Well, I have written several posts alluding to the fact that I have been feeling a growing calling regarding school and young people in our community, but I haven't written anything in awhile. So, here is a bit about what has been going on.
Chesebro Elementary School in DeKalb is the school with the highest percentage of low income families and poorest academic performance. That seemed like a good place to start. But how? Several months ago I attended a men's breakfast at our church where the topic of a panel discussion was service. One of the speakers was Tony Danhelka who runs a ministry for kids from high-poverty neigborhoods along the Fox River. Riverwoods Christian Center started as a camp ministry but has grown so much. Now the ministry supports community advocates who work in these communities year round and the summer camp program reinforces and supports the work of these advocates.
After hearing Tony speak I contacted him and set up a meeting. From that meeting I was introduced to the concept of Christian Community Development ministries and was informed of the work being done by Community Christian Church in Naperville through it's Community 4:12 ministry. I met with Kirsten Strand from that ministry because her model of doing community development through a school seemed like a good fit for what we wanted to do here in our town.
Tony and Kirsten were so kind in sharing their advice and stories of how God has worked in the communities they minister to. The next step was to speak with the Pastor of the DeKalb Campus of Christ Community Church Larry Breeden. Larry was also very supportive of starting a ministry to serve this school's population. Larry introduced me to Cory Webster, who is in charge of Community Impact for our campus and things really started to move.
Our first project was a pancake breakfast at the beginning of April. Our church donated all the food and working with school staff we offered the families a very inexpensive breakfast with all the funds going to support a fifth grade field trip. The church also pitched in matching funds and it was a big success. Not only did money get raised so that all kids could participate in the overnight trip regardless of their families' resources. But the school community and the church were introduced to each other, laying the foundation for more projects.
Earlier this month the church organized a bike rally at the school on a Saturday morning. North Central Cyclery pitched in to help with free bike tune-ups for the kids and we had a bike raffle and a skills course. It was a fun event for the kids.
While all this was going on the school had a couple of families that had some pretty serious needs. One family was having financial problems and the school referred them to our church for some assistance. Later, there was a family that recently had a fire in their home and the church has been collecting supplies to help them replace some of the household things that were lost.
I also met with Larry Stratton, the head of Community Impact for Christ Community as a whole. I cannot begin to express how grateful I am to be part of a church that values outreach to the community as a top priority. As Larry Stratton puts it "good deeds lead to good will, which leads to the opportunity to share the good news."
God is so good! For years I had a helpless perspective that nothing could be done and these problems were all too big for us to make a difference. In a way I was right. But they are not too big for God! Once we started to take a few steps it was amazing how God provided the advice, the resources and all that was needed to do the work! I can't wait to see what He has planned next as we continue to work with Chesebro!
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
Talkin' Bout My Generation
In November of 2006 I wrote a post about
The Gay Lobby's Plan B. Basically I argued that the debate over marriage being between a man and a woman could become obsolete, because the transgender movement is out to eliminate man and woman as a way to identify people at all. Now here is an article by Patrick Finnessy, director of the Office of the UIC ( University of Illinois at Chicago ) Gender and Sexuality Center.
In it he claims:
He is referring to the pregnant man. Mr. Finnessy sees all of our gender identities as social constructs rather than an issue of nature. Now, you can go read my earlier post to see where I stand on this politically. I'm feeling in a silly mood and want, instead, to resurrect an idea I first put forth in that post.
Nature says I was born in 1969. But I feel I truly identify better with people of an earlier generation. In fact, I identify with the Greatest Generation. One of the most fulfilling parts of my professional career in the museum field was interviewing WWII vets for an exhibit I worked on in 1995.
My values are not always in step with "my generation." According to the media and social scientists, I am part of "Generation X." I remember when Kurt Cobain put a shotgun in his face and pulled the trigger. Media types said that the spokesperson of Generation X had died. Thing is, I was pretty unaffected by his suicide. I certainly didn't feel my role model and spokesperson had died. I pretty much felt, "well, there goes another drug-addled, idiot celebrity."
