a new president, banks have been bailed out, auto manufacturers are in trouble and to put the icing on the cake, according to a report released today, Toledo has the highest unemployment rate in all of the urban centers in Ohio at 10.9% - which means roughly one out of 10 people in Toledo who are able to work are without a job.
However, lately I've been warming myself with Jeremiah's writings in chapter 17, and the way David describes his own challenges and his responses to them, in Psalm 131. Can I tell you something you already know - God's view of us, our problems and our environment are so vastly different because His vantage point is different. I'm glad I can ask Him whenever I want, what He thinks based on His advantage of things.
And so, I thank God.
While I'm thanking Him I'm reminded of the outlandishly generous community we live in. I can tell you with a first hand account of the countless times when things have gotten tough around the many ministries of Cherry Street - the wonderful men, women and families, of whom you may be one, rise to offer assistance, love, support, or a shoulder.
Time and again thousands of families, churches, corporations and businesses stand in the gap and make the difference to someone else - THANK YOU!
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
Dan
Along with the normal challenges of life and ministry this has been a year where we voted in a new president, banks have been bailed out, auto manufacturers are in trouble and to put the icing on the cake, according to a report released today, Toledo has the highest unemployment rate in all of the urban centers in Ohio at 10.9% - which means roughly one out of 10 people in Toledo who are able to work are without a job.
However, lately I've been warming myself with Jeremiah's writings in chapter 17, and the way David describes his own challenges and his responses to them, in Psalm 131. Can I tell you something you already know - God's view of us, our problems and our environment are so vastly different because His vantage point is different. I'm glad I can ask Him whenever I want, what He thinks based on His advantage of things.
And so, I thank God.
While I'm thanking Him I'm reminded of the outlandishly generous community we live in. I can tell you with a first hand account of the countless times when things have gotten tough around the many ministries of Cherry Street - the wonderful men, women and families, of whom you may be one, rise to offer assistance, love, support, or a shoulder.
Time and again thousands of families, churches, corporations and businesses stand in the gap and make the difference to someone else - THANK YOU!
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
Dan
Monday, November 17, 2008
More than an adjective
As the leader of Cherry Street Mission Ministries, I have read with dismay the reports of negative reaction to the fact that the homeless can vote. I have also received calls from folks who have read these reports and believe Cherry Street participated in partisan practices or attempted to “get out the vote” for a specific candidate in this year's election.
I would like to set the record straight on both counts.
First, allegations that we attempt to get out the vote or influence homeless people’s votes are completely false and without merit. Cherry Street Mission Ministries believes that all citizens – no matter race, creed, color, gender, or religion – have fundamental rights as Americans, among them the right to vote. That is why Cherry Street provided transportation to a polling station when our guests requested it: so they can exercise their right to vote – period.
Second, to suggest that citizens be denied the right to vote because they are identified by the adjective “homeless” is as reprehensible as attempts in our nation’s past to disenfranchise those identified as “black” or “female.” Homeless men and women come from every walk of life and every educational level. Like you and me, they read newspapers, watch TV, and form their opinions of candidates and issues. Like you and me, they have the right to vote based on their opinions.
For 61 years, Cherry Street Mission Ministries has been a refuge for men and women who have nowhere else to go. We’ve been privileged to help thousands transform their lives through faith and return to their family and community to build new lives. Today, we’re working harder than ever to serve a record 650 meals each day and shelter a record 200 men and women each night.
There has never been room for political advocacy at Cherry Street, only people advocacy because every one matters.
Dan
I would like to set the record straight on both counts.
First, allegations that we attempt to get out the vote or influence homeless people’s votes are completely false and without merit. Cherry Street Mission Ministries believes that all citizens – no matter race, creed, color, gender, or religion – have fundamental rights as Americans, among them the right to vote. That is why Cherry Street provided transportation to a polling station when our guests requested it: so they can exercise their right to vote – period.
Second, to suggest that citizens be denied the right to vote because they are identified by the adjective “homeless” is as reprehensible as attempts in our nation’s past to disenfranchise those identified as “black” or “female.” Homeless men and women come from every walk of life and every educational level. Like you and me, they read newspapers, watch TV, and form their opinions of candidates and issues. Like you and me, they have the right to vote based on their opinions.
For 61 years, Cherry Street Mission Ministries has been a refuge for men and women who have nowhere else to go. We’ve been privileged to help thousands transform their lives through faith and return to their family and community to build new lives. Today, we’re working harder than ever to serve a record 650 meals each day and shelter a record 200 men and women each night.
There has never been room for political advocacy at Cherry Street, only people advocacy because every one matters.
Dan
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