Community 4:12

The Power of a 9 Digit Number

I have lived in a largely immigrant community for the past 6 years.   I know many of my friends and neighbors are undocumented, and I have seen some of them suffer the consequences of their status . . . inability to get a driver's license, inability to participate in the democratic process of voting for president or local officials, losing a family member to deportation and/or living in constant fear of deportation.  I have known that legally they are not allowed to work, but one way or another most of them have found jobs and a way to provide, at least minimally, for their families.

But recently I have had the heart-breaking experience of investing in and empowering a couple of women to develop their leadership skills and confidence, only to see them devastated by the reality that they can't work in the capacity they feel called to.  And I realized just how much I take for granted my ability to work.

I know immigration is a devisive and hotly contestest issue.  But, putting the debate and "legal" issues aside, I am left with seeing talented, passionate, committed women again feeling hopeless and worthless.  And I am left feeling guilty that I tried (and succeeded) to convince these women that they ARE talented and have so much to offer and that society and our community needs them.   Sure, the skills and confidence they have developed can be used in volunteer endeavors, and I am encouraging them to use their gifts that way.  But, I have talked to many moms in the past year (and I was one myself a decade ago), who say that no matter how much volunteer work they do, they long to contribute in a meaningful and significant way and be valued with the dignity and honor of being paid for what they do.  The difference, though, is that these moms can be paid for what they do someday, and that provides hope to endure the long, hard days of being at home with little kids they love dearly but that quite literally at times make them crazy.  My immigrant friends don't have that hope.

I am sure this post will raise all kind of criticism, but as a woman who finds deep meaning and signifance in doing a job I love and being able to help provide for my family, it saddens me deeply to know that my friends may never know that experience.  Sure, they could obtain the necessary 9 digit number in illegal ways.  But, honorably, they are not willing to do that.  So, I will continue to advocate and fight for immigration reform and pray that before their new found self-confidence fades, the "land of opportunity" will be open to them.

Redefining Success

In 1997 I read Ron Sider's Rich Christians in an Age of Hunger, and my life has never been the same since.  That book put words to thoughts and ideas and feelings I had been struggling with as a Christ-follower for several years.  It ignited a passion that inspired me to be a voice for the poor and marginalized within Evangelical circles and ultimately led to the founding of Community 4:12.

I can't help but wonder if I will look back on 2012 and the reading of Paul Tough's book How Children Succeed in the same way.  My work with under-resourced communities has forced me to care about education, and the glaring inequities between low and high income school districts.  As I have watched my husband and many others teach for years in one of those lower income school districts, I have seen the frustration that comes from pouring everything you have into helping children learn, only to be told that your students and your school is not making "adequate yearly progress."  The educational reform movement fueled by No Child Left Behind insists that with high quality teachers any student can learn and excel on achievement tests.  From my perspective, as a non-educator, the result of that has been a lot of discouraged, disempowered teachers and not a lot of progress on improving student achievement.  I have felt in my gut for years that we cannot measure a teacher or a student's success based solely on academic achievement as determined by standardized tests.

And Tough's research and resulting book confirm that.  A child's success in school, college, and life is better predicted by certain character traits (such as grit, perseverence, curiosity, optimism, self-control) than by scores on achievement tests.  And the research also shows that those character traits, or life-skills, can in fact be taught.  So, why is that not the foundation of educational reform in our country?  Do we really only care about getting kids through school with a certain academic proficiency, or do we care about creating a generation of kids--rich and poor--who go on to succeed in life? 

As I launch my run for School Board for East Aurora District 131, I am beginning a new journey into the realm of advocacy and public policy.  Will Tough's book provide me the inspiration and motivation to work again for something I have long believed in my gut to be true?  Will I have the grit and perseverence and optimism to fight for the reform needed to set all children in East Aurora up to succeed--not just on achievement tests, but in life?

