Around Our Network / September 3, 2014

What’s been happening among us? September 3, 2014

We started praying in relation to our conviction: “Generating justice and hope in our neighborhood must be at the heart of us.”cohdailyprayer2014.wordpress.com.

A talented group from Broad & Dauphin led us in a variety show at BW.

Our community had numerous opportunities for Labor Day fun including a BBQ at the Frankford Ave. garden, BW’s Family Potluck, and drumming while giving out schools supplies with The Simple Way.

We deepened connections with caregivers and little ones at our weekly Baby & Toddler Playgroups.

Lauren got FN cells to get school supplies together for a friend who teaches kindergarten at H.A. Brown Elementary in the neighborhood.

The pastors’ answered the question “What’s the point of prayer?” in our weekly videocast
Link here. Would you help share it?

Circle of Peacemakers kept us engaged and learning about the plight of the Palestinians at the screening and discussion of With God on Our Side.

Our blogs were great places for thinking and encouragement

Rod wrote about our desire for ecstasy and Jonny on Jesus staying in community and how He might respond to the trouble in Ferguson, too.

We worshiped God, told the truth and made new friends at our PMs

At the Broad & Washington meetings -- Kirby and his fifth Sunday crew were getting us to go “wild.” The AMA brought up all sorts of good things we are still talking about. There were a whole bunch of people we met for the first time on Sunday.

At the Frankford & Norris meetings -- Our regular teams had the week off on the “5th Sunday” of the month, so Tiffany and Mariko brought together a talented group of women to lead us to worship and get into Psalm 139. Jess Mints finished our dialogue-heavy series exploring the Convictions That Drive Us and Sarah Holt got us praying for women (mostly Yazidi) being abducted and abused/sold by ISIS.

At the Marlton & Crescent meeting -- We celebrated last night in style! Our little BBQ was a great way to end the summer and launch into the next season (even when we had to run inside before the torrential rain)!

At the Broad & Dauphin meetings -- We had a brand new team up! Jonny, Bradford, Jenny, and Jen brought us as we discerned, shared, and confronted where God needs to move in us. We had a rich discussion about reading the Bible too.

Career Day at G.W. Childs School

This past week, Circle of Hope's compassion team, For the Love of Childs, organized several Circle of Hopers to volunteer on Career Day at G.W. Childs School. Megan Rosenbach, the team’s leader, spoke to 4th and 7th graders about working at a non-profit organization that is helping to make Philadelphia a more bike friendly city. Nic Justice talked to a 5th grade class about film making. And LeeAnn Wood got some of her co-workers from Urban Outfitters to speak to the kids about careers in fashion. Ben White (Circle of Hope’s Development Pastor) and Anthony So, a computer/web programmer, were also present at the event. Several other members of the neighborhood group that the compassion team started, Neighbors Investing in Childs Elementary (NICE), also spoke with students about their careers throughout the day! It was a terrific opportunity to inspire children with ideas and dreams of the future.

For more information, visit our compassion teams blog for how to get involved.

Fundraiser in E-Town

The Compassion Core team hosted a fundraiser in Elizabethtown on March 29th. We are so grateful to the parents of Jonny Rashid (our pastor at Broad and Dauphin) who opened up their restaurant for the event. The Compassion Core Team has a mailing list of about 700 people and over half of the addresses are within 60 miles of Elizabethtown, making it a great location to host this event! The team, as well as some Circle of Hope members who have been impacted by our compassion teams, were joined by about 25 people from across central Pennsylvania.

The evening was full of good conversation, story telling, and delicious food. Rachel Sensenig spoke about her personal transformation through Circle Counseling, Matt Tice talked about the freedom he experienced through the Debt Annihilation Team, Sara Semborski talked about Shalom House’s peacemaking efforts, Mary Bucher declared the genius of sharing Kids and Baby Goods with one another and our neighbors, and Megan Rosenbach shared the success of revitalizing the library at Childs School.

Through the event we raised just about $1500, received $500 worth of pledges for this year, and started relationships with people who want to help us raise more money. The compassion core’s fundraising goal in 2014 is $8500, but we would love to raise more! The money is used to help compassion teams fulfill their call from Jesus to love the world in very tangible ways.

For more information about our compassion teams visit here or go to the compassion team blog.

