by Rev. Richard Trickel, CEO of The City Mission

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One of my first acts as The City Mission’s CEO was to travel to the Western Reserve Historical Society and sift through nearly 95 years of TCM archives. That experience profoundly affected me. Two things were apparent: first, TCM’s resolute dedication to its founder’s original intentions to maintain a spiritual center in Cleveland and secondly, the Mission’s strategic role for nearly a century in fulfilling its original purpose as “the downtown arm of the church”. I left that day deeply humbled and grateful to be a part of this organization.

I can’t begin to recount the number of people who have approached me to tell me how the Mission has impacted their families. Grateful parents have told of their children, struggling with life, finding new hope and stability at the Mission. An elderly gentleman told me of his family coming to the Mission during The Great Depression and receiving the food they so desperately needed. And my favorite, the young mother who ran in front of the Mission bus as it drove through her neighborhood. She flagged it down and put her children on it because she wanted them involved in TCM’s youth program. Her son, after spending his formative years at the Mission, went on to college and graduated – partially financed by TCM.

One Sunday my pastor, talking about Cleveland and the need for Christians to engage in service to the poor, commented, “You can’t be involved in Cleveland for very long without at some point interfacing with The City Mission”. I think that statement sums up the effectiveness of the Mission. With its broad array of programming reaching countless numbers of men, women, and children; considering its numerous collaborations with churches, nonprofits and agencies; and taking into account the hundreds of faithful volunteers who serve, you just can’t work in central city Cleveland without interfacing with The City Mission!

Psalms 82:3-4 says, “Defend the cause of the weak and fatherless; maintain the rights of the poor and oppressed. Rescue the weak and needy; and deliver them”. For 100 years The City Mission has been doing exactly that. I invite all of you to join us in a time of worship and celebration on October 2, 2010 at the Wolstein Center in downtown Cleveland. As we gather together to celebrate God’s faithfulness to an incredible organization!

by Geroge Mason, Learning Center Supervisor, The City Mission

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A 2009 Crossroads graduate named Jerry stopped in at the Learning Center today.  So what is so unusual about this?  Nothing—and that is why his visit is so special.

Jerry is a walking epistle, a living, breathing, example of the power of Jesus Christ to change lives.  From his days, or should I say nights, of sleeping at RTA bus stops in The Flats, to having his own apartment, Jerry testifies to the success of Christ in his life.  This transformation is the new life the Bible speaks of in 2 Corinthians 5:17; “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!”
Believe it or not, it actually makes me think of gardening. Soon I’ll be putting in my vegetable

garden from seed.  It has been said the principle of sowing and reaping means that we reap what we sow, later than we sow, and more than we sow.  I know for a fact that when I sow one tomato seed, I’ll harvest a tomato plant with eight to ten fruit.  Since life in the natural reflects life in the spiritual, it is no mystery that the success Jerry is experiencing results from Jerry and others sowing Jesus into Jerry.  Here is Jerry’s recipe: weekly attendance at worship, daily bible study, daily fellowship, continual prayer and the openness to be used by Christ 24/7, 365 days of the year.

Jerry’s visits are special because he is special and he is special because of Jesus.

Have you seen these kinds of seeds produce a rich harvest in you or someone you know?  If you have, please tell us about it in the comment section.

by Pam Glicker, Women’s Program Manager at The City Mission

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I have always loved the large mural on the wall in the dining room at Laura’s Home of Jesus and the Samaritan woman at the well*.  But, I did not realize the many similarities there are to the women we serve here and the Samaritan woman that Jesus is talking with. Not only is the artist’s rendition of the Samaritan woman at the well a good visual summation of many of the women who find themselves at our doorstep when they are facing a crisis in their life, but that what the Samaritan woman is looking for and needs-Living Water, is exactly what Laura’s Home hopes to provide to all who come here.

The Samaritan woman in the mural is not making eye contact with Jesus because she is carrying within her a lifetime of hurt and disappointment that weighs her down. It makes her wary of this person who has asked for her help. We see that same look on the faces of those who walk through our doors. Why should she respond to His request or believe what He is offering her? Didn’t she believe in her five husbands and the man she is currently living with? How could she believe what Jesus was telling her about His living water? That if she drank of this water, she would never be thirty again? How can this be?

Our hope and prayer is that everyone who comes to Laura’s Home will experience for themselves who Jesus is, what He has to offer, and if she hasn’t already received Jesus, that she will learn how she can receive Him for herself.

