Walking the talk
Michigan congregation creates culture of collaboration By Mike McCarty
• A man went to court held in a homeless shelter. Th e judge allowed him to work off his fi nes by playing piano at centers for the homeless and disadvantaged.
• Nearby, God’s Kitchen and Guiding Light Ministries merged their weekday meals.
• An educational campaign addresses panhandling and off ers another way to give.
T
his is what collaboration looks like in the Heartside area of Grand Rapids, Mich., thanks in large part to a local church’s ministry.
About 40 social service providers meet monthly at
Bethlehem Lutheran Church as part of the Heartside Neighborhood Collaboration Project (
www.hncp.net). HNCP is a 5-year-old ministry of Bethlehem, a small church with a big focus on social justice. “We want to pull people in,” said Kate O’Keefe, who
was HNCP’s program coordinator and project assistant until March. “We exist to be a catalyst for collaboration in the Heartside downtown neighborhood.” Bethlehem (
www.bethlehemchurchgr.org) played a
role in the formation of three initiatives that launched last year: • Community Outreach Court is a fi rst-of-its-kind program in West Michigan. Th e court helps the homeless and near-homeless gain free legal help and resolve warrants, fi nes and other hurdles. Court is held at Mel Trotter Ministries, a homeless shelter near Bethlehem (see page 29).
• Helpful Charity is a bid to educate volunteers, busi- nesses and churches about Heartside’s needs and discuss how best to meet them. It is HNCP’s response to Robert Lupton’s Toxic Charity (HarperOne, 2011), a book about how good intentions can go awry.
• Real Change, Not Spare Change suggests donations go to a Heartside fund instead of panhandlers. Th e fund helps with prescription co-pays, bus tickets and more. Donations can be made at
www.realchangegr. org. Th is eff ort ties churches, social service agencies, businesses and Downtown Grand Rapids Inc.
28
www.thelutheran.org
In Grand Rapids, Mich., Bethlehem Lutheran Church is part of the Heartside Neighborhood Collaboration project that serves weekday meals, enjoyed by neighbors such as Tony (last name withheld).
Rooted in ‘crisis’ But HNCP didn’t happen overnight. “Th e genesis of HNCP goes back to the identity crisis
of Bethlehem Church,” said Jay Schrimpf, one of its pastors. As the 21st century dawned, Bethlehem’s aging, neo-
Gothic building near downtown needed $2 million in repairs and remodeling. Th e congregation faced ques- tions: To stay or move? What’s the church’s mission? “Th e congregation went through several years of
discernment,” Schrimpf said. “In the end a majority of the congregation decided that our mission would be ministry in the world.” So in 2007 the
congregation that was founded in 1873 moved. Bethlehem bought and renovated a vacant building in
Author bio: McCarty is a freelance writer and editor in Grand Rapids, Mich.
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