Bless Richmond 11.20.2011

Posted: Saturday, November 12, 2011 | Author: Marti Williams | Filed under: 2k11 | Tags: FeedMore, Food Bank, RVA, UTurn | Comments Off

Hope to see you there! Tell your friends….tell your church…bring some food!

PART 2 ~ “The Best Welfare Program is a Job” Dr. John M. Perkins

Posted: Thursday, October 20, 2011 | Author: Marti Williams | Filed under: 2k11, Jobs | Tags: CCDA, Dr John M Perkins, Jobs for Life, Powered for Life, RVA, Social Service, united institute study, welfare program | 2 Comments

In yesterday’s post, “The Best Welfare Program is a Job” Dr. John M. Perkins, I started processing one of the workshops, Helping Those You Serve Find and Keep Meaningful Employment, conducted by Jobs For Life (www.jobsforlife.org). I’m going to continue that thought into today. In chapter 3 of Congregations in America, they took a look at “percentage of congregations participating in or supporting various social services programs”. Here are just a few of the results (found on page 48):

Service	% Participating
Food	32
Housing	18
Clothing	11
Homeless	8
Health	4
Substance Abuse	2
Employment	1

This means that at the time of this research, 32% of church congregations were involved in a Food Ministry, like a food pantry, 18% were involved in housing, and so forth, leaving a small 1% who found or created employment opportunities. Imagine….what would it be like if at least 33% focused on Employment or Job Skills Training? More people would have and keep their jobs, right??? If more people have jobs, then, the church would need to provide less food, housing, clothing, etc. because people would be able to provide more of their own basic needs. In addition, dignity and self esteem would also be returned to the home. How cool is that???

This is yet another reason why we want to provide job skills training and job opportunities to people. How can you participate? You can help with training, mentoring, encouraging, etc. But, we also need job opps for folks. Do you or someone you know have opportunities to hire some of the graduates? Would you like to help find jobs for our students?

If you know someone who might be interested, please forward this to them.

If you are interested in participating after prayerful consideration, please feel free to contact me!

CCDA Institute presents: Church-Based Community Development Intensive

Posted: Tuesday, September 27, 2011 | Author: Marti Williams | Filed under: 2k11, CCDA in RVA | Tags: CCDA, Christian Community Development, Church Based Community Development, City Church, Dr John Perkins, East End Fellowship, Hands Up Ministries, Noel Castellanos, Northminster Church, RVA | 2 Comments

CCDA Institute is coming to Richmond! Noel Castellanos, CEO of CCDA is coming to discuss Church-Based Community Development. See the attached flyer for details. If you want to print the flyer, click here: CCDA Church Based Flyer – 10.29.2011.

Be sure to register early!!! Click here to register > REGISTER HERE!

Back-to-School Prayer Service – Hope You Can Come!

Posted: Wednesday, September 7, 2011 | Author: Marti Williams | Filed under: 2k11 | Tags: Back to School, Commonwealth Chapel, prayer, Richmond, RVA | Comments Off

Reminder! CCDA Cafe

Posted: Tuesday, June 28, 2011 | Author: Marti Williams | Filed under: 2k11 | Tags: Cafe, CCDA, Christian Community Development, East End Fellowship, Making a Melody, Richmond, RVA | Comments Off

Just a quick reminder: CCDA Cafe tomorrow, Wednesday, June 30 at 6:30p. Hope to see you there! Please RSVP if you plan to attend. Thanks!

PLEASE NOTE:

Due to an unexpected response, we have obtained a larger location. What a wonderful problem to solve! I could not be more thrilled. Thanks to Northminster for letting us use your space! New .pdf is located below.

New Location:

Northminster Church

3121 Moss Side Avenue
Richmond, VA 23222

If you want this doc in a .pdf format, check this link – CCDA Cafe Richmond Flyer – New Location.

This SATURDAY…. Waiting for ‘Superman’

Posted: Tuesday, June 21, 2011 | Author: Marti Williams | Filed under: 2k11 | Tags: documentary, public school, Richmond, RVA, Southern Barton Heights, Virginia, Waiting for Superman | Comments Off

“WAITING FOR “SUPERMAN” is a film that we made for and about kids who are struggling to get a great education and their parents who are doing everything they can to ensure that they get it. As you know, this is a dauntingly complex problem. There are many factors that led to the current state of our nation’s education system and there are many ways to put it back on the path to success. Reform will look different in each community, and it will take a variety of actions at all levels of society to make lasting change.”

