GRP-CharleyHoney

RELIGIONTHE GRAND RAPIDS PRESS

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SATURDAY, JANUARY 15, 2011

CHURCH PROGRAM IN JACKSON TUTORS STRUGGLING STUDENTS, C2

FAITH LIFE CALENDAR C2TELEVISION/WEATHER C6

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BY PAUL R. KOPENKOSKEY

THE GRAND RAPIDS PRESS

GRAND RAPIDS — Misery continues to overshadow Haiti a year after

a magnitude-7 earthquake brought thousands of survivors to their knees, said a 2008 Cornerstone University graduate who established a foundation in the Caribbean country.

But flickers of hope are emerg-ing, said Mallery Thurlow-Neptune, founder and executive director of Haiti Foundation Against Poverty, this week.

Thurlow-Neptune told about 425 Grand Rapids Christian Middle School students how the $9,000 they and students in four other area Chris-tian schools raised will help a school her foundation built, Les Boures School of Hope.

And she gave the students a new challenge: Eight hurricane-resistant homes are planned near the orphan-age Thurlow-Neptune founded, and it needs a kitchen that will cost $4,000 to construct.

There’s no time to lose, she said.“There is so much pain in Haiti,”

Thurlow-Neptune, 23, said. “They lost

their friends and lost their families.”She showed the area students

photos of what the foundation’s re-cently opened Hope Orphanage has already accomplished. They showed how children who were gravely ill and malnourished — some beaten by their parents — are now happy and healthy.

Principal Ashanti Bryant said the photos help her students understand that progress in Haiti is ongoing and cannot be just a fl ash-in-the-pan.

“They ask regularly for updates on what’s happened because they are passionate in supporting the children and the people in Haiti,” she said.

“We want to continue the

relationships because we know when tragedy happens, it takes long-term support and commitment, which needs to come from those of us who are able to provide that support.”

Thurlow-Neptune said disease and upheaval are persistent challenges in Haiti.

The water-borne disease cholera is expected to claim 400,000 to 900,000 lives this year, estimates say.

“The majority of deaths are chil-dren,” Thurlow-Neptune said. “They have worms in their stomachs. They always feel sick, even before they had cholera, so they never tell their par-ents they feel sick.”

SEE HAITI, C2

“We are so blessed,” Christina-Taylor Green used to say.

“We have the best life.” In that remarkably intuitive

way children sometimes have, the 9-year-old girl summed up not only the life of her family in Tucson but of our American family.

Her often-repeated phrase, born of her awareness of those less fortunate than she, lingers as an appropriate epitaph for her death in the national nightmare that began one week ago today.

An awareness of how blessed we are is a painful but instructive thought to bear in mind as we mourn the killing of this lovely little girl, along with fi ve other people who had the misfortune of being interested in public service. Their attendance at a gathering convened by U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords brought them, as well as her, into the gun sights of a dangerously deluded young man.

Jared Loughner’s unsettling grin and disjointed Internet ramblings

SEE HONEY, C2

BY TERRY DEBOER


WEST OLIVE — When Kathy Troccoli is singing to an audience of women, she can see tears in their eyes by her second song.

“I know part of that is because women have just come from stresses of the day like taking care of kids, jobs, errands, fatigue ... and fi nally they are getting a break with some time for themselves,” said the singer and author from her Nashville, Tenn., offi ce.

“We try to be superwomen, but our capes are tattered and our muscles are worn — God hasn’t called us to that.”

Encouragement is a large part of Troccoli’s ministry, which during the past decade increasingly has focused on speaking and writing in addition to her music.

Her fi rst inspirational album was released in 1982 and began a career that has garnered multiple Grammy nominations, Dove Awards and pro-duced several pop radio hits.

“I still do concerts, but I couldn’t have done what I’m doing now back

in my 20s and 30s,” said Troccoli, 52. “I needed more life behind me and to work through some of my own stuff — you can’t give what you don’t have.”

The Long Island, N.Y., native has written a half-dozen books, the most recent, “Spaghetti For the Soul: A Feast of Faith, Hope, Love,” co-writ-ten with Ellie Lofaro. It encourages women to do more than “eat crumbs from the table,” and to enjoy the feast God has for them.

“There are also some great Italian recipes passed down from our rela-tives,” she added.

Troccoli has spoken and sung at the arena-sized “Women of Faith” events across the country, as well as

at smaller gatherings. “Hope’s Alive” — the title of her most recent inspi-rational album — also is the name for her local conference.

“What I love about the smaller events is getting to know the women and making connections,” said the artist, of times when women can share their life journeys.

“I want the conference to be a re-minder that God isn’t done with our lives ... he’s still writing our stories.”

