BHITC Hosts a Fall Festival at Faith Lakewood

Little ghosts and goblins came out to Faith Lutheran Church in Lakewood on Halloween to enjoy a Fall Festival as part of the new Kids of the Kingdom outreach program. (See photos from the event below!) Volunteers from Building Hope in the City, Messiah in Fairview Park and Faith in Lakewood welcomed nearly 50 children and parents who live in the neighborhood surrounding Faith.

The Fall Festival precedes the kick off of the Kids of the Kingdom program on Saturday, Nov. 7.

Kids of the Kingdom program coordinator Julie Bacon and BHITC Assistant Director Brian Upton say that, while on the surface the Fall Festival appeared a simple event for the neighborhood, incredible ministry occurred. Brian Upton shares his thoughts below:

“For those of you who didn’t attend the Fall Festival, you missed something pretty incredible (no, I’m not talking about the giant inflatable bouncy house!)

About 50 people from the community showed up. As far as I could tell (I spoke personally to most of them), they are all first-time visitors. There were plenty of games, hotdogs, prizes, animal balloons and music, all of which were nice but not incredible.

What was incredible were the conversations we had with visitors. Some confessed they had not been in a sanctuary for decades (we gave tours). Another couple told us they were new to the neighborhood and had been wondering about Faith. Still another asked what a “Lutheran” was?  But, what took the “incredible” cake for me was the mom who asked if her child could still come to Kids of the Kingdom next week even if the family had “no religion”.

It may look like child’s play, but folks we’re on the cutting edge of mission to those disconnected and disenfranchised from Christ.

I ask that you pray for this ministry and its coordinator, Julie Bacon. And I ask that you pray for the Messiah and Faith members who will start ministering to these families next Saturday.”

Fall Festival Photos from Kids of the Kingdom at Faith Lakewood

BHITC Hosts a “Night at the Races” Fund-Raising Event

Nearly 130 friends of Building Hope in the City attended a fun-filled “Night at the Races” fund-raising event last weekend to show their support for the organization. The event kicked off with opportunities for attendees to sponsor bibles, tanks of gas for the BHITC bus, and outreach events for 2010. Many in attendance entered to win amazing raffle prizes; the night concluded with horse racing to win fun white-elephant gifts. Assistant Director Brian Upton spoke about new ministries and events, including the International Friends Program at Luther Memorial School. The International Friends Program is a dynamic collaboration between BHITC and Luther Memorial School and will offer a specialized curriculum for international students. The program will launch in the fall of 2010 with a goal of 20 refugee children enrolled as students. The 2010 mission campaign Hope Creates… was unveiled. Attendees were asked to consider becoming a CityLight by donating or pledging $500 or more in 2010 toward the Hope Creates… campaign.

BHITC, Faith Lakewood and Messiah in Fairview Park Go Prayerwalking

Walking is a common activity that most of us don’t give a second thought to doing each day. But for a group from Faith Lutheran Church in Lakewood  and Messiah Lutheran Church in Fairview Park, walking was an intentional activity that took place on Saturday, Oct. 10, with the goal of bringing the Gospel to a community in need.

The prayerwalk was a 45-minute walk during which prayers of worship, warfare and welcome were offered up to God. The prayerwalkers were walking in order to pray and be guided in prayer – not just praying while they walked.

The prayerwalk precedes the launch of the Kids of the Kingdom ministry at Faith Lutheran Church on Saturday, Nov. 7 – a weekly children’s program aimed at un-churched families who live within walking distance of Faith.

Stay tuned for more updates on Kids of the Kingdom and new ministries at Faith Lutheran Church.  

Visiting Youth Group Lends a Hand at Luther Memorial

The youth from King of Kings Church in Cedar Rapids, Iowa was housed during their mission trip at Luther Memorial School.  They also spent some time helping out at the school–unpacking supplies, rearranging furniture, doing repairs and painting classrooms.

