Takin' it to the Streets on Sunday, May 15
While many of our congregation worshiped as usual on May 15th, a group of 21 from our congregation worshiped the Lord with hammers and paint brushes and trowels. This group used their presence and labor to make God's love real for those who are beneficiaries of the ministry of Jacob's Ladder. We worked on a total of three different homes in the Beltline Community, planting monkey grass, painting and rebuilding a porch.
The First Project - It All Began in 2010
Our project during 2010 began in August and ended one week before Christmas. It involved our whole congregation in various ways. You can view the pictures that show before and after shots as well as some of the participants by clicking on the first picture below. Also, check out the article that was written by a member of our congregation and was published in various forms by the United Methodist Reporter and The Commercial Appeal.
Click on the photo and then scroll through the other photos by clicking on the "Next" button on the right side of the photo.
"A Home for the Holidays"
by Cathi Johnson
It was stifling hot that first day at the house in August, 2010. A small, gray shell of a building, its windows and doors were boarded up and it sat on a lot with nothing but hard-packed dirt, littered with paper, twigs and cigarette butts. Inside, walls were exposed brick with only patches of dirty plaster. Portions of the floor were sloped and rotted; the ceilings were caving in. The tiny kitchen was dominated by a water heater and there were no appliances. It was a house that was unloved – one ripe for drug dealers and vandals. Perhaps the best solution was to tear it down.
Instead, just days before Christmas, it became “home” to a mom and her three children, ages 12, 11 and 5. The family moved into a warm and open floor plan with rugs on the new floors, new countertops in a kitchen redesigned for maximum space and efficiency, walls that are insulated, sheet rocked and newly painted, a new roof and driveway, monkey grass growing in the front lawn and a garden of greens planted in the back.
Every room was furnished and every bed made. Hand-sewn curtains hung over the recently-replaced and energy-efficient windows. Pictures and mirrors cheered up the walls. There were toothbrushes in the new bathroom vanity. A kitchen pantry and linen closet were fully stocked. There was even a Christmas tree in the living room and gifts for the children hidden in the newly-built closet in the master bedroom.
How did this Christmas miracle happen? It was the result of an ecumenical project led by Jacob’s Ladder, a community development corporation affiliated with the United Methodist Church, located in the Beltline/Orange Mound area of Memphis and directed by Rev. Bill Marler of the Memphis Conference.
Volunteers from CrossRoads (Collierville, TN), Emmanuel (Memphis, TN) and Germantown (Germantown, TN) UMCs, along with students from Christian Brothers University, Americorp Vista and Murray State University, as well as carpenters, an electrical contractor, roofers, concrete layers, cabinet installers and neighbors of several faith backgrounds, all came together over a four-month period to transform rather than destroy the house.
“It started out to be a one-day service project,” said Rev. Don Park of CrossRoads UMC, the church that played the lead role in the project. “But after seeing the house and hearing Bill Marler’s dreams of its transformation, the folks of CrossRoads decided to make this a long-term project that would involve every member of the congregation.”
CrossRoads has a history of such work. For dozens of years, adult and youth crews worked at Reelfoot Rural Ministries in northwest Tennessee for a week each year. More recently, members of the church helped repair another UM church’s building and grounds and a rental duplex for students of Memphis Theological Seminary. “We are blessed with people who have big hearts, impressive skills and a willingness to be the hands and feet of Christ,” said Park.
But the giving went beyond skilled carpenters and painters. Others at CrossRoads volunteered to lead specific projects, while still others gave money and donations of furniture and accessories. An interior decorator from the church measured the house, drew up the plans and organized furniture procurement and placement. Folks dug monkey grass from their yards to re-plant at the house. Company owners supplied concrete, kitchen countertops, a bathroom vanity and more.
The church’s United Methodist Women provided staples for the food pantry. Folks donated pots and pans, dishes, glassware, cutlery – everything a cook might need. Young and old showed up the day the interior was painted, as well as on the final work day which fell one week before Christmas. That’s when the furniture and everything else was put in place.
Marler has a team of housing volunteers who meet on Wednesdays. Led by Rev. Ken Burnette, Board Chairman of Jacob’s Ladder, the team rebuilt all the house’s windows and installed new flooring, sheetrock and an on-demand water heater.
This newly refurbished “Home for the Holidays” is the 14th total renovation in five years in the Beltline area. The housing team has also completed significant repairs to 18 other residences, effecting a focused community impact. Jacob’s Ladder has programs in place to help new and prospective homeowners with budgeting and home upkeep. It also operates two after-school educational centers which provide safe sanctuary and learning opportunities for all neighborhood children.
Move-in day on Dec. 18 could not have been more different from that first work day in August. The vacant shell that looked more suited to destruction had been transformed! New life has been breathed into a community that has embraced this young family. Neighbors have pledged to look after them. The children were warm and safe and home for the holidays. God is good!