CCDA 2012 Reflections

I got my annual "shot in the arm/boost to the heart & spirit" fix last week at the CCDA conference in Minneapolis.  There is nothing so energizing, encouraging, and challenging as being with 3,000 people who are fiercely and deeply passionate about fighting poverty and justice in our communities.  Given my passion for education and our local schools, I was especially thrilled to see a continued emphasis on working for educational reform and the role Christ-followers can and should play in that effort.  For the first time, we were all challenged to consider running for our local school boards . ..  to put more skin in the game in hard but vitally important work.  That was a real confirmation, since I had been seriously praying about whether or not I should run for the East Aurora School Board.  Needless to say, I have started circulating my petitions so that I can have my name on the ballot, and put my heart and passion for the district in the running, in April.  I also enjoyed Nicole Baker Fulgham and her challenge to Christ-followers and churches to get involved in our schools in three ways . ..  as vision-casters, as laborers, and as advocates.  I will be spending some time reflecting on what I personally and Community 4:12 can do more of in each of those areas, and would love to know what others are doing.  Please share!

Everyone Has Something to Contribute

Many of the moms in my community feel like there is not much they can contribute in this foreign land that they now call home.   As undocumented immigrants, they are ineligible to get a driver’s license or a job.  As Spanish speakers with limited English and in many cases only an elementary level of education, they don’t believe they can even be of any help as a volunteer at their children’s schools.

Our church has tried to shatter those beliefs and empower those moms to be leaders and mentors.   Through a Parent Mentor program we call “Parents United in Action/Padres Unidos en Acción,” we offer training and a small stipend to moms who in exchange volunteer for 10 hours/week at their children’s schools as teacher assistants.  Teachers and principals claim the program is a win/win/win for teachers, students, and the moms involved.  Some of the benefits they see include:

• Parents become a part of the culture of the school--which unfortunately is often not the case at our schools.
• Children see parents contributing and serving as additional role models in the school.
• Teachers have a part-time assistant at a relatively low cost to help provide more individual attention to students struggling in reading or math.
• Parents who entered the program reluctantly, feeling like they had nothing of value to contribute to a school, grow in self-confidence and become active contributors at the school on many levels beyond their work in the classroom.
• Parents see this as a job and take it more seriously than volunteers, so are much more reliable and committed.
• These parents often become the foundation of a PTO that struggles to get people involved.

We started the program at one school with just 5 Mentors, but have grown to 40 Mentors at 7 schools.  All funds for stipends and other expenses are paid by the church, because we want to send the message that we care about the people and schools in our community.  This is just one of several ways we try to come along-side the teachers in our schools who work tirelessly with very limited funding to educate the kids who have so many odds stacked against them.

One of our Parent Mentors recently shared this about her experience, “It has been an amazing opportunity.  I keep learning every day from the children and the teachers I work with.  I have learned how important it is to keep in touch with our children’s school and their teachers in order to help them succeed.”   

Through this program, I have had the opportunity to hear the struggles and dreams of many of these moms.  One of them recently asked me what MY dream is.  I shared with her my desire to help people develop skills and find opportunities to discover their gifts and passions so they can fulfill their dreams.  And she said with pride, “So really, WE are your dream, right?”   “Yes,” I said trying hard not to cry, “you are!”

 

5th Annual Celebration Generosity

Over the past 4 years, COMMUNITY has allocated $1.75 million to the work of four missional ministries . . . the NewThing Network, Frontline Ministries in the Philippines, our work in Haiti and Africa, mostly in partnership with World Relief, and the work of Community 4:12.  And this weekend, we will host our 5th annual Celebration Generosity.

I love this weekend and the generosity it inpsires.  To be honest, it is also a bit stressful, because my entire year's budget is determined by what Community 4:12 receives in designated gifts on this weekend.  I've never been particularly concerned about the money . . . God has been amazingly faithful in providing the resources we've needed for the work He's led us to do.  But, I'd be lieing if I didn't say I harbor a bit of human anxiety heading into the weekend.

Here's a snapshot video of some of the things we were able to do as a result of last year's Celebration Generosity. 

Everything we do, from Gift Marts to tutoring, to having space to run clinics and programs is fueled by the funding that comes in this weekend.  Our hope this next year is to continue our various programs and events and to:

• provide at least 150 kids in East Aurora and Joliet with tutors and mentors,
• continue supporting Emmanuel House in East Aurora by helping at least 4 low-income families begin the path of moving into homeownership and out of the cycle of poverty,
• sponsor Gift Marts in Aurora, Joliet, and Chicago to raise thousands of dollars to support educational initiatives at our partner schools.