*The story of Jesus and the Samaritan women is taken from John 4:1-38

I recently read an article about a computer being stolen at a campus location and as a result thousands of students facing the potential of identity theft. The mere thought of someone securing my personal information and then using it to enrich themselves (at my expense) is deeply unsettling. As a result, I’ve gone to great lengths to ensure this never happens. Even though I have very little to lose.

What a contrast to my real identity – my identity in Christ. Reflecting on Paul’s description in Ephesians Chapter 1 – I have been chosen in Him before the creation of the world, God has predetermined to place me as a full grown adult child into His family, I’m redeemed by His blood, all my sins are forgiven, His grace has been lavished upon me, the mystery of His will has been revealed to me, and His unwavering plan is to so work in and through me that He is glorified! And that’s just the beginning. Paul goes on to state in I Corinthians Chapter 1 that I am enriched in Christ in every way, I possess spiritual gifts – imparted to me by the Spirit and I am kept strong to the end. Did you catch that? Kept strong (by God) to the end!

You see, Christians also have identity problems. The issue though is not one of protecting as much as neglecting. I think many Christians don’t understand who they are in Christ, the security they have in Christ, and therefore; the spiritual potential they possess as members of the body of Christ. In fact, I believe this problem is of epidemic proportions today. The truth is, if we don’t understand who we are in Christ we will never live a consistent life in Christ.

Our identity is a big deal. The fact that in Christ I am secure and safe is a liberating and energizing truth. I am free, without fear, to serve unreservedly the one I love. I am not worried about protecting something I did not earn as much as fully understanding something I do not deserve.

Every Christian should be grounded in these truths. Knowing and resting in who you are in Christ is life transforming. For the Christian, the concern is not identity theft – its identity neglect!

by Denise Eaddy, staff member of The City Mission

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The past 40 days have been exciting ones here at the The City Mission.  The staff joined WayMakers in their prayer movement…Seek God for the City 2010 from February 17 through March 28.  WayMakers is a group that serves movements of united prayer for spiritual awakening and world evangelism.

The following is an excerpt taken from Day 38  “Seek God…to gather all people in worship.”  

He began to teach and say to them, “Is it not written:  ‘My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations?”  - Mark 11:17 

You’ve only begun to reveal Your magnificent purpose for the earth.  Keep on teaching us so that we blaze with bright hope for the destiny of all peoples.  Make us to be a people so diverse and numerous that we could never fit in our church buildings.  Summon people from every culture, language and race that You have brought to our city.  Call us all to worship You in the Spirit and in the truth as You have so long desired.  Gather us and make Your home with us.* 

  

Father, we pray that the City-Wide Prayer Gatherings at The City Mission will bring the community together in festive praise and that the body of Christ will find unity in worshiping You together. 

If you are in agreement with us, please join us and other local area pastors and ministries of Ohio Partners for Transformation as we petition the Lord.

*This is an excerpt from Seek God For The City 2010, published by WayMakers, Austin, Texas. www.waymakers.org Used with permission.

by Deborah Phillips, Grant Manager at The City Mission

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          We’ve all heard the stories of valuable art or antiques being discovered in thrift shops or yard sales, sold for a tiny portion of their true value. Even more remarkable is the discovery of such items set out on tree lawns for trash pickup, or even in dumpsters.

          Such stories make me wonder how such value can be so easily overlooked and discarded. More importantly, don’t we often underestimate the value of the people around us, especially those whose outward appearance and behavior hides their intrinsic worth?

          For 100 years The City Mission has been a beacon of light and hope to thousands upon thousands of men and women who have lost sight of their own value, overtaken by the consequences of all the wrong turns they’ve taken in life, and finding themselves among the outcasts of our society.

          Former Executive Director Clifford Gregory wrote in a 1978 report, “Preaching and witnessing in a rescue mission service is not the easiest or most encouraging form of Christian service, yet … we are … in search of the diamonds in the rough among the men (and sometimes women).”

          Now, as then our staff and volunteers remain committed to this ministry of redemption, for “…it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect.”  1 Peter 1:17-19 NIV.

          It is this timeless message of redemption and forgiveness that has brought hope to countless thousands who have been raised to new life through the ministry of The City Mission.

          On this Good Friday as we reflect on the high price that Jesus paid for our redemption, we gratefully and humbly acknowledge that “…he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God. God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” 2 Corinthians 5: 19b -21 NIV.