EASTER BLESSINGS

There have been no significant happenings this month but it has been business as usual.  We have begun programs.  ‘Twelve step study’ was the first to begin, followed by ‘personal development’ which will both be weekly meetings.   Budgeting started the first Thursday and Parenting the second Thursday.  Employment and job training was to be on the third Thursday which we cancelled because of Holy Thursday services.  Since we could not find another suitable time for all, we decided to cancel this until next month.  Residents are also required to attend other 12 step meetings as part of the program and these are equally if not more, important.   On the fourth Thursday, we have scheduled a resident meeting, a time to do some planning for social events or other supports needed.  We hope that issues are addressed as they arise, but if not, they will be attended to these meetings.  Next week will complete the first month of programs.  We are so grateful for all that has been and grateful that Christine is doing a children’s program while parents attend programs.

A happy upcoming event is in June when we will have our new kitchen cabinets installed by the Ohio FBAMC.  This will be another dream come true for Point of Hope.  These new cabinets will better facilitate our events and programs since most activities include or revolve around meals and or meetings with refreshments.  Food always brings people together and so this will help us bring people together.

This Holy Week, some of us here at Point of Hope attended a noon day service each day sponsored by a different church with a different pastor preaching.  It has been a unifying experience for me with the people of Louisa as we came together for worship.  Miranda from Stain Glass and I started the week in Fort Gay United Methodist Church and next day to Louisa downtown United Methodist Church.  On Wednesday I invited one of the residents to join me and we all gathered at St Jude Church followed by the Baptist Church on Thursday.  Today we ended the week’s services up the hill at another united Methodist Church. This is the church that Father Beiting has a high esteem for.  He never fails to tell us that this is the church that welcomed us Roman Catholics, to use their facilities for Eucharist celebrations when our community had no church yet.  Knowing this gives me a sense of kindred spirit with them.  This was truly a holy week.

I will end with, one sad note for Point of Hope. The Stain Glass operation is moving to the Mission headquarters which means we will lose Miranda and her faithful ever ready help and support here.  Miranda has been working here at Point of Hope for four years. Her presence, friendship and laughter will be sorely missed when she moves to the Warehouse Mission Office.  I have grown to appreciate Miranda for who she is since I have been here.  She has an inner strength that is rooted in God and a sense of fidelity to those she loves and those she considers her friends. She hides a very soft heart.  Few people see the real Miranda and I consider myself one of the fortunate few having only worked together with her for a short time. 
Since this is the season of sacrifice and sufferings, we can only offer up our losses with Jesus, who gave the ultimate sacrifice.   This Easter, may you all experience the joy that only comes from God when we offer up our losses with Jesus.   Blessings and prayers be with you from all of us at Point of Hope.

Initiation of Programs

           On Thursday, March 31, the staff at Point of Hope and the Program volunteer staff came together in prayer, followed by meeting and social with the new residents.  We as staff began at 10 a.m. for a commissioning ceremony starting with a psalm prayer and a brief reflection given by Sr Kateri.  She used the symbols of planting seeds for the work we were about to begin.  The empty pot, the soil, water and the seeds were all used as symbols for the work we are beginning.  We were reminded that we can plant and water all we want, but it is in reality, God who gives the growth.  We as program providers, who teach the basic skills of survival in society are planting seeds.  Dominic handed out the planting containers, the soil, water and the seeds. Father Beiting was also present and spoke to the staff explaining our mission and our purpose here at Point of Hope and sharing how his dream of helping the homeless came about. 

           Then the residents started to arrive and we moved into the resident and staff meeting.  After an official welcome by Dominic, he presented each family with a cross. Trisha and Cindy then displayed a drawing, an outline of a house which symbolized the vision of the program. Since our program is transition  housing, they used the structure and the foundation of a house as a symbol of the programs and life skills we offer at Point of Hope for people to learn in order to secure proper and permanent housing. Then Christine was asked to share her own personal story of how she grew up and how the family struggled through hard work and with prayer.  She ended the story leaving us with a feeling of how with God we can do all things.  Following the sharing, all the program staff took turns introducing themselves and the program they were going to be leading.  They presented the residents with a symbol of their program.  The residents were also presented with a "welcome basket" filled with odds and ends of household necessities. At the end, Pat gave the residents a task.  Giving each of them poster paper, he asked them draw a symbol of how they envisioned their future house and to show what foundation they were going to build on. This ended the introduction to the program.

