This summer while working at NCRT I learned 5 key things:

1 . How to pick weeds.

2. How to mop a basement

3. Communication

4. Patience

5. Tolerance

Now this might not seem like important things, but to me they’re key.  Walking into this job I knew nothing of this stuff, I tought I would never need them and I was wrong.  Walking out of this job I became a stronger, more tolerant person thanks to my teammates.

Love,

TeJay  Chax

Semaj  joined us the second week of the work team.

The following are his reflections on the impacts of the tornado.

Semaj and Dorell, Washing Windows at the Adult Day Care Center

When the tornado hit, I wasn’t impacted as much as other families. The tornado did not hit my block. My Auntie who lives in Golden Valley was somewhat affected.   My lights went off and then I heard sirens. After the tornado hit I saw a couple dozen police, fire, swat cars just zoom by. It was weird because it happened within about ten minutes.

Some of my friends texted me to see if I was okay, and I did the same. People didn’t really think that a tornado would actually hit the north side of Minneapolis. Before this incident, I was never a part of a tornado storm. So naturally I was terrified, I watched movies like Twister, so I had a fear of tornadoes.

I was disappointed that the night of the tornado’s passing there was a looting of a liquor store on Broadway. I heard there was also a shoot-out as well. But for a short period of time I did feel a sense of community afterwards when people starting throwing bar-be-cues and helping out the people who were in need. Places like Emerge has been a big help in making a difference, and other places have been as well.

The liabilities of the Northside are very obvious, and is the reason for our bad reputation. It’s the violence, the gangs, and the hate. Instead of growing together we rather be against each other. It never made sense to me, and it never will. I am working with NCRT at Sanctuary CDC to help people out with the tornado damages. There are positive things about the Northside, like  when something like this happens, we come together and help each other out.

One of the positive results of the tornado’s devastation was a collaborative effort by the Northside Community Response Team to raise money in order to  pay and deploy youth into the tornado zone. These young people worked in 3-4 crew across north Minneapolis.  They worked in community, some cleaned up debris, some trimmed trees or helped finish off dilapidated garages.  Working to rebuild is great therapy, especially when you are one of the many who suffered directly.

Desmond Bryant

Sanctuary CDC had the privilege to host one of these teams, from mid-July till late-August between 5 – 9 youth from age 14 – 19 were here Monday – Friday.  Desmond Bryant was the site leader, James Beard (Sanctuary’s Maintenance Engineer) helped coordinate projects around the building while I, Marque, worked in connecting them with work around the neighborhood.

These students worked in our offices, in the offices of other organizations.  They

James Beard

worked in homes and yards of neighbors.  They sorted clothes and helped set-up and run our National Night-Out event.  Because of door knocking efforts they connected over 50 neighboring families with resources in their recovery from the tornado.  They even assisted at Camp Noah, a day camp to help children who have gone through a disaster.  One of the pastors leading the program commented that the team from Sanctuary CDC was exceptionally helpful.

Last week was their final week, on Thursday we pulled out the grill and had an appreciation meal with the work team and all the staff of the CDC and Church.

Appreciation Lunch

Let me tell one short story that demonstrates the quality of this team.  As we were finishing-up our meal a neighborhood leader stopped in to see if our team could help resolve a neighborhood dispute that was growing into a full conflict.  She wondered if the team could remove some debris between two garages that a neither a land lord nor a homeowner would claim.  She did not know that the team were planning to be done after the meal.  Desmond said yes, we could get the debris cleared, and was prepared to do it him self if the kids didn’t want to do more work.  When he told them about the need he gave the the option, stay and help, or go home as planned.  All six of the team members stayed, and their praises are still being sung by Folwell Neighborhood leaders.

In the following days we will post more stories from them of their own experiences.

NCRT Youth Work Crew

August 1, 2011. After the deluge had passed and the streets were no longer rivers, I visited two north side homes.  People have been asking me, “How’s the clean-up going?”

The homes I visited reminded me that although much IS happening, MANY have been left behind. Over the past weeks we’ve had a youth crew working from Sanctuary through the combined efforts of the Northside Community Response Team. They have been going door to door with important information for our neighbors, as well as doing yard work and cleaning.  Their work has turned up stories like the two below.