So, if people can change their gender identity in spite of nature, why can't I change my generational identity? Isn't the calendar just a social construct? Why should I be forced to conform my aspirations, hopes, dreams, etc. to the whims of my birth year?
I call on others to rise up and join me. You know who you are. You look back to the good old days and wish you had been part of them. Well, I say we demand that society give us that recognition.
Therefore, I demand the following:
1. That I be accepted as having been born not in 1969 but in 1919, and that my birth certificate be so altered to reflect my generational identity.
2. That I therefore be permitted to draw full social security benefits due a person who is 89 years of age.
3. That I be given a senior citizen discount at restaurants and any other retail establishment offering such discounts.
4. That I be eligible for medicare to pay for one of those nifty scooter things that they advertise on TV.
5. That employers, government agencies and others stop demanding that we disclose the utterly meaningless and highly offensive dates of our birth on job applications and other official forms.
I will add to this list of demands soon, but it is nearly time for my nap. But before I go, I call on those in the transgender movement to recognize the plight of all of us who are oppressed by the tyranny of generationalism and the generational discrimination that runs rampant in our society. Our cause has no celebrity spokespeople and we suffer largely in silence. No doubt there are many who will ridicule our plight. But I am confident that our cause is just! There are some in our movement who are multi-generational, identifying with several generational groups. Theirs is the right to live as they feel they are meant to be, not as society would force them to be!
Who will join with me?
The Gay Lobby's Plan B. Basically I argued that the debate over marriage being between a man and a woman could become obsolete, because the transgender movement is out to eliminate man and woman as a way to identify people at all. Now here is an article by Patrick Finnessy, director of the Office of the UIC ( University of Illinois at Chicago ) Gender and Sexuality Center.
In it he claims:
I'm still not certain I understand why not. Why be so headstrong and insist upon living in a dichotomous world? Black/white, gay/straight, male/female. Certainly, real life is grayer.
He is referring to the pregnant man. Mr. Finnessy sees all of our gender identities as social constructs rather than an issue of nature. Now, you can go read my earlier post to see where I stand on this politically. I'm feeling in a silly mood and want, instead, to resurrect an idea I first put forth in that post.
Nature says I was born in 1969. But I feel I truly identify better with people of an earlier generation. In fact, I identify with the Greatest Generation. One of the most fulfilling parts of my professional career in the museum field was interviewing WWII vets for an exhibit I worked on in 1995.
My values are not always in step with "my generation." According to the media and social scientists, I am part of "Generation X." I remember when Kurt Cobain put a shotgun in his face and pulled the trigger. Media types said that the spokesperson of Generation X had died. Thing is, I was pretty unaffected by his suicide. I certainly didn't feel my role model and spokesperson had died. I pretty much felt, "well, there goes another drug-addled, idiot celebrity."
So, if people can change their gender identity in spite of nature, why can't I change my generational identity? Isn't the calendar just a social construct? Why should I be forced to conform my aspirations, hopes, dreams, etc. to the whims of my birth year?
I call on others to rise up and join me. You know who you are. You look back to the good old days and wish you had been part of them. Well, I say we demand that society give us that recognition.
Therefore, I demand the following:
1. That I be accepted as having been born not in 1969 but in 1919, and that my birth certificate be so altered to reflect my generational identity.
2. That I therefore be permitted to draw full social security benefits due a person who is 89 years of age.
3. That I be given a senior citizen discount at restaurants and any other retail establishment offering such discounts.
4. That I be eligible for medicare to pay for one of those nifty scooter things that they advertise on TV.
5. That employers, government agencies and others stop demanding that we disclose the utterly meaningless and highly offensive dates of our birth on job applications and other official forms.
I will add to this list of demands soon, but it is nearly time for my nap. But before I go, I call on those in the transgender movement to recognize the plight of all of us who are oppressed by the tyranny of generationalism and the generational discrimination that runs rampant in our society. Our cause has no celebrity spokespeople and we suffer largely in silence. No doubt there are many who will ridicule our plight. But I am confident that our cause is just! There are some in our movement who are multi-generational, identifying with several generational groups. Theirs is the right to live as they feel they are meant to be, not as society would force them to be!
Who will join with me?
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