MLK Day of Service at Circle Thrift

On Monday, more than 30 people came out to Circle Thrift Broad to do some serious cleaning, organizing, and repairing. It was an ant farm of activity. There were children, teenagers, and adults of all ages and from diverse cultural and ethnic backgrounds, some of who grew up in Philadelphia and others who were transplants. There were volunteers who had connected to the thrift store through our various Circle of Hope congregations, as well as many new faces who had discovered the event on the MLK365 website.

This holiday, we were making one small attempt, around our city, to channel MLK as he once channeled the work of Jesus. It was a busy group that hopefully looked a lot like the beloved community that Dr. King described in his speeches and writings. It was a beautiful expression of how it is when brothers and sisters, following in the way of Jesus, live together in unity and work for the better good (Psalm 133). Not to mention all the fun that was had. Pizza Brain, a local business owned and operated by Circle of Hope partners, even donated pizza for the lunch pizza party (pictured above).

To shop, donate, or volunteer at Circle Thrift Broad, visit circlethrift.com or stop by the store. We also have a store located in the Fishtown/East Kensington area. More information can be found at the website.

Baby (& Kid) Goods Exchange

On Saturday, Sept. 21st, Circle of Hope FN congregation hosted it’s 3rd FREE Baby (& Kid) Goods eXchange of the year. What a beautiful day! Families swapped baby and kids clothes, items, toys and maternity clothes with each other. There were 160 neighbors and friends that came out to this glorious event; some new faces and familiar faces a like! Lots of redistribution going on and friendly connections!

Each month a Circle of Hope congregation hosts a FREE Baby (& Kid) Goods eXchange. Visit our Circle of Hope events calendar for the next one and/or ‘Like’ our Facebook page and invite friends.

New Compassion Team focuses on connecting with prisoners through letter writing

There is a new Circle of Hope Compassion Team! The Inside-Outside team plans to pair an incarcerated individual with someone from the Circle of Hope community to engage in written correspondence. They will partner with the Pennsylvania Prison Society and the Chaplain's office at the Philadelphia county jail facilities. The purpose of the team is to provide encouragement and support for the incarcerated individual. Many times people who are incarcerated, especially for an extended period of time lose their close family and friend connections and can benefit greatly from an intentional, compassionate relationship. The second purpose of the team is for the Circle of Hope community to become more aware of the social justice issues entangled with mass incarceration in a very tangible and authentic way. By engaging in the letter-writing program people at Circle of Hope can help to dispel the stereotypes common to incarcerated people and work to humanize the entire situation. Fostering a connection between someone "inside" and someone "outside" can be mutually beneficial and this program holds that as it's final goal.

For more information or to join the team contact Julie Smyth.

Several Circle of Hope members join the school funding rally

Hundreds of protesters gathered on Thursday afternoon outside of Comcast to speak out to elected officials who are not doing what it takes to fully fund Philadelphia Public Schools. The march traveled by City Hall and concluded at The School District of Philadelphia. For the Love of Childs compassion team mobilized several Circle of Hope members to join the rally. Among the group was Tricia Fussaro, a ten-year veteran teacher with the School District of Philadelphia.

For the Love of Childs support has also been keeping Circle of Hope's network updated with developments and action campaigns to support the schools, including calling and meeting with elected officials, writing letters, and circulating petitions. (For more information on yesterday's really visit the Public School Notebook.)

   

Breaking Records in South Philly!

On Saturday, August 17th, 200+ parents, children, and volunteers gathered at Circle of Hope's Broad and Washington space for another FREE Baby (+ kid) Goods eXchange—the largest group ever for that location! Participants shared bags and bins full of clothing, toys, and books to share with other parents. Many brought bags of grocery bags to share as well. For over nine years, Circle of Hope and Circle Thrift have partnered to host regular opportunities for parents to pass along what their children no longer need, and pick up what they can use for the next season. Now offered on a monthly basis at various locations, all FREE Baby (+ kid) Goods eXchange events are organized and staffed completely by Compassion Team volunteers. During Saturday's exchange, many expectant and new parents were able to benefit from shared resources and make new connections.

To receive invitations for future events, like the facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/freeBGX.

