Wayne Presbyterian Church: Community Organizing to "Make God's Way Known" Wayne presbyterianske kirke: EF Organisationsarbejde til "Make Guds Way kendt"

Wayne Presbyterian Church: Community Organizing to "Make God's Way Known" Wayne presbyterianske kirke: EF Organisationsarbejde til "Make Guds Way kendt"

Wayne Presbyterian Church (WPC) is known for its historic presence in the prestigious Main Line corridor of Philadelphia's western suburbs. Wayne presbyterianske kirke (WPC) er kendt for sin historiske tilstedeværelse i den prestigefyldte Main Line korridor i Philadelphia vestlige forstæder. The church has also become recognized for its emphasis on holistic ministry -- "Our way of making God's way known upon the earth," as Associate Pastor for Mission Carol Clarke puts it. Kirken er også blevet anerkendt for sin vægt på holistisk ministerium - "Vores måde at gøre Guds måde kendes på jorden," som Associate Pastor for Mission Carol Clarke udtrykker det.

Led by Dr. John Galloway, the church participates in a broad and innovative range of mission projects, including hosting homeless families on church property through the Interfaith Hospitality Network, renovating the homes of low-income families, environmental stewardship initiatives, and food distribution. Ledet af Dr. John Galloway, kirken deltager i en bred og nyskabende sortiment af missionen projekter, herunder modtagelse af hjemløse familier på kirkens ejendom gennem Interfaith Hospitality Netværk, renovering af boliger af lavindkomstfamilier, miljøtænkning initiativer, og fødevarer distribution. Much of WPC's outreach takes the form of partnerships with urban churches and nonprofits. Meget af WPC's opsøgende tager form af partnerskaber med byernes kirker og nonprofits. The danger in suburban/urban collaboration is that the wealthier partner can easily become condescending toward or exert power over the urban partner. Faren i forstæder / by samarbejdet er, at de rigere partner kan nemt blive nedladende mod eller udøve magt over den urbane partner. Through a ministry called CityLights, led by Carey Davis, WPC has taken seriously the principle of ministering with and not simply to a community. Gennem et ministerium kaldet CityLights, under ledelse af Carey Davis, WPC har taget alvorligt af princippet om ministering med og ikke bare til et samfund.

Carey's passion for linking city and suburbs reflects her own experience of "second conversion." Carey's passion for forbinder byen og forstæderne afspejler hendes egne erfaringer med "anden konvertering." "My first conversion," Carey explains, "was to Jesus Christ, when I gave him my life as a 12-year-old. My 'second conversion' came in college, when I realized that following Christ must include caring about the things that were of utmost importance to him, particularly the needs of the poor and oppressed." "Min første konvertering," Carey forklarer, "var at Jesus Kristus, når jeg gav ham mit liv som en 12-årig. Mit andet omlægning 'kom i college, da jeg indså, at efter Kristus skal omfatte bekymre sig om de ting det var af største betydning for ham, især behovene hos de fattige og undertrykte. "

At a public housing community in Southwest Philadelphia, Carey helped provide a summer day camp for kids through EAPE, a ministry founded by Tony Campolo. På et offentligt boligbyggeri samfund i Sydvest Philadelphia, Carey hjulpet give en sommerdag lejr for børn gennem EAPE, et ministerium grundlagt af Tony Campolo. That summer, she recalls being "confronted with children of exceptional beauty and strength who faced a grim future because of their circumstances. Realizing that the location of one's home and the color of one's skin could have a dramatic impact on people's life chances was overwhelming." Denne sommer har hun minder om at blive "konfronteret med børn af usædvanlige skønhed og styrke, der står over for en barsk fremtid på grund af deres forhold. Indser, at placeringen af ens hjem og farven på ens hud kan have en dramatisk indvirkning på folks liv chancer var overvældende. " Carey committed herself to remedying the injustices facing city kids. Carey forpligtet sig på at afhjælpe den uret, står byens børn.

Ten years later, she found herself back in Southwest Philadelphia, encouraging WPC to be a part of a movement that would empower neighborhood residents toward wholeness in the name of Jesus Christ. Ti år senere fandt hun selv tilbage i Sydvest Philadelphia, opmuntrende WPC at være en del af en bevægelse, der ville give nabolaget beboere mod helhed i navnet Jesus Kristus. CityLights bridges racial, economic and geographic boundaries to connect the skills and experiences of people from both communities to improve the quality of life for Southwest city residents, and to encourage all toward deeper discipleship. CityLights broer race, økonomiske og geografiske grænser at forbinde de færdigheder og erfaringer med folk fra begge samfund til at forbedre livskvaliteten for Southwest byens indbyggere, og at tilskynde alle mod dybere discipleship.

