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NEW! Click to read CCGB
Stories of Success
2008
Great Friends Keynote Speaker & Honorees
Upcoming CCGB events:
The Council of Churches of
Greater Bridgeport, Inc.
CO-OP Recognition Event
Thursday, June 26, 4 p.m.
at
The Council of Churches offices,
1100
Boston Avenue, Building 5A,
Bridgeport, 06610
Success Story of the Month
Janus
Center
Makes a
Difference
“What
would make someone want to take on the problems
of my child?”
When the mother of Chris had expressed
that to me in a 35 min phone conversation, I had
to admit that I never thought of it in that
sense. My
answer to her is that we do what we do because
we have a vested interest in the youth and
families in the area.
Her son was in
Hall
Brook
Residential
Treatment
Center
because he was suicidal, under the influence of
drugs and was at risk of hurting himself and
other family members.
His treating doctor was afraid to
discharge him back to his home due volatile
circumstances.
Already on probation, the probation
officer suggested that he be released to
Janus
Center
temporary respite care for a period of two
weeks, so that the transition would be a little
easier.
The mother
expressed to me that the first night her son was
in our care was the first night that she
actually slept in a long time, for she knew that
her son was in a safe place and being well cared
for. This
made me think of how tumultuous the home
environment must have been.
Over the course of his three day stay
with Robert, one of our Host Home Parents, we
were able to provide shelter and Outreach Worker
Jonathan Hevita provided counseling and case
management support to both Chris and his family.
At the present time Chris’s mother
reports that all is calm in the home and Chris
is now working on graduating from high school, a
goal that seem insurmountable just a few short
weeks ago. Her
letter of appreciation is attached.
To be able to affect someone’s life is
a humbling yet rewarding experience; and is
something that keeps the Janus Center Staff
committed to making a difference and changing
lives.
*Client
name was changed to protect confidentiality.
read the full story |
“Reflections”
July,
2008
A child noticed a big brass
plaque in the rear of the church.
He had never noticed it before and so
asked the minister, “What is that?”
The minister said, “That lists the
names of all those from this church who died in
the service.”
The boy became very pensive and asked in
a quavering voice: “Which one: 8:30 or
10:30?”
The humor relieves the tension of the
deadly seriousness of Jesus’ mission:
“Do
not think that I have come to bring peace to the
earth; I
have not come to bring peace, but a
sword. For
I have come to
set a man against his father, and a
daughter against her mother,
and a daughter-in-law against her
mother-in-law; and one’s
foes will be members of one’s own
household.”
(Matthew 10:34-36)
To be a person of faith is to have “strings
attached.”
Most of us are looking for “No strings
attached.”
Church is where we come for renewal and
hope, not obligations.
Yet Jesus is not shy about asking for our
ultimate loyalty.
It is not that he is without family
values, but rather because earthly families
sometimes place their harmony and loyalty above
the love and values of God.
I see this in the families and
ex-offenders we serve at The Council of
Churches. Hurting
families avoid addressing issues by demanding
loyalty and secrecy above health and healing.
Families come to us in melt-down.
An individual comes to us from
incarceration.
Many find that unquestioned family
loyalty leads to destructive choices.
What strings are attached to faith?
One is that every life faces challenges.
No matter how good we look, we all have
challenges.
And Jesus challenges us: to be better
than we are.
Another string is the belief that we are
of sacred worth.
Jesus tells us (Matthew 10:29-31) that
every life as sacred.
Our uniqueness is stamped on our DNA,
retinas and fingerprints!
continued
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