In June of 1988 was one of the happiest days of my life, our son was finally graduating from Chatard High School.

By August 1988 he was facing 40 years of prison time. That joy and happiness had left. I began to detach myself from my pain an turn my needs to deeds. My daughter and I began visiting another young man in prison and people started to ask us for rides

Finally after months of being asked the same questions “can we ride with you?”, I asked the question to them, “does this state offer transportation to the prisons?” The answer was “NO.”

So the LORD spoke to my heart to start a prison shuttle bus service for people like me, the hidden victims or the forgotten victims.

I told my mother about it and also told her I only graduated from High school, and really didn’t know what to do or how to do it. She said to me “Use What You’ve Got.” I have Jesus, Faith, Grace, and Love. I named the ministry UWYGM.

Realizing we are giving families, friends, and the returning-home-citizens hope, showing the love of god and the Grace of God that crosses all barriers of race, culture, education, and gender. It hasn’t been easy fulfilling a vision that God has given you to do. One of the reasons is that not all people understand the needs of people who are hurting. Why do some people turn to drugs, or why do some people keep going to prison? It’s hard for people to know the pain that some of these people have gone through in their young life or as small children. All of us handle problems, fear, and pain differently.

Knowing “But For the Grace of God, there go I.”

I have had to walk by faith for 22 years, not knowing where the money or resources would come from.

Because of Grace and Mercy we can provide transportation for families and friends of inmates to 13 different prisons. We provide family advocacy to families and returning-home-citizens, sharing resources and support to help US when we need it the most.

We have a women’s retreat taking hurt women away for a weekend to help give them vision and hope for their children and loved-ones in prison. We have a Christmas party for the children with incarcerated parents. After 22 years of service, UWYGPM still shows the love of Jesus Christ to the hidden victims, the families of the incarcerated.

God is always doing a new thing. Changes are always happening in our world, our lives, and all of us.

One of the reasons for my passion for UWYGPM is that most of my life has been ups and downs. I am still in need of support because of my own son’s substance abuse problem and many other problems. I was raised in church by a God fearing mother. Another reason is that I believe that people can experience God’s love, grace, and support through understanding people.

I am a special needs advocate.   Let me start by saying that I love this new life of mine.  It is not at all what I thought my life was going to be, and it certainly has its heartbreaking & challenging moments.  However, through this new life, I see that God is with me every day, working with me, worrying with me, guiding me, and sending angels to help.   Serving this population reminds me daily of what is truly important.  It is not about acquiring things or being fastest, richest, and most “successful”  as our society defines it.  It is, however, about love, relationships, and a good dose of justice.

My life BC (before children) was all about music –  and particularly my singing career. I travelled & sang professionally, lived the life of a starving artist, and after Rob & I married, started teaching at the university level. I was living my dream of making a living off of music, and loving it.

Fast forward several years.  Our first child has taken his time learning to crawl & walk, is not babbling as expected, and does not play patty-cake.  It is our long-anticipated and dreaded “diagnosis day”. The child psychologist gently says to us that it is their opinion that he meets the diagnostic criteria for Autistic Disorder and Severe Receptive and Expressive Language Disorder.  Time is given for us to process, recommendations are given to us, and we start the long drive home to Bloomington.  As thorough and professional as the day has been, at the end of the day, we were sent home with a thick packet of information, an invite to stay in touch if we’d like, and well-wishes.   “Good luck”, essentially.

I recall the following months & years: so many systems to navigate, so much information out there.  I wanted a reliable source of information – someone to guide me.  I kept thinking I had all sorts of tire spokes of help but no hub.  It’s not like you get a diagnosis for your child and they implant a microchip in your brain to know how to deal with insurance & schools, especially while your world has just been rocked to its core and your brain is spinning and grieving.

We moved to Indianapolis almost three years ago.  I initially thought “Ah, here is my opportunity to get a vocal studio going again!” And yet, once we moved here, I found any reason I could not to make the phone calls, connections and introductions I knew I needed to in order to be a professional mezzo soprano here in Indianapolis.  I didn’t want to be a professional musician anymore.  But, once I allowed myself to make the unthinkable realization, I felt such freedom & relief.  Then the next big question came: so what do you want to do now?

More weeks of pondering, praying.  And then it came to me:  I remembered that “diagnosis day”. And I realized what I wanted to do:  I wanted to be the person that went along with that packet of information.  I wanted to be the person who would hold a family’s hand once they got that diagnosis, and guide them to the help that was out there so no one would have to do this on their own again, like we did.

So I started talking to anyone that had any manner of connection with the special needs world.  I now work at ASK (About Special Kids), a non-profit state-wide organization that directs families of special needs children to the resources and supports that are out there.  Any question that a family has, we can help them – free of charge.  I love this work.  Yes, most of my time is spent listening to heartbreaking stories and the unfair problems that these families have to face.  For a majority of the families, I am helping them fight for their child.  But I am holding their hand through it, and they do not have to face it alone.    There is help.  We can make the world a gentler place for these children.  It is my ministry.  It sets my heart on fire.

Many families with special needs children simply don’t go to church because it takes real work to have their child participate or even be present in Sunday school or in a worship service.  Our experience here at North has been such a lesson in acceptance, diligence & willingness to make this work.  On our first Sunday visiting here, when we got to Miss Dana’s kindergarten classroom, we took a deep breath, and started in on our mantra, explaining how our child Thomas has autism, and that means….and Dana looked at us, smiled and said “I’ve been teaching special ed for 20 years.” Moments later we were here in the worship service, our hearts at ease, knowing that he was well looked-after for that hour.  And we could have an hour in church, an hour to restore & rejuvenate, be present with God, and gather the strength for the week ahead.   Last January, Janet called us to start the planning & discussion about moving Thomas up to the 1^st grade Godly Play classroom that following August because she wanted to make sure that they were prepared for him and could provide an environment that would work for him.  She beat me to this!  That is a stunner.  I applaud North’s Radical Hospitality initiative and pray that we will all move forward with this, especially welcoming those with special needs and developmental disabilities and their families.   What a gift to have a place that is loving and accepting, especially in this world that is not particularly gentle.

These children, (who will grow into adults) require a gentle world.   Many times, it simply would be easier just to stay home and hide.  But we cannot.  Because these children – my son included – have so many gifts to offer this world.  I know this because the pe ople who have taken the time to let my son into their heart and get to know him, feel better around him.  There is nothing like his smile, his laughter, and his eye contact.  It is at these times that I truly believe that I am seeing God.  God in action, God through him, God in him.  God in these children, in these people.   I am so thankful to this church for being a place of gentleness for Thomas.

It is what we have found so far at this church, and what we hope can be offered to even more children & adults with special needs & developmental disabilities  here in this place, among these people.

Over the past few weeks, we’ve been picking apart the idea of ‘radical hospitality.’ You’ve heard us talk about new and old ways we might welcome guests into our church….into our Sunday School classes…and even into our homes.

And each week, we’ve asked you to jot down your thoughts on those bright green cards we’ve left at the end of each pew.

We thought you might be interested in some of the wonderful suggestions that have come in, both from those cards and from this radicalhospitality.com blog.

The themes that emerged were pretty clear: while we’re already doing a LOT, we can do even MORE to step out of our comfort zones, to welcome people into North, on Monday through Saturday, as well as on Sunday.

• Several people suggested we consider offering a family activity during the week, which would include a dinner and fellowship time.
• One note expressed appreciation for the way North acts as a peaceful place to debate important public issues…and urged that we do MORE of that in the future.
• There were suggestions that we include a wider range of worship styles, including more Spanish and African music on a regular basis.
• And that we extend a more intentional and affirming ‘welcome’ to guests who are gay or lesbian.
• Another card suggested that we offer a ‘welcome gift’ to Sunday morning visitors – perhaps a loaf of bread or a pie, that groups could make in advance and keep in the church’s freezer.
• Or perhaps we could prepare hospitality bags, filled with socks and snacks, perhaps a toothbrush and soap, that would be given to our guests who attend “Bread and Bowl.”
• Several cards contained reminders that a warm smile and a welcoming handshake is never unwelcome…even if you don’t know the name of the person you are greeting. Yet.
• One card reminded our pastoral staff that we need to explicitly invite Sunday visitors to the fellowship time after the service…because they might not know where they’re going. And we might want to post one of our ‘greeters’ near that location, as well…to guide visitors down the hall.
• Here’s our favorite question…or challenge:  What if, when visitors came to our church on Sunday, they always found an open seat at the end of the pew, where they could sit down without climbing over someone? In other words, how easy would it be for all of us to just scoot toward the middle of the pew when we arrived…leaving the end spot for a guest? Simple, right?

And that brings us to the underlying message of all of these Moments: that there are things that we all can do – some of them easy, some of them difficult – to make North Church more hospitable.

And while some of these ideas cost nothing, they DO assume that the lights will be on, the heat will be working, and our pastoral and office and maintenance staffs will be available the way we’ve all become accustomed.

So when you’re thinking and praying this week about what your family’s stewardship pledge will be for the coming year, we urge you to think of how it felt the first time YOU were welcomed into North Church….and to commit that you’ll help enable OTHERS to receive that same blessing.