A Trip to Conoy

The Compassion Core team and musicians from our network traveled to Elizabethtown to Conoy BIC Church on Sunday. Following Jesus’ teaching in Matthew 25, Jonny Rashid shared why we would care to have compassion on others and Megan Rosenbach gave the details about how we are doing it through our compassion teams. Our musicians shared original and foreign language songs. Our fourteen compassion teams give people fourteen different opportunities to help spread justice and peace in the Philadelphia region and beyond, and the Compassion Core team is working to find creative ways to expand our reach. Sunday was a great start! The good people at Conoy BIC welcomed us with hospitality and even orchestrated a love offering of $300! We are looking for more venues to share the stories from our compassion teams in the coming months.

Reporting: Megan Rosenbach

Circle Thrift shares nearly triple so far in 2013!

Last year by the end of April Circle Thrift had shared $12,750 with the Mennonite Central Committee (MCC). This year they have already shared $33,700 with MCC! That is nearly a tripling in giving!

The money donated to the Mennonite Central Committee is used to support peace, education, health, food, and water programs around the globe. Here are a few real ways that Circle Thrift's donations to MCC are impacting people:

Syria: MCC's work with Syrian partner organizations to respond to the basic human needs of Syrians by distributing food, blankets and kits, and supporting peacebuilding and education in Syria, Jordan and Lebanon.

HIV AIDS Prevention: MCC supports volunteers, churches and organizations who are courageously speaking out to prevent the spread of HIV, caring for their neighbors and supporting those orphaned by the pandemic.

Clean Drinking Water: folks in Zambian villages are trained by Brethren in Christ Churches to maintain hand water pumps in their communities to provide access to clean drinking water.

Slaying dragons

On Monday, eighteen of us gathered at Frankford & Norris to try and do the impossible: slay dragons. We spent time identifying the dragons among us: education inequality, racism, poverty, drone warfare, environmental degradation, depression, anxiety, hate, fear and pondered how we could solve them. We spoke out our emotions and prayed for solutions. It was a time marked by passion, prayer, and persistence--using the Christian Community Development Association's three Rs: relocation, redistribution, reconciliation. Here's what Sarah Getz of BW reported on the event page on Facebook:

Some of my favorite thoughts from last night's Dragon Slayer's Gathering:

-- Be patient, it can take years to defeat these dragons.
-- You aren't alone. It takes a village to defeat a dragon.
-- Our Compassion Teams succeed when people team up and collaborate.
-- Don't let the dragons break you. You'll fight them better if you're healthy. 
-- Some days, biking through poverty is hard, but sometimes I'm singing with joy.
-- Little Dragons, like cleaning up a park, are easier to deal with. 
-- Bigger Dragons - like gun homicide, violence and abuse, poverty and broken school systems - take more time, people and resources. But hang in there. Change will come.
-- If you need it, take a break from the fight. Don't be afraid to rest or get help.
-- We can connect with established groups throughout the city who are already fighting, and add our voices to theirs.
-- Philly's Public Schools are in the long slow dance towards death. The battle will get harder before it gets easier.
-- We are worried about empty schools and buildings, but we are hopeful for new legislation regarding abandoned properties.
-- We get scared and discouraged sometimes, but its encouraging when we hear success stories of hope, reconciliation, and positive change.
-- Public Spaces are getting reclaimed. Many of us are networking to clean, to plant, to grow - helping to network with neighbors and make our neighborhoods safer.
-- Even small ways of sharing have great impacts over time.
-- Relocate. Reconcile. Redistribute.
-- Collaboration is counter-cultural... but it's the best way to make progress.

Wow... there was so much more, but my mind is racing. 
Anyone care to add more thoughts?

Loving Our Schools

On Saturday, Circle of Hope leaders gathered with neighbors and friends at GW Childs Elementary to love on our schools and the children they serve.   We began with a Seminar where Shanee Garner, Policy Director for Public Citizens for Children and Youth,  led us to consider the state of education in the region and how we can advocate for change in our spheres of influence.  After the seminar over 50 people helped to spruce up the school with various projects like this beautiful tree mural.  They were led by Megan Rosenbach, leader of our compassion team that has 'adopted' the school, and the neighborhood association she founded to support it (Neighbors Investing in Child's Elementary).  City Councilman Kenyatta Johnson, an alumni of GW Childs, was so impressed by the love being poured out on the neighborhood that he showed up to pitch in!