With water still dripping through the rotting ceiling in multiple places, I was welcomed into the first home by a man who stayed true to his 5 kids when his wife went AWOL years ago.  When a leg injury led to disability, his uncle said he could live in his father’s old home.  Since it was all paid for it, would be a good place for them to call home.  His son has asthma a daughter has diabetes, but they were doing well,  until the tornado ripped up their roof.  He went to Lucy Laney school to learn about the loans available to families for fixing-up their homes.  It was there he learned that the home he thought was his to live in was in foreclosure.   It wasn’t paid for, and now the bank has repossessed it, mold all over and plaster falling off the ceiling.

What was needed?  A few hundred dollars to help pay a damage deposit to get them into a new place.  Help moving would be great, and we have a work team of youth ready to help later this week.  Simple yet profound how a little can help so much, and how refreshing life can become when you can glimpse light at the end of the tunnel.

Then I drove to home #2, this family also had damage to their roof, their garage was destroyed and windows broken.  After the tornado passed he began to work on fixing up the home, knowing the insurance agent would soon come by, but no one came even after repeated calls.  Then he heard unbelievable news; while mortgage company was setting aside an escrow for the insurance, they were NOT paying the bill.  The insurance company claimed they sent letters to him stating they would be dropped if some work was not done.  The requested work was completed on time, but no letters came to either. The insurance that should have been there to help was nothing but a dream.  But the leaking roof is very real; he has retained a lawyer and wonders how he can ever get out from under the cost of needed repairs.  We talked, planned, and strategized, his resilience was amazing.

Thanks to the generosity of many,  Sanctuary CDC and Sanctuary Covenant church were able to be a “Catalyst of Hope” to each of these families.  The effects of the storm linger, but a community united continues to mitigate the damage while supporting and encouraging the most impacted.  We thank those who continue to partner with us in these ventures; your support of the CDC changes lives.

• Listen to Learn,
• Learn to Love,
• Love directs Actions,
• Loving Action creates…
• Beloved Community.

For some time now we have been using the phrase “Beloved Community” to describe our vision. A community where all are honored, all are safe, all are educated and where we live out the words of Christ, “… to love your neighbor as yourself.”

However, building Beloved Community begins with a very simple act. Listening.  It is true in marriage, it is true in families, and it is very true in diverse communities.  If we do not hear and understand the fears, hopes and concerns of others, how can we connect and build a community where we will, as the Apostle Paul says, “honor one another above yourself?”   I cannot honor you, if I do not know you.  Knowing begins with LISTENING.

Listening is one thing our culture is NOT known for. We love to talk, we love self-expression, but rarely seek opportunities to hear others, and especially if their view confront or challenge our own.  Listening is about surrendering power.  Those who hold the power, control the resources, and make the decisions, seldom want to take the time to listen.  Power people want to make decisions and expect others to jump in line.  To really listen demands a surrender of power, because listening is to admit, “I may NOT be able to make this decision, or complete this task without allowing the voice of another to be heard and included in the decision”.

Those in power frequently short-cut listening and cut off communication through a hidden list of requirements that must be meet if one is to be heard. In this way the powerful can end the communication if it becomes uncomfortable or burdensome: “You didn’t fill out this form correctly,”  “I don’t appreciate your tone,”  “Please don’t use language that offends me.”  While there is a legitimate place for such comments, they often come from Power, uncomfortable with the truth, and desiring to cut off conversation.  I am not advocating that we give rudeness and disorganization a free pass.  However, these types of excuses are frequently a cover to stifle conversation when the powerful, in their own isolated place of security, have already decided what is best, and are not interested in what others feel, think, or know.

I never see my Lord trying to control the communication when he controlled the power. He listened.  He drew people in. He created a climate where a Beloved Community would be created.  Grace-giving AND confrontational-truth-telling; repentance AND forgiveness; honesty that allows raw emotion AND kindness that prevents abuse; these pairs perform a strange dance in the production of reconciliation and the building of beloved community.

Finally, one must confront the fact that Power is primarily a function of class and race; paradigms we cannot fully escape, but yet constructs we must begin to de-construct.  In confession, I must say as I re-read and prepare to publish this post, I am reminded how often I fail to really listen, and instead invoke my power in order to preserve my illusion of control.