She said roughly half of her confer-ence presentations are music-based. The remainder include speaking,

sharing and even a question and an-swer session.

The artist says she usually stays afterward to chat with women and hear comments on how the confer-ence gave them tools to deal with is-sues such as grief, abandonment and parent-child relationships.

“I’m delighted, because I really want women to be comfortable and to really be themselves,” she said.

Among her popular songs are her ballads “My Life Is In Your Hands” (also the title of one of her books) and “Go Light Your World,” both of which reached the top of Christian radio charts.

She even fl irted with pop music via her early ’90s mainstream hit “Every-thing Changes,” carrying her to a spot on “The Tonight Show” and other national venues.

“But I’ve got to tell you, after re-cording and singing for 29 years, these conferences have been the most re-warding,” she said.

“And I know that sometimes a three-minute song can do what an hour sermon can’t,” she added.

“I want women to know that they can have new wind in their sails, they can get through this thing holding the hand of the God who is much more able to take on the world and its problems.”

E-mail: [email protected]



GRANDVILLE — The prison min-istry Crossroad Bible Institute is banking on a popular Japanese style of comics to draw young readers into scripturally based lessons designed to shepherd them away from follow-ing in their incarcerated parents’ footsteps.

After refi ning some of its content last year, the Grandville-based CBI launched “Manga Messiah,” an edgy ren-dition of the Gospels that aims to guide mostly middle school students whose par-

ents are serving time in prison.Key to making “Manga’s” 10 Bible

lessons come alive are CBI’s 5,000 volunteer instructors who correspond with teens and tweens, and the gritty artwork the Bible study contains of a Japanese genre of cartoons, com-ic books and animated fi lms called “manga.”

The Bible lessons are intentionally designed to be anything but ho-hum, CBI President David Schuringa said.

SEE CBI, C2

CONNECTTo learn more �

about Crossroad Bible Institute,

visit cbi.fmrule



GRAND RAPIDS — The majority of Christian Reformed ministers in North America say they are weather-ing hard times well, feel good about their health and believe their pri-mary mission is to listen to God and respond.

But fi ssures are widening that re-veal a number of pastors and churches are in pain or in crisis, concludes a Christian Reformed Church survey that culled anonymous responses from an average 500-plus ministers in three surveys conducted in 2004-05, 2007 and 2009/early 2010.

The denomination’s Sustaining Pas-toral Excellence Offi ce collaborated with Calvin College’s Center for So-cial Research in developing the ques-tionnaires for its pastors and church council clerks of all CRC congrega-tions in the U.S. and Canada.

The survey’s fi ndings can be read at bit.ly/fVwGde.

“It gives us a glimpse into the life and ministry of pastors, which is something that the average pew sit-ter really doesn’t understand,” said Lif Van Harten, director of the CRC’s Sus-taining Pastoral Excellence Project.

Van Harten said results from the 2009-10 survey makes clear minis-ters are not getting desired feedback from their respective church councils, which are comprised of elders and deacons.

SEE CRC, C2

Kathy Troccoli

IF YOU GO

‘Hope’s Alive’ An inspirational conference for women featuring Kathy Troccoli

When: 7-8:30 p.m. on Jan. 21.; 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on Jan. 22.Where: Harvest Bible Chapel, 15020 Stanton St., West OliveTickets: $30. Includes both days, discount for multiple tickets may be available; harvestwestolive.org. Proceeds go to Love INC in the Tri-CitiesFor details: Call 616-405-9060.

Kathy Troccoli to speak, sing at area conferenceInspirational Christian singer

gears ministry to women

CHARLESHONEY

COLUMNIST

Survey reveals pain in the CRC

CBI designs book for students

‘Manga Messiah’: A Bible guide for middle school students, published by Crossroad Bible Institute.

What are we doing to each other?

Arizona shooting reminds usin this broken world

that we must remember love

AP PHOTOS

Arizona shooting victims: From top left, Christina-Taylor Green, 9; Dorothy Morris, 76; Arizona Federal District Judge John Roll, 63; and from bottom left, Phyllis Schneck, 79; Dorwin Stoddard, 76; and Gabe Zimmerman, 30.

Jared Loughner

PRESS PHOTO/AMANDA LOMAN

Update: Mallery Thurlow-Neptune, executive director and founder of Haiti Foundation Against Poverty, speaks to Grand Rapids Christian Middle School students about her work in Haiti since last year’s earthquake. The school, along with four other area Christian schools, raised $9,000 for the organization last year.

STILL AT WORK IN HAITINONPROFIT DIRECTOR UPDATES STUDENTS ON CONTