Friday, April 30, 2010

Tutoring House Remodel


Wesley's house that Hillcrest is using for the tutoring program is need of a major remodel- the picture here is the upstairs bathroom that needs an extreme makeover and one of the more minor projects! We begin remodel work in May and there are several opportunities for Hillcresters to help- either on Wednesday evenings in May or during the 'demo weekend' of May 7-8. For more information, let me know.

Thursday, April 29, 2010

Next Generation Worship


We start a new series this Sunday called "Next Generation Worship" in which each week features a different age group. This Sunday is the preschoolers, the second one is elementary students, the youth will be May 16, and we will do an intergenerational one on May 23. This was a fantastic idea from Pastor Ben and will be an excellent opportunity for these groups to showcase their ministries to the rest of the church. Plus, let's be honest, anytime 15-30 preschool students are on a stage, good things tend to happen!

Wednesday, April 28, 2010

Tutoring House Leader

I couldn't be happier- and the whole of Hillcrest is so very excited- with who has agreed to direct our tutoring program. Jessi Matson has been working in inner-city Detroit the last few years teaching and directing an after-school tutoring program for under-resourced children. She's a perfect fit for Hillcrest's new program, and actually gives us a head start in that she's done this before, knows what to look for, and knows what to do. While there will still be some kinks to iron out, as there are in any new project or endeavor, Jessi's experience and passion will allow Hillcrest and this project to lean into the kinks, learn from them, and keep doing our best at assisting the students. Jessi is also a proven relationship builder and will build bridges into the surrounding community, allowing Hillcrest to continue to partner with Wesley in reaching in an under-resourced area of Sioux Falls.

Tuesday, April 27, 2010

What are we going to do now?


On Sunday we announced to our members (we'll go live with everyone at services this Sunday) our partnership with Wesley United Methodist Church in providing after school tutoring for middle school students in the east part of Sioux Falls. Wesley currently operates an after school program for K-5th graders from Terry Redlin, an under-resourced school blocks away from their church facility. As their kids move onto middle school, they lose that program that builds relationships with them and focuses on steadily assisting their academic progress. There's several after school options for middle school students in Sioux Falls, so our program isn't about meeting an unmet need per sea, but Wesley's kids don't seem to move to these options. The fact that we can continue their program- in their vacant parsonage nonetheless (see picture)- by providing tutoring for their kids is a perfect fit for them and also for Hillcrest. One of the mothers of one of the 5th graders, who had made steady improvement through Wesley's program, asked "what are we going to now?". Her concern for her daughter was that while she was moving to a good middle school, who would help her after school like she's been used to? Hillcrest is happy to partner with Wesley in seeing if we can't be the answer to that question.

Thursday, April 22, 2010

If at first you don't succeed . . .

Well, the rejection letters are coming in from a couple of the foundations that we have submitted grant proposals to for an upcoming Hillcrest project. We've heard from a bank and an endowment. I heard from a media company on a different project and grant proposal, with the same result- no thanks. There are several other requests still out there, so we remain hopeful, but it reminds me of the amount of persistence and work needed for the more difficult types of projects.

Wednesday, April 21, 2010

Voter Appreciation

Hillcrest is a polling place for elections- we were last week in Sioux Falls' mayoral, city council, and school board elections, and will be next week when there's a runoff election for Sioux Falls' next mayor. It's interesting that with so much church/state separation fervor, that church facilities are still used as polling sites, but I guess that's for another post. Something we've been doing at Hillcrest for the last several elections now is giving away treats (donut holes, mini candy bars, cookies, coffee, etc) to those who vote at Hillcrest. Some of the recent elections have brought several hundreds of voters out to our facility, and I can't think of many other events that bring in that many of our neighbors. These folks live by us, shop by us, attend schools by us, and for a couple of times every election year, we get a rare opportunity to have them within our doors and be neighborly. If the only time a neighbor is going to step in your church building (or any church building for that matter), wouldn't you want that encounter to leave a good impression?

Tuesday, April 20, 2010

Birthday Mania!

It's been a whirlwind last few weeks! In the last couple of weeks, our family has either hosted and/or participated in 13 birthday parties. It's a crazy season- one that compares to Christmas in terms of all of the events going on and the gifts exchanged. Within those 13 parties, we've put down 4 Dairy Queen ice cream cakes, 2 visits to Chuck E Cheese (with my daughter Kinsley definitely NOT a fan of Chuck E's real visit to the kiddos!), and 1 sleepover with kindergartners and first graders (who did great going to bed, but somehow decided that 6 AM was the perfect time to greet the day). Oh, and we squeezed in a surgery for Kinsley to have her tonsils removed as well.

Looking forward to a more normal season- whatever that looks like!

Friday, April 2, 2010

Egg Hunt

Yesterday my wife hosted our neighborhood's annual Easter Egg Hunt. We've been doing this for a few Easters now and it's a fun yet simple event. Put candy in some eggs, hide them, and we even have a 'golden egg' where whoever finds it gets a gift card or a huge pile of candy. And while our neighborhood has changed some over the year, it's a fun and simple way to have fun with the kids and connect with neighbors. This year's hunt proved to be one of the warmer hunts on record, thanks to some unseasonably nice spring weather.

Thursday, April 1, 2010

Holy Week According to Matthew

As we read through the bible as a church, it's neat that on this 'holy week' we were able to read through Matthew's account of Jesus' crucifixion, death, and resurrection. Three thoughts:
  • Matthew 26:69-75: I'm always struck with Peter's denial. We like to heap judgment on Peter for being a coward with his public denial of Jesus who was just arrested (and whom Peter was just with), and yet I deny Jesus so often with my words, my actions, and my lifestyle. Peter proves the hope of being Jesus' disciple in that the journey thankfully doesn't end with our (continual) denial.
  • Matthew 27:52-53: It says here that before Jesus' resurrection, there was a much bigger resurrection, at least in terms of how many bodies come back to life? What's up with this? Why haven't we heard more about that?!?
  • Matthew 28:17: The resurrected Christ appears to the disciples at Galilee, and while some worship him, some were doubtful. You have to enjoy the humanity that comes through in the scriptures. Here's Jesus, resurrected, scars and all, and while some of the disciples are worshipping him, others are still doubtful! He's right there, in front of them, and yet there are still doubts! I'm thankful that the life of following Jesus need not be one that has to have all of the answers all of the time, that has to be 100% sure about everything 100% of the time. If disciples doubted with the resurrected Christ right there, it seems fair to think that disciples 2000 years later will also have their doubts.