Iowa Youth Group Visits Cleveland

In July a youth group from King of Kings Lutheran Church in Cedar Rapids, Iowa came to Cleveland for a week for a mission trip.  The youth got involved in a number of projects including fundraising, collecting toiletries for the homeless, and prayer for all our ministries here in Cleveland.

Throughout the next couple weeks we will be highlighting some of the projects this group worked on while here, so stay tuned!

Participants in the mission trip were Kayla, Dev, Melanie, Hanna, Josh, Caleb, Naomi,
Nathaniel, Paul, Brandon, Sam, Boyd, Craig, Richard , Angie, Ian, Jan, and Larry.

Volunteer Raves about Experience Tutoring at Trinity

The following is an excerpt from a speech that Karen Krauss gave at the BHITC Volunteer Appreciation brunch in the spring.

Good Morning. This is the day that the Lord hath made, let us rejoice and be glad in it.

We are Ted and Karen Krauss, members of Royal Redeemer Lutheran Church in North Royalton.

Ted and I were married in April of 2006. In October of that year an announcement about tutoring appeared in our church bulletin. I called to get the details.  When Ted heard the location, West 30^th, he decided to drive up from his job in Akron to join me on Thursday evenings. We just completed our third year of tutoring.

I vaguely recall the first night of tutoring; but every Thursday, as the start time draws near, the children begin pouring in – we meet in the basement and as they enter, usually running across the floor upstairs, they sound like a herd of buffalo! Coming down the stairs, walking, running, jumping or sauntering, they come in to the room where they encounter Mary Forsythe who warmly greets each child by name and sometimes a hug – no matter what the student’s age.

Tutoring is the one area of the children’s lives that is consistent – their happy little faces show up week after week looking for their tutor. Sometimes they have homework, sometimes not, but they know that their tutor is someone who will spend one hour totally focused on them.

Proverbs 22:6 – Train up a child in the way that he should go and when he is old he will not depart from it. As tutors, we leave an imprint, which, in most cases, we will never know how that one hour will impact the lives of these children.

The name of the student I worked with this year is Mustafa – he’s 12 years old and in the 6^th grade. I want to share with you the note he recently wrote to me…

Dear tutor,

I really like the things that you teach me. You told me things beyond what I already knew.  I might not be the best person you know, but you’re the best person that I know: and if you were a teacher, I would be your 1^st student.

Karen Krauss (center) with husband Ted Krauss and volunteer Jennifer Forsythe

BHITC Participates in Bridges out of Poverty Workshop

On Saturday, thirty Building Hope volunteers and leaders from other organizations participated in a workshop put on by Jodi Pfarr of aha! Process.  Jodi, of Minneapolis, Minnesota, has years of experience providing services to those living in poverty through her work with Catholic Charities and The Salvation Army.  Jodi shared her ideas and expertise with dedicated volunteers and leaders as we strive to fulfill our mission to serve those in need here in Cleveland.  The Building Hope staff will be meeting to brainstorm ways to incorporate these ideas throughout our ministry areas.
Anyone interested in learning more about the topic of poverty is encouraged to read the book “Bridges Out of Poverty” by Ruby Payne.  Participants at the workshop received this book to compliment the material provided throughout the program.

Cleveland City Stars come to Building Hope in the City

Written by Marc Cohen

On Tuesday we had the wonderful opportunity to partner with the Cleveland City Stars, a professional soccer team,to have a soccer clinic on the field behind our office. It was a great evening that started a bit slow, but once everyone arrived we had a great time. The great part is that it joined people from all over the world in a sport they all love, soccer. We had youth from Burma, Kenya, Somalia, Palestine, Ohio, and other places all together learning. After it was over we had beef hot dogs and chips to finish out the night in fellowship. Overall, I think everyone had a great time!

Summer Party for Refugee Youth

Participants in the African Youth Ministry were treated with a summer party at the end  June.

Activities included . . .

blowing bubbles . .

hula hooping . . .

soccer . . .

and painting nails!