          With the Holy Spirit always at work, Wawa called just before the end of our meeting, telling us she was bringing lunch.  Together with food left over from Saturday's Point of Hope blessing and Wawa's special, we had another feast with a social of getting to know each. 

         God is and has been so good to us through the staff, volunteers and those of you who pray for us, and those of you who support us materially and financially.  Thank you and may God bless each and every one of you.  We also keep you in our prayers.

Point of Hope Blessings



On Saturday, March 26, we had a blessing for the Point of Hope community and residences.  We gathered at 4:30 p.m. to enjoy a festive meal prepared by Dominic, our Director of Operations.  We are the happy recipients of his many talents.  Staff, family and friends gathered for the celebration.  After the meal, we began our procession to the new Duplex, with its official opening and a ribbon cutting ceremony. 



Ribbon Cutting Ceremony
for the new Duplex

 Father Beiting standing in the middle, Dominic had one scissors representing the organization of Father Beiting Appalachian Mission and Kaija on the other side with another scissors representing the Springtime of Hope of Ohio, now known as the Father Beiting Mission of Eastern Ohio.  After the ribbon cutting, Father Beiting blessed the new homes already occupied.  We then continued our circle around the compound stopping to bless the trailers awaiting repair and families.  After we completed the circle, the house behind Point of Hope was also blessed, and on to the Father Lou Brinker house and the Stain Glass trailer.  Last but not least, Father Beiting blessed the main center and also blessed he staff and all PoH volunteers who were present.  It was all a very wonderful God centered gathering, and very appropriate asking God to bless and heal all those who our way in these places.





Good News Update

Time seems to fly by too fast when there is so much good happening.  Point of Hope has been kind of quiet the past two or three months when all our residences were empty and we were renovating.  Now as we began taking in new families again, there has been so much work to do for preparing to welcome them.  Dale, our maintenance man has been working very hard painting and fixing, thus in March, we welcomed two families into our program.

           







Last week, we had a group of youth from Kansas, Topeka Regional Youth Ministries comprised of Ellen, Nancy, 4 other adults, 2 young adults and 19 youth. They worked very hard at Point of Hope making the outdoors clean and beautiful through raking, shoveling and painting.  They were a very good group that worked well together, willing to do whatever work was needed. They also turned a dull and dark apartment into a brighter more cheerful looking one.  We hope they decide to come back again. Below are some pictures of them hard at work.

  That same week, we were also blessed to have Kaija and her son Kody from Ohio. You might remember her and their interesting experience when they arrived here last time they were here.  It was a day after Christmas and they could not get up to Padre’s Place because the road was not shoveled.  Her blog was titled “wandering around like Mary & Joseph”.  They also worked hard, rearranging and moving furniture and craft supplies.  As our new basic life skills program is starting, we needed a children’s play area close to where the parents will be working and so we have turned the former craft and sewing room into a children’s room and a meeting room. Having the children’s play area in the Father Lou Brinker house was not very practical because we always needed two adults to conduct any programming there for them, but having it now in the main house is better because there is always at least one other adult in this building besides the person working with the children.

              We have already made good use of this room several times this week, once for a meeting, and twice as a babysitting room while the NA meeting was happening.  We also use it for a group interviewing applicants thus giving them more privacy.  Now the activity room in the Father Lou Brinker house will now be the adult craft and sewing room when we have volunteers running these programs.  Stain Glass activity is now contained in the stain glass trailer including the office.  The office is now in the area formerly a storage area.  Thus all were very busy last week.
     Next update will be on the Point of Hope Blessing.