In the church's annual report, Carey writes about the process of vision discernment for CityLights: I kirken årsberetning, Carey skriver om processen med visioner omtanke for CityLights:

Vision. In his book Power Surge, Michael Chapter Foss describes the importance of having the work of the church led by its vision. I sin bog Power Plug, Michael kapitel Foss beskriver betydningen af at have arbejdet i kirken under ledelse af sin vision. He defines the term this way: "Vision is a clear picture of the desired present and the preferred future.. .the end toward which mission drives.. .based on an accurate understanding of God, self and circumstances." Han definerer begrebet på denne måde: "Vision er et klart billede af den ønskede nuværende og den foretrukne fremtid ... Udgangen retning som mission drev ... Baseret på en korrekt forståelse af Gud, selvstændig og omstændigheder." A year ago a special task force wrestled with scripture to put on paper a vision statement and strategic plan for CityLights for the next three years. For et år siden en særlig task force kæmpet med bibelsk at sætte på papiret et visionspapir og en strategisk plan for CityLights for de næste tre år. Our vision reads as follows: Vores vision lyder som følger:

Jesus Christ calls Wayne Presbyterian Church and CityLights to engage our community and our Philadelphia neighbors in Kingdom work. Jesus Kristus opfordrer Wayne presbyterianske kirke og CityLights at engagere sig vores samfund og vores Philadelphia naboerne i Kongeriget arbejde.

Our statement makes clear a few things: our reliance on God to initiate and to empower us; our purpose is to join our urban partners in fulfilling God's greater vision of wholeness for all his people, in Southwest Philadelphia, in Wayne and beyond; and further, the fulfillment of that vision often has as much to do with the relationships nurtured with our partners as with the tangible project outcomes. Vores redegørelse gør det klart et par ting: vores lid til Gud om at indlede og til at give os, vores formål er at deltage i vores byområder partnere med at opfylde Guds større vision om helhed for alle hans folk, Southwest Philadelphia, Wayne og derefter; og yderligere , Opfyldelse af denne vision har ofte så meget at gøre med forholdet beriges med vores partnere, som med de konkrete projektresultater.

As we mark the 10th year of collaborative ministry in Southwest Philadelphia, it is a joy to report that God's kingdom work is indeed being done, both in what has been accomplished in "the neighborhood" and in the transformational moments of our deepening relationships. Som vi markere 10-året for den fælles ministerium i Sydvest Philadelphia, det er en glæde at kunne meddele, at Guds rige arbejde er faktisk bliver gjort, både i hvad der er blevet udført i "nabolaget", og i transformationen øjeblikke i vores uddybning relationer.

CityLights promotes this vision of wholeness not by providing direct services, but by coming alongside existing ministries and helping to organize Southwest Philadelphia residents, churches, schools, service agencies, and other community leaders to work toward common goals. CityLights fremmer denne vision om helhed ikke yder direkte tjenester, men som kommer sammen eksisterende ministerier og hjælpe med at organisere Southwest Philadelphia beboere, kirker, skoler, service bureauer, og andre samfunds ledere til at arbejde hen imod fælles mål. A community Leadership Team plans monthly network meetings for support, resource sharing, and joint action. Et samfund ledergruppe planer månedlige net-møder for støtte, ressourcedeling, og fælles handling. The CityLights network has successfully advocated for positive changes in the community, such as blocking a trash facility from relocating into the neighborhood and promoting new small business opportunities. De CityLights netværk har med held gået ind for positive forandringer i samfundet, sådan som blokerer en papirkurv facilitet til at flytte ind i nabolaget og fremme nye små forretningsmuligheder. CityLights also builds relationships by connecting WPC members with volunteer opportunities in the Southwest community. CityLights også bygger relationer ved at forbinde WPC medlemmer med frivilligt muligheder i Sydvest samfund.

One of City Light's goals is to "equip WPC Team leaders to demonstrate and articulate a holistic (ie 'word and deed') approach to outreach." En af City Light's mål er at "udstyre WPC Team ledere til at demonstrere og artikulere en holistisk (dvs. 'ord og gerning«) tilgang til opsøgende. " Carey notes, "Our urban partners taught us to be more faithful in verbally sharing God's love with others, primarily through their example." Carey noter, "Vores byerne partnere lært os at være mere trofaste i verbalt at dele Guds kærlighed med andre, primært gennem deres eksempel." CityLights volunteers are presented with a prayer card as a reminder that "our service is an outgrowth and expression of our Christian faith." CityLights volontører er præsenteret med en bøn kortet som en påmindelse om, at "vores service er en outgrowth og udtryk for vores kristne tro."

Carol Clarke notes, "We are using what we have learned from CityLights and other areas of ministry to forge new partnerships and move into other geographic areas as well. CityLights itself is evolving; the next decade may look different in some ways, but it will always be at the heart of our mission outreach." Carol Clarke bemærker, "Vi bruger, hvad vi har lært af CityLights og andre områder af ministeriets at skabe nye partnerskaber og bevæge sig ind i andre geografiske områder. CityLights selv udvikler sig; det næste årti kan se anderledes ud på nogle måder, men det vil altid være i centrum for vores mission opsøgende. " She summarizes the driving force behind CityLights and all WPC's ministries: "God is on a mission in this world -- and invites us to participate! What a privilege it is to be part of God's work." Hun opsummerer den drivende kraft bag CityLights og alle WPC's ministerier: "Gud er på en mission i denne verden - og opfordrer os til at deltage! Sikke et privilegium er det at være en del af Guds arbejde."