City House Board Approves New Direction
Board Members Present: Bert Amdahl, Dennis Anderson, Beth Andrews, Rev. Cathy McDonald, Vivian Mims, and Greg Peterson
Not Pictured: Dan Cain, Paul Radunz, and Rev Paul Robinson
The City House board (a great asset, always faithful, and working behind the scenes) met on Tuesday and approved a new direction. The proposed plan was formulated through a prayerful discernment process, with significant input from a broad spectrum of stakeholders (program participants, volunteers, donors, etc). To recap, City House is expanding its mission from “Tending to the spiritual lives of the poor, inspiring hope”, to “Inviting people into a relationship with the poor, for mutual spiritual growth and transformation.”
Some of the comments made by board members during the discussion:
- This shift in mission highlights the practical aspect of our work.
- It keeps us open to what the spirit might be doing in the broader world.
- Some people may be scared off with the intimacy of the language of “inviting people”. Some may just want to donate money. If so, will our use of this language be off putting to them?
The energy level among board members was high. The board approved the general direction, with the plan and its use of language as a “working document”.
I continue to be so grateful for this wonderful group of people shepherding City House’s resources and future. Hats off to them!!!
November 19th, 2007 at 10:57 am
I like the new direction a lot, as it seems to broaden the mission to include the service provided to the poor, but also the real gains that people experience in serving the poor.
I would also say that it is important, in my opinion, to highlight those aspects of City House that people may not be able to experience through their congregations. In other words, if I regularly attend church, give money, and occasionally volunteer at the food shelter through my church, perhaps my intuition is that City House does not offer a unique service. However, in highlighting the spiritual connection possible through City House activities, I see the unique “value proposition” (to use some business speak
November 19th, 2007 at 2:06 pm
Thanks for the affirmation Erik. We are in fact expanding our undestanding of who we are and trying to serve more people. It is important to understand that we have all have something to gain by being in relationship with the poor.