 In addition to that, three new things we are dreaming about for this year are:

• Beginning a ministry in Chicago that will allow our two campuses to come alongside low-income families and individuals in the city through partnerships with World Relief and other organizations.  
• Increasing involvement in our Parent Mentor program to at least 50 parents in Aurora and Joliet.
• Creating an East Aurora Restore Team of at least 10 families that are committed to living in East Aurora and working relentlessly for community development.  We will not create deep, significant, and lasting impact unless we have families living in the neighborhood and doing life in partnership with the community, so that will be a big focus for us this year.

If you attend COMMUNITY, I hope you will join us this weekend and consider supporting the work of Community 4:12, and/or any of the great causes.  If you aren't able to join us, you can make a donation on-line; just specify in the comments which Team (Community 4:12, NewThing, Haiti, or Philippines) you'd like your donation to go towards. 

My Reaction to Kony 2012

As the Director of the Compassion and Justice ministry at Community Christian Church, a few of our staff have asked me what I think of the viral explosion of the Kony 2012 movement.  (In case you haven't heard of it, you can watch the video here:  http://vimeo.com/37119711).

In response to that explosion, there has also been an explosion of criticism lobbied against International Children and the Kony initiative.  (You can read one such criticism--that is well presented and makes some excellent points that I agree with---here:  http://liferemixed.net/2012/03/08/reflections-on-kony-2012/).

And then, in response to those criticisms, International Children has issued this response:  http://s3.amazonaws.com/www.invisiblechildren.com/critiques.html.

Not that I feel our staff needs my opinion to decide whether or not to support Kony 2012 or not, I love and appreciate that there is a desire to think about this critically and to look at things through a "When Helping Hurts" lens.  So, I shared the following response with them to read IF they were interested.  And I'll share it here for anyone interested in my opinion . . . and it is only that, my opinion.  I don't claim it as the typical "community development" position or as the "right" or "best" opinion.  It is simply my opinion as someone who deeply desires to see long and lasting restoration come to our world, as someone who deeply desires to see people move from apathy to engagement when it comes to issues of poverty and justice, and as a parent of teenagers hungry to make a difference in our world. 

I applaud the intention, the initiative, the call to action, and the inspiration of Kony 2012.  I believe that apathy and ignorance are two of the worst evils and biggest obstacles to overcoming poverty and injustice.  Kony 2012 is trying to blow both of those to smithereens.  Is Kony 2012, if successful, going to end injustice or really impact the horrible situation in Africa?  Even if it is, is it the most effective and helpful way to do so?  I would say possibly, and maybe even probably, not to both of those questions.  Does that mean we shouldn't get involved?  I would say no to that, too.  What I would hope, though, and what I am encouraging my own family to do, is not so much rally around the poster plastering on April 20th, as to use this as an opportunity to enter a passionate debate and dialogue and rally with others around the bigger issue of poverty and injustice and what our role and responsibility as human beings and as Christ followers is in these situations.  So, if people are organizing and planning "poster plastering" rallies and events, I would hope they will also include a time of discussion and reflection and a follow-up "debriefing/what do we do from here?" conversation.

The biggest tragedy to me in all of this will be if millions of people are mobilized and excited about Kony 2012 and April 20th, but then life goes back to "normal" by April 25th.  And the reality is that will probably happen for many if not most people who get involved.  But, if a few dozen or a few hundred or maybe even a few thousand people are inspired to move from apathy to long-term, thoughtful, smart engagement and involvement in poverty and justice issues, I will say it was a job well done.

 

All It Took Was a Team

For the past couple of years, I have received an email every month or so letting me know about the need for volunteers to help at citizenship workshops in the area.  These workshops help immigrants with green cards navigate the complicated process of applying for US citizenship.  In order for volunteers to help at a workshop, they understandably have to go through a training to learn about that complicated process.  Every time I received the email I would think, "I would really like to do this . . . I really should do this . . . it is such an important issue in my community."  But, alas, month after month it felt like I didn't have time to give both a Friday night and a Saturday, so it remained on the "should do" list.

