Friday, April 24, 2009

Now, this is what Jesus was talk'n about!

Just needed to share this. Every Tuesday night LeRoy King and a group of volunteers serve up a great dinner and talk about faith issues to up to 80 residents that live in and near Monroe Circle. Every time I read his post my mind races to the story about Jesus attending the wedding feast or going to Zacchaeus' house for dinner and conversation. I can just see Jesus loving to hang out at The Gathering, sitting in the corner on one of the high stools and smiling.

If you haven't been to The Gathering it is every Tuesday night from 6:30 to 8:00 pm. But don't be late because as you can see space is limited!

Tuesday, April 21ST Gathering:
Submitted by: LeRoy King

...It's been raining most of the day. But like clock work the
guest started lining up outside the door before 6 o'clock, in
the rain. We quickly got the room set up and rushed through our
brief preliminary volunteer meeting... It was 6:15 when we
opened the doors... the guests walk in and are greeted by the
volunteers.

"...I'm upset with you" "What did I do now?" "You got to do
something about us standing outside in the rain..." "But we
don't open until 6:30 (although we opened the doors 15 minutes
early)" "If I waited til then to come I won't be able to get a
seat... and I won't come back..." I apologized and assured her
that we are working on it.

Ray took a seat at one of the tall tables by the large windows
and I asked "how are you doing?" "Not so good..." "What's
wrong?" "I think I got cancer..." Then he cried and said, "I'm
so scared..." I placed my arms around his shoulder to comfort
him and one of the volunteers came over and she held his
hand..."Ray, you are not alone" We continued to encourage him
and prayed for him...

You know, Ray was greeted and touched by loving volunteers from
the moment he entered the building. Even before I noticed him,
someone else... a volunteer... had already prayed for him. Wow!
I can only imagine the "real" ministry that is going on that we
know nothing about...a loving touch, a kind word, a soft
prayer... "Bringing Up There, Down Here..."

We continued the "SexForSale" series with our unique spin on
"The Best Sex Ever." The guests loved the presentation. (I think
they enjoy more my squirming during the LiveTalk sections of the
presentation). They laughed, they stayed engaged, and they
applauded at the end. It was a good night. Some of the guests
thanked us for the topic.

But you should know that when we think its over, it's not...
After the guests were gone, doors shut, and while volunteers are
busy cleaning up... Judy, a lady who is a part of the Monroe
Circle community and usually attends "The Gathering" but wasn't
there this night, showed up at the door. She left an offering
along with a small rose, or maybe a tulip. She left a message of
encouragement with one of the volunteers who met her at the door
and then she left while waving at us through the window. We were
blessed by her gesture...then we looked inside the envelope she
had left with the volunteer. "What...?" There it was...a $50
dollar bill. Wow! I mean... what do you say to that...

Wednesday, April 8, 2009

Batter Up!


Its official. Major league baseball started this week, the South Bend Silverhawks start to play later this week, public schools are on break this week and Easter is this weekend. All signs that spring is just around the corner but I have even more exciting news.

The boys of Monroe Circle will be participating in Little League Baseball this spring and summer! Ryan Kring is our head coach and we have 14 eager players ready to start practice this week and games to start on April 24th. It also looks like the South Bend Silverhawks players will also help coach and mentor the kids when they are in town and we are finalizing how the kids might be able to spend time in the Silverhawk dugout during games and get a behind the scenes tour of the locker room and other fun stuff.

Opening day parades is scheduled for Saturday, April 24th and the 16 game season is from April 24th thru June 27th. The team will play in the Maurice Matthys league and home games will be played at Matthy's Park

Once we get the schedule I will post it so if you are interested in cheering on the MC3 Bravehearts stop on out.


UPDATE! The season kicks off this Saturday morning with a parade at 9:00 am and the first game begins at 11:00 am at Matthy's park.