1. UVA University Singers
2. McANA Neighborhood Alliance
3. League of Women Voters
4. West District Women’
5. Maple Road Development
6. Neighborhood Meeting
7. Piano Technicians Guild
8. Art for Beds
9. Bread for the World
10. Sudanese Group
11. 12-Step Group
12. Indianapolis Metro Ministries
13. CURE
14. Mid-North Food Pantry
15. African Center
16. City of Indpls – Race Relations Leadership Network
17. Beta Graduate Chapter of Phi Gamma Delta
18. Tobias Center
19. Harmonie Opera Club
20. McCOY – Reaching Youth On-line
21. Louisville Institute Consultation
22. Wabash Pastors
23. Morehouse Glee Club
24. Indiana Conference Caucus
25. Clarian Yellow Rose Memorial Service
26. Horton Photography Class
27. Marion Co. Health Dept.
28. Greenville College Choir
29. Lenten Breakfast
30. Domestic Violence Workshop
31. Children’s Bureau
32. ETC
33. QGI Quilt Guild
34. Fuller Center
35. Head Start
36. Indpls. Flute Club
37. HARMONI-LISC
38. IACCRR
39. Archibald Piano Recital
40. NAMI Indianapolis
41. Indianapolis Brass Choir
42. Native American Ministry Cultural Training
43. Vista Care Memorial Service
44. African Children’s Choir
45. Census Bureau
46. Clergy Covenant Group
47. District Lay Speakers Committee
48. Trusted Mentor Volunteer Training
49. First Baptist Church Choir Retreat
50. UMC Commission on Archives and History
51. 38th/Meridian St. Corridor Neighborhood Roundtable
52. Chamber Recital
53. UMC Historical Society
54. Marion County Health Department – Flu Shots
55. United Way
56. United Senior Action
57. Wishard Referendum Volunteers

We asked for a list of the groups that regularly convene in North Church. These are non-church organizations—groups  that see North as a place of peaceful welcome and safety. The list we were given was a full page long. Single spaced.

Including:

• The Maple Road Development Association.
• The Piano Technicians Guild.
• The Indianapolis Flute Club.
• Head Start.
• Several 12-Step groups, including AA.
• Then there are the North Church groups that reach out into the community….such as Bread and Bowl…the Farmer’s Market… the Best Friends Ball….and Christmas Jubilee.

Nearly every day…and many evenings, our parking lot fills up and our doors open to people we don’t know.

But they know US:

They know that when they come into North, they will receive a smile, a gentle voice of hospitality, and some help in making that day better.

It might be a bowl of soup on a cold day….or a safe place for a mother and her children to sleep for the week.

Maybe it’s fresh locally-grown produce…purchased with food stamps at our weekly Farmers’ Market.

It might be a new skill, learned at one of the Shepherd Center’s many classes.

Or a new awareness, deepened at a Race Relations Study Group.

As Kevin said to one of our committee members years ago, we don’t practice this kind of hospitality as a ‘recruiting tactic,’ to build the membership of our congregation.

We choose to do it … because we believe deep down that it’s what Jesus wants us to do.

It’s what He did, to the least of us, to the forgotten, to the lonely.

As we each continue to think and pray about our household’s commitment to this year’s Stewardship Campaign, I ask that you recall the kinds of Radical Hospitality we are already practicing as a community….and what more we could do, with your support.

You’ve seen the ways North Church has reached out:

Sometimes with a ladle, with our Bread and Bowl ministry, that’s fed hundreds of our neighbors several times a week for many years now; and

Sometimes with a market basket, with the farmer’s market on Thursday evenings.

And then there are the weekly Eatin’ Meetin’s, which have made Fellowship Hall a pretty raucous place more than once!

Underneath all those events is the message that Jesus shared food with his disciples and his followers, and so should we.

But there are so many MORE ways we could be sharing food together in ‘radical hospitality.’

The young adults group now holds occasional picnic on the second Sunday of the month, after the 11:00 service. Anyone who feels like a ‘young adult’ is welcome.

Perhaps North might host an all-church-and-neighborhood block party in Tarkington Park.

About twenty years ago, the people of North Church organized a series of dinner parties called “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner”.

The idea was pretty simple: church members and visitors had the option of signing up to be a guest or a host for a dinner for eight people at someone’s home. The host would provide the main course and the hospitality, and the rest would bring a dish big enough to share with everyone.

People who attended those dinners still talk about they met some of their best friends at North Church on those evenings. Since then, some of those dinner groups continue to meet and socialize regularly.

As we all know, North Church is too big a place to know everyone. But people who have shared a meal together are more likely to greet each other during the service, attend Bible study together, or share a cup of coffee before heading to choir practice.