Until this month. 

Last Friday night, most of us on the East Aurora Restore team attended the two hour training and then on Saturday went to East Aurora High School to help residents attending the workship fill out the long and rather confusing application.  It was a fantastic experience, and now that we have been trained, any of us can (and I am sure will) help at future workshops.

So, why was this month different?  What motivated me to take action after all this time?

Having a team to do it with.  And not because I was scared to go alone or felt intimidated by the process.  Doing it with a team was simply more fun and provided more accountability and incentive to move from thinking about doing it to actually doing it.

And that is exactly the reason we needed to form this East Aurora Restore Team.   Not because we need to come up with a grand new vision about how to impact our community.  But because as a Team, I believe we are 100% more likely to do all those things that as individuals we've been thinking we "should do" or "would like to do."  But, I do suspect that as we do those things we will develop a bigger vision for how we can impact our community. 

All it took to move from thinking to doing was having a team. 

Then make me truly happy by agreeing wholeheartedly with each other, loving one another, and working together with one heart and purpose.--Philippians 2:2

 

Meet the East Aurora Restore Team

Last week I presented a brand new team we are forming in East Aurora--the East Aurora Restore Team that will be made up of 10 - 15 families living in our focus community in East Aurora. These will be families that have relocated to the neighborhood from more affluent communities, and families that have lived in the neighborhood for years. This Team will exist to engage deeply and relationally in the neighborhood, to identify community assets and challenges, and to work with people inside and outside the community to tackle those challenges.

I'd like to introduce you to the 5 families committed to launching this team:

 

Scott, Kirsten, Erik (14) & Brian (12) Strand
  We moved to East Aurora from Naperville in 2007, and our kids have attended the public elementary and middle schools in District 131.  Kirsten directs Community 4:12 at CCC, and Scott teaches 3rd grade at one of our partner schools, Bardwell Elementary.  While we've worked and served in East Aurora since 2003, it has only been since moving here that we have built deep and lasting relationships that have quite honestly been life changing . . . from a teenage girl we've been able to mentor to a single mom and her kids that have become like family to us. Our boys have experienced cultural and economic diversity and learned "life lessons" that can't be taught in even the best of schools.   We absolutely love living in East Aurora!

 

Obe & Jack Arellano

  We moved from Villa Park to Aurora in 2007 with the plans of planting a church.   We felt God leading us to do so in the East Aurora community.   We first got connected with what was going on there, volunteering with not-for-profit organizations like Community 4:12, which led to Obe doing a Leadership Residency at CCC. We started a bilingual campus in the heart of East Aurora in January, 2010. Obe is the campus pastor and Jack works with Emmanuel House, an organization that helps low-income families in East Aurora purchase their first home. We have recently moved just down the street from the campus and love opening our home to the community. 

 

Drake, Josie, & Grace (9) Schopen

  We moved to East Aurora in July, 2011, and Grace is currently attending Bardwell Elementary. Drake owns his own Pest Control business (which he hopes to move to East Aurora in 6-8 weeks) and Josie works at CCC-EA campus as the Kids' City Director. We began helping in East Aurora with several Community 4:12 events and after helping and building a relationship with Kirsten and hearing her story we decided to move to the community. We continue to help with events, but I have now begun to help and become a permanent fixture in Bardwell School. I am trying to build relationships with staff and parents. And now by living 3 blocks from the church and 4 blocks away from the school has made it a great middle point for the kids that we have built friendships with to stop by and hang out. We look forward to the day when their parents join them!!

 

 

Mike, Jeannene, & Amanda (21) Miller

 We have spent the last year physically (you know, all those ongoing home repairs), mentally and emotionally preparing (ourselves & families) for our move to East Aurora, which we are praying will happen in 2012.  We have served for many years in the East Aurora area; from the events through Community 4:12, being a part of the EA Campus & their launch team, to being a part of the Tuesday night Kids City program.  It has been through this continued involvement and evolving friendships, that we have felt the prompting to take the next step.  We really want to get to know these kids, their families & this community.  It is extremely difficult to build true deep relationships when commuting from Naperville to EA , without sacrificing one or the other.  We are looking forward to being a real & constant part of this community.  I can't wait to see what happens when families and cultures are blended and our "family" is extended.