Davis Guggenheim, Director and Lesley Chilcott, Producer

You are invited to view and discuss this documentary at our home. Let’s talk about how we can make a difference in the lives of the kids in our community. Here’s the 411:

Saturday, June 25

6pm – 9pm

Miss Marti’s House

2101 Barton Ave

Contact: Shonda Harris-Muhammed

foxinthebox1908@comcast.net

Look forward to seeing you! Remember to RSVP to my friend and neighbor, Shonda Harris-Muhammed at the email address above.

‘This is Discipling’

Posted: Monday, June 20, 2011 | Author: Marti Williams | Filed under: 2k11, Northside Missional Community | Tags: disciple making, missional community, Northside, Richmond, RVA, Southern Barton Heights, urban mission | Comments Off

Some of you have asked….what is a Missional Community and what do you do?

Every Thursday at 6pm, a group of us (mainly from the Northside of RVA) get together in our home. What do we do? We fellowship (which basically means talk and eat great food together), We study God’s Word (also known as the Bible) and pray (talk to God). We live out God’s mission together (which means we encourage each other to love God more and to love our neighbors) in our everyday lives in our community, at work, at the gym, at the barber shop….wherever we spend our day. It isn’t project based. It’s just life.

Weekly, we also have Kids Missional Community, where we do the same thing, but for neighborhood kids.

I recently found this video online and thot I would share it because it describes beautifully what we are doing. This is the way we roll….in Southern Barton Heights and beyond. If you want to be a part or learn more, feel free to contact me!

This is Discipling from The Foursquare Church on Vimeo.

You’re Invited! CCDA Cafe

Posted: Thursday, June 9, 2011 | Author: Marti Williams | Filed under: 2k11 | Tags: Cafe, CCDA, Christian Community Development, East End Fellowship, Making a Melody, Richmond, RVA | Comments Off

PLEASE NOTE:

New Location:

Northminster Church

3121 Moss Side Avenue
Richmond, VA 23222

If you want this doc in a .pdf format, check this link – CCDA Cafe Richmond Flyer – New Location.

Lowe’s knows…Kids!

Posted: Wednesday, June 1, 2011 | Author: Marti Williams | Filed under: 2k11 | Tags: Build and Grow, kids, lowe's home improvement, RVA | Comments Off

It’s Lowe’s old branding, I know…but it worked so well! I have been doing a little research on free things to do with some of the neighborhood kids. Louis and I don’t have kids of our own, so I don’t come with a bag of tricks up my sleeve. So, thankfully the internet is FULL of great info. So, Saturday, CJ, Deshawn, Larry, Elijah and I went to Lowe’s Home Improvement’s Build and Grow Clinic and built a bi-plane! We had a BLAST! They do these twice a month, so let me know if you would like to take some of the kids in June! The next 2 consist of…

6.11 Goofy Golf

6.25 Waving Flag

While you are there, you can pick up some of your home improvement supplies! Make it doubly worth the trip! Thanks, Lowe’s!

“My friends are my estate.” Emily Dickenson

Posted: Tuesday, May 31, 2011 | Author: Marti Williams | Filed under: 2k11, Northside Missional Community | Tags: birthday cookout, friendship, John 15:12-15, Memorial Day, Northside Missional Community, RVA, Southern Barton Heights | Comments Off

“My friends are my estate.”
– Emily Dickinson

I feel like the most blessed person in the world! If my friends are my estate….that also makes me the RICHEST person in the world. Yesterday, we had our annual Community Memorial Day Cookout….and Birthday Bash. I call it a Memorial Day Cookout and Louis always includes my birthday as well, which is today. We opened our yard and our hearts to our community of neighbors and friends to celebrate. Over 60 people were in attendance. It was awesome for neighbors to meet neighbors…young and old alike…to make new friends.

Our Missional Community was there to help by lending a hand…setting up and tearing down the tables, meeting new people, building deeper relationships, and just chillin’ in the heat! Many times, community gatherings around here lead to verbal fights, physical altercations, guns and shooting, and other negativity that just disturbs the community. We had none of that! We had….

great food. Thanks to Rush and Louis manning grill…chicken and hot dogs!!! and everyone bringing a covered dish.
wonderful respectful, positive conversations.
laughter, games and fun.
connections and friendships being made. Some of the youth were meeting for the first time…since they go to different high schools.
a few people who heard about our Thursday night gatherings who are going to come and check us out.

Again…I am blessed to have called these folks my friends. God intends for us to be in relationship with Him and with one another. We practiced that yesterday. The Bible has over 100 verses on friends, friendship, etc. Here is one of my favorites…

John 15:12-15 “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you. No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you.

Enjoy some pics of our time together…meet my friends…