Time to .....

My church is located in the heart of downtown Pottstown, Pennsylvania.  It sounds quaint, doesn't it?  Unfortunately, downtown Pottstown is not really quaint.  Right next to our church is a huge abandoned building.  You can see right through the back wall into the building.  Behind the church is an alley way where two people were stabbed not so long ago.  A block away is one of the biggest drug areas around.  Right across the street is a half way house for people recovering from drug addictions.  The surrounding streets have row homes and apartments filled with people struggling to make ends meet.  There are two senior high rise buildings, home to the elderly and disabled who are on a fixed and very limited income.  And I can't forget about the mentally disabled people.  Some live with care takers, some in group homes, and some should definitely be placed in permanent care facilities.  Finally hiding on the outskirts  of town at night, yet clearly visible in town during the day, are the homeless.  The homeless are made up of people that once fit into any of the previously mentioned categories of people and places.  

I guess this sounds a bit depressing.  This would definitely not go onto a Pottstown Area brochure.   Back to my original thought; my church is right in the heart of all of this.  On any given Sunday, you can find any and all of these kinds of people.  Guess what?  My church is not at all depressing and I have found that these people are beautiful.  I have also found that while money food and clothing are important and can help alleviate some physical needs and immediate problems, sometimes real help comes from the investment of time.  The time to tell someone personally that God loves them and that you love them too.  Time to shake someone's hand or give them a hug.  Time to actually listen and become someone's friend.  In the past nine years Pottstown Bible Church has been in existence, I have had the privilege to make some really neat friends.    Over the next few weeks, I think I am going to try to give snap shots of some of the people of downtown Pottstown.  Some stories are amazing and others are heart wrenching and I think maybe they need to be heard.  More to follow...


If I have piqued your interest donating your time and/or your resources, here is a list of links of ministries and organizations that are helping in Pottstown.

pottstownbible.org (food pantry, weekly Sunday meal, mentoring, worship services)

www.ministriesatmainstreet.org (shelter and other resources)

pottstowncluster.org (food pantry, household items, clothing, organization of community meals)

ttlm.org (back pack/food ministry to children of the Pottstown school district)

Happy Birthday Mom

Today is my mother's birthday.  About sixteen years ago a good friend of mine taught a short seminar about writing a tribute to honor your parents.  I have been thinking about doing this for sixteen years.  I have also been wanting to write for longer than that, so it is fitting that my first blog is a tribute to my Mom.  By the way, did I mention that I am a procrastinator?

For Mom:

I want to thank God for giving me the mother that I have.  She is a mother of two, the first born daughter in a family of six children.  She is beautiful, strong, courageous and fiercely loyal.  

My mother has worked hard every day of her life.  When I was growing up, she once worked three jobs to make sure that my brother and I had a roof over our heads and food on our table.  We didn't have much back then, but we had everything we needed.  She struggled silently, without complaint and mysteriously made every Christmas and birthday an amazing event.

My mother has taught me to be concerned for other people.  Over the years she has allowed others to live in her home, she has taken care of her clients that have no family of their own and she has taken care of her own parents in their waning years of life.  

My mother has taught me to be a strong, independent woman with a mind of her own.  She has also taught me to know when to compromise and how to roll with the punches.  She has had to start over many times in her life and in her career and she has never faltered or shown fear.    She is a woman born far ahead of her time. 

My mother has taught me that love is far more than words.  Actions are everything.  If there is a need, fill it.  If there is work to be done, don't wait for someone else to come along, get it done and for goodness sake do it RIGHT!

Thank you my dear mother for everything that you are and all that you do.  Thank you for your example and your strength.  Thank you for loving me even when I didn't deserve it.  You are the best mother I could have ever asked for.  Happy Birthday!

http://www.ehow.com/how_4604594_write-a-tribute.html