 

Lou Peryea
  I spent the first third of my 63 years growing up in an affluent suburb, assuming that I knew a lot about the real world.  Going off to college in the late sixties introduced me to a world filled with color, diversity, excitement and injustice.  These last 4 decades have been spent in a variety of diverse settings - raising our family in a small but multi-cultural city - being blessed with friends from a broad range of racial, ethnic, educational and economic diversity - helping to raise children who have experienced challenges that break my heart  - and traveling to nations, thus witnessing the profound faith of the truly impoverished.  Jesus continues to stretch my comfort zone and open my eyes.  Life is good........ being a neighbor on the East Side of Aurora is good....... understanding that I can truly contribute to the healing of the world is good!

 

Restoration Depends on Incarnation

If you have come to help me, you are wasting your time.  But if you have come because your liberation is bound up with mine, then let us work together.  –Australian Aboriginal Activitst, Lila Watson

 

Since 2003, Community 4:12 has been working in East Aurora with the goal of creating a model of community development and restoration that can be replicated in other communities.  We’ve established programs around educational and housing challenges that many under-resourced neighborhoods face and have replicated some of those in Joliet.  A large part of our strategy has been to mobilize Community Christian Church attenders to come and serve in lower-income communities.  While this has been effective in many instances, it has not created a model that depends on truly coming along side and partnering with the people in the neighborhoods where we work.  And we believe that significant and lasting change absolutely depends on that type of incarnational ministry.  So this year we are launching a new effort in East Aurora to help us better achieve our hope of truly uniting people of different races and cultures and economic backgrounds to restore communities.  I am very excited about the launch of this new East Aurora Restore Team.

 

The East Aurora Restore Team will be made up of 10 - 15 Christ-following families living in the focus neighborhood in East Aurora.  These will be families that have relocated to the neighborhood from more affluent communities, and families that have lived in the neighborhood for years.  This Team will exist to engage deeply and relationally in the neighborhood, to identify community assets and challenges, and to work with people inside and outside the community to tackle those challenges. 

 

In my next post, I will introduce the 5 families that are committed to launching the East Aurora Restore Team.  All of us are people who have intentionally moved to East Aurora to be part of community restoration efforts.  We have been praying for several months that 3 – 5 more families would feel—and respond---to God’s call to join us.   Would you join us in praying for that?  And if you have any sense that God may be tugging at YOUR heart to consider a missional move, or to be part of a focused incarnational ministry team, I invite you to join us for dessert and to hear more about the vision and dreams of this Team.  We will meet at Community Christian Church, Naperville Yellow Box Campus, on Monday evening, February 13^th at 7:00 pm.   Leave a comment, or send me an email at kirstenstrand@communitychristian.org and let me know if you’d like to join us or want more information—no commitment or obligation, just come and learn!

Aurora Churches for Education

I had the opportunity to attend the news conference today announcing funding for a new Early Learning Initiative to help ensure that every child in Aurora has access to pre-school opportunities.  There are currently only 49 "slots" for every 100 three and four year olds in Aurora who are at high risk of not being ready for kindergarten.  And all the research shows that children who enter kindergarten without key skills (social skills, self-control, early literacy & math, and vocabularly) are highly likely to remain academically below grade level and are at very high risk of not completing high school.

"Coincidentally" this news conference happened right before a meeting we had scheduled that included several church leaders and our state representative Linda Chapa Lavia to talk about . . .how churches can get more involved in early childhood education.  The meeting was scheduled months ago.  Tne news conference was announced this week.  So, all of us church leaders showed up at the news conference where we learned about this partnership between the Aurora school districts, the city of Aurora, and  the United Way and area non-profits.  The missing piece?  The local church.  This gave the Church the opportunity to stand up and say, "We care about this issue, too, and we want to be a part of the solution!" 

Our previously planned meeting suddenly grew in attendance as representatives from the City of Aurora and this new SPARK (Strong, Prepared and Ready for Kindergarten) initiative joined us and we began to dream about the role the local church can play in helping to educate the young children in our community.

I can't help but think that God was smiling today as he saw church and state uniting around this huge need in our community!