March is FULLLLLLL.
Would love for your participation in
parenting class on 3/9
newcomer lunch on 3/10
st. patricks day parade on 3/16
all the wonderful good friday + easter activities
we need more advocates
this week i’m preaching about ‘the power of an advocate.’ it’s a mediation on how Jonathan/Michal/Saul all help David escape Saul by standing between Saul’s vengeful rage + God’s plan. i’m trying to challenge us to advocate:
advocate: publicly + privately support a challenging cause
2.5 years ago i met with the biggest social services agency in Palatine. i inquired as to what their biggest needs or challenges might be. they all said legal + housing. food, clothing, transportation, these were all issues with solutions in place, working however imperfectly, but making a difference.
but there were huge legal needs in our community those without resources were struggling to navigate. this is a challenging cause. people caught up in the justice system aren’t always easy to have compassion for. the most extreme cases of recidivism are fodder for the media. it’s easy to let fear and anger cloud compassion.
but i believe God wants our church to advocate for vulnerable people. we are doing this through a partnership we launched this week with a fantastic organization called Lawndale Christian Legal Aid for a program call Community Release with Support.
Every morning, someone will be on-site at the Cook County Courthouse in Rolling Meadows to meet everyone newly arrested, working to make this their last time in the system.
They will link people to affordable housing, employment, education and treatment for mental health, physical health and substance-use issues. We also provide court reminders and transportation, minimizing the chance of re-arrest for missing a court date.
I will let LCLC explain more..
Every weekday, we walk into the Cook County Jail to engage with people who have just arrived via police transport. Then we listen.
We listen to the services they tell us they need to ensure this visit to jail will be their last.
Then we link.
We link people to affordable housing, employment, education and treatment for mental health, physical health and substance-use disorder. We also provide court reminders and transportation, minimizing the chance of re-arrest for missing a court date.
This is Community Release with Support.
We break the arrest-jail-repeat cycle by connecting people to voluntary services that create structure. And structure creates safety.
This is our guiding light.
Our program focuses on helping people during the pretrial phase of their case – meaning they are legally presumed innocent and have not yet been convicted of a crime.
Each person we serve identifies an average of five needs for the following social supports: employment, education, affordable housing, health insurance, state identification, physical healthcare, mental healthcare and addiction treatment.
This means a typical client may be unemployed in an unstable home environment while they’re also struggling with mental trauma and physical ailments. Imagine that reality the next time you wonder why crime happens. Ask yourself what life would look like if your mind and body experienced pain every day when you don’t have a job, a stable home, health insurance or a driver’s license. Add an addiction to alcohol or drugs, and it’s a predictable path to harm.
This doesn’t mean everybody is guilty of the charges they face. Seven out of 10 clients we serve have their cases end in a dismissal of the charges. And the vast majority – 98% – attend their court dates as required.
This program works because the simple act of providing freedom and choice helps people gain control over a mindset that struggles to see a positive future. From there, they commit to self-improvement that generates positive feedback that leads to positive actions.
And our clients develop a better understanding of the harm they’ve experienced and might have caused. They’re accountable, to themselves and others, because they’re doing the hard work to change their lives.
This work is crime prevention. The structure we create in an individual’s life can lead to safety for everybody. It’s a path forward, instead of an arrest-jail cycle to nowhere.
We seek partners throughout Illinois who want to work with us. The discussions we’ve had so far have been encouraging as more people are starting to see holistic social support as a key component of public safety in our state.
In the new year, we look forward to partnering with Good News in the Neighborhood to bring our services to Palatine and the northwest suburbs.
For anybody who wants our help, we’re here to listen.
“Why do I sometimes feel close to God and other times I do not?” I think others and myself have asked this question because we want to feel the nearness of God and yet sometimes He just feels distant.
Between Good News Kids and the church school class on Thursday mornings, we have been talking about the Holy Spirit and how it helps Christians. The simple answer that we used in GNK is ‘The Holy Spirit comforts us, shows us our sin, and guides us as we live for God’s glory.’ (from the Gospel Project) I believe that we see these truths all over scripture and that when we accept Jesus as Lord over our life that we experience this goodness. Maybe you already know this truth, but I believe the reminder of it is so refreshing because of what God has provided through his constant + pursuing love toward us.
He comforts us through the Holy Spirit. Romans 8:5-6 talks about how there’s a big difference between the mind governed by the flesh and the mind governed by the spirit. Paul says, “the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace.” When Jesus was telling the disciples about what was to come that he wasn’t always going to be there with them but that he was going to send them something better - indicating His Spirit. He likened it to an advocate, a counselor, a helper. I’ve been to a counselor and I can tell you I went to that appointment needing comfort, needing hope, needing guidance and yet that is available to us always through the Holy Spirit. Lastly and maybe most beautifully in Romans 8, Paul talks about how when we don’t know what to pray, the Spirit intercedes on our behalf. Have you ever found yourself there? Your heart is so heavy or the stress is too much and you don’t even know where to begin to communicate your needs and yet Romans 8:26 says the Spirit is interceding on your behalf.
He shows us our sin. In Ephesians, Paul talks about when we are new in Christ - that our life looks different. Usually it’s a process but because we have the spirit in us we feel those moments - that prick in your heart or that question that arises in your mind, ‘Kristen, are you really going to do or say that?” When we don’t follow that prompting we grieve the spirit. I believe the spirit also convicts us of when to share our story or testify of God’s goodness in our life. When we are obedient in those moments, it’s such joy and when we back down out of fear and disobedience we miss an opportunity that we often regret.
He guides us as we live for God’s glory. The best way that we can be guided into what God wants is by reading and knowing His Word. John 14:26 says, “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.” This is why in Good News Kids we teach the kids a verse every month that they get the chance to recite. If they have that Word in their heart and mind I believe that God will bring that back to them in moments of crisis or times of need.
Are you experiencing the Spirit’s comfort, conviction and guidance? Sometimes I think we don’t because of all the noise we allow in our own life to block out the ability to hear him. This is your reminder to put down your phone, close your computer, sit still for a moment and ask for His beautiful presence to wash over you. The holy spirit and all this provision is available to you.
What God’s Teaching Me
Tara Cruz
Soak Worship #5
worship vibes for calming moments w. Jesus.
love having these on in the background during my day
Saturday Morning Book Review
God Gave Rock & Roll To You: A History of Contemporary Christian Music by Leah Payne
this book traces the business of christian music alongside the political / social evolvement of (mostly) white suburban evangelicals. if you grew up part of this world in any meaningful way, it is extremely interesting. the messaging around the music was a HUGE part of growing up in church through the 80s-00s. so many people doing the unhealthy or healthy versions of re-constructing their faith have the CCM world enmeshed with their understanding of God.
there is a cynicism in the book to be sure, often emphasizing the political or financial motivations that we have true visibility into. but the broad view helps to explain the history and i found it riveting to the max.
this is good news,
luke + kristen