Guests and hosts learn about each others’ children, our work, and what brought each to North Church.  Strangers become friends, which might not have happened under other circumstances.

North Church is going to revive those adult “Dinners for Eight” this fall (on October 24) and again in the spring (date TBA).

If you’d like to host a casual dinner for eight or be a guest at a dinner, please sign up on October 4 or October 11 in the community room after the 8:30 service, in the West Entry after the 11:00 service to sign up. You can also call the church office (924-2612) or sign up at the Radical Hospitality blog: www.radicalhospitality.com.

The Rev. Carlton Pearson, a former Pentecostal bishop who has embraced Universalism, preached at All Souls Unitarian Church in Tulsa in September 2008. His family and many members of his former congregation have joined All Souls.

Alice Brown sent this link

For a wonderful article on radical hospitality. check out this link.  Amazing story!  Would we be so open and welcoming?

When the Stewardship Campaign Steering Committee first began to discuss the idea of ‘radical hospitality,’ most of our conversation centered around ways that North Church can – and does – welcome people into our building, or into our worship community. And we do a lot of those things very well.

We welcome our neighbors with Bread and Bowl, a wide range of musical concerts, and presentations by The Shepherd Center.

In recent years, the church has added some bells and whistles to those efforts. Now, members who miss Kevin’s message on a Sunday can listen to it in the form of a podcast on Monday.

Those are the easy forms of hospitality, which don’t take us out of our ‘comfort zone.

Now, we’re being challenged in this Stewardship Campaign to think another way, about how to extend that hospitality in new directions. We can’t just keep inviting people INTO North Church. We have to find ways to meet them where they are. And in today’s climate, that means we need to become a part of what’s called ‘social networking.’

This isn’t an either-or choice: Bread and Bowl OR Facebook.

This is a both-AND situation.

There are some neighbors who will still only come to North when a friend picks up the phone and invites them. But there are others – and who knows how many? – who might become curious about what’s going on here all week long by reading about North Church on our website, or in an online discussion group about this week’s sermon topic, or even while volunteering at another non-profit that is tied to North through common interests.

The social networks that are already out there – such as Twitter and MySpace and the rest – are creating a ‘cloud’ of contacts which enable people to be in touch more often, and more easily, than ever before.  And what those who do this work regularly have learned is that it’s not a question of starting new conversations about faith and community as much as it is jumping into some discussions that are already underway.

North Church could benefit from that kind of energy and ferment.

Especially if we want our hospitality truly to be ‘radical.’

One means to that end is this new North Church blog about “radical hospitality.”

As we talk about stewardship and the future of North Church, we believe it is our job to find ways to speak to people who are comfortable in cyberspace, and those for whom it is still unfamiliar territory.

Now that you have logged on, we encourage you to post your own ideas about how radical hospitality can transform North Church, its members, its guests and its neighbors.

Listen to this presentation from the weekly podcast

That may sound a little bit smug, but as you walk around this church just about any day – and  many nights –you’ll see examples of the first practice Schnase talks about: the notion of ‘radical hospitality.’

We all know in our bones what ‘hospitality’ is.

• It’s making people feel welcome.
• It’s bringing out-siders IN-side.
• Extending ourselves, whether it’s through Eatin’ Meetin’s, or IHN overnight stays…or just wearing our nametags during Sunday worship.

And that’s a good start.

What’s exciting about the practice of RADICAL hospitality is that it challenges us to go beyond what’s easy and comfortable.

I’m sure I’m not the only one in this congregation who was reared to be somewhat suspicious of the term ‘radical.’

It’s even a little scary. And that’s a good thing.

In the next few weeks, leading up to Stewardship Sunday in late October, members of the Steering Committee are going to be talking about what truly “radical hospitality” might look like at North Church.

The goal is to begin searching for how North can adopt some of those “practices”…. and commit to KEEP “practicing” them until we get them right.

• It’ll mean being hospitable in new ways and new places, with people who haven’t been inside this church before.
• More young people. Members of the gay and lesbian communities. People with a range of mental or physical disabilities.
• Radical hospitality involves using new techniques to reach people (although Kevin hopes you won’t start ‘tweeting’ during his sermons).
• It also includes incorporating new ways to share that essence of hospitality – food – with each other with our neighbors around North Church and around the world.
• Plus, it will involve considering how North Church can use its magnificent facility to be hospitable — which means taking care of the legacy that the founders of North Church bequeathed to us.

If you have ideas on how North can expand its hospitality, please write them on a slip of paper and include it in next week’s offering, or add to the blog posts at this site.

This is a time to be brave – and even a little radical!