How do you use your power when conversations become difficult?

Do you retreat to security, or press in to community?

In the next few months we will be giving you opportunity to LISTEN.  Beloved Community Seminars and Forums are designed to BEGIN Conversation, not to END the discussion.

Over the next months you will be invited to Beloved Community forums and seminars. These events are designed to bring our community together around difficult, yet important issues, to listen, learn, love and act in ways to promote Beloved Community.  We do not expect to END the discussion, but only BEGIN the conversation.

Sunday, March 20th, 1pm, Ascension Catholic Church (1723 Bryant Ave North, 55411):  We will partner with Ascension Catholic church and the Minnesota Immigrant Rights Action Committee (MIRAc) for a Bilingual Forum on Immigrant rights issues in Hennepin County.

Thursday, April 28th, 7 pm, Cross Connections Community Center (1823 Emerson Ave North, 55411) Come watch the documentary “Tony and Janina’s Wedding” and the join in a conversation on the complexities of Immigration in America today.

The weather is getting cold, but not everyone has warm clothes. Help neighborhood students WARM – UP this winter with a donation of a new COAT BUNDLE (w/gloves and cap, and/or warm socks).

We will distribute coat bundles to Lucy Laney Elementary and other neighborhood schools as needed.

HERE’S WHAT TO DO:

1. Purchase a new or lightly used coat (no stains or rips). Bring a Coat you would want to see your own child wear!
   Coats are need for Boys and Girls in all sizes for Kindergarteners through adult-sized 8th Graders.
2. Bring Coat Bundles to the Sanctuary CDC Office (1201 37th Ave. N, Minneapolis, MN 55412) Mon – Thurs, 9am – 2 pm. until November 21st

Let’s be a part of keeping north Minneapolis students safe, warm and ready to learn this winter season…

Last week I was blessed to be part of a team that spent the morning at Lucy Craft Laney School on Penn and 33rd in North Minneapolis. Representatives from Sanctuary CDC, World Vision, and Wooddale Church came together to experience our partnership with this school in a very tangible way.  Sure, it was fun and it was encouraging, but it was not charity.

I used to think it was fun to do charity. I could feel good, believing I was helping someone else, and then go back to the security of my world feeling wonderful and appreciated. Classic charity is about those WITH helping those WITHOUT.  Charity in this common and negative way is more about reminding people of their needs rather than encouraging them in their strengths.

At the school we were giving away backpacks and school supplies, but we were not there to remind those children of what they did not have.  We were there to encourage them to see their abilities and actualize their potential.  We were not there to do drive-by charity, but to establish a baseline for relationship that will not vanish in the rear view mirror.  The Sanctuary CDC School Partnership with Lucy Laney is just beginning and we are equipping a team who will join the dedicated staff of this school to stand beside, cheer on, and coach these young people as they move forward to their future place in our beloved community.

As we helped the students pick out their favorite color of bag we were also seeking opportunity to call them to excellence in their studies. We’d ask about their classes and their teachers.  We’d challenge them to study hard and listen well. We’d remind them to behave, yet our message was always,  “We believe in you.”  By the smiles on their faces and the glimmer in their eyes they assured us the messages were being heard.

So many times when people think of North Minneapolis Schools they think of failure, violence, and hopelessness. With this perspective they may want to do charity, but are hesitant to enter a lasting relationship. But relationships, not charity are what these students and schools most need. As I looked into the eyes of the students, I saw hope. In the teachers we saw dedication and passion. The administrators modeled great compassion and leadership.  I know there is great reason for hope. I left excited that change is on the way in a new kind of school partnership.

I will be talking with Mr. David Branch to see how and where I can best be used in the school on a regular basis. Charity would let me write a check, make a donation, and walk away. Relationships planted by the exchange of backpacks, smiles, and kind words will grow in to an elaborate vine that will join our lies on the arbor of beloved community. Such relationships keep us planted and interdependent as God desires for his people to express and communicate his life and love. Please consider joining God in the work he is doing with his community, his people, and his school. Go beyond charity, become a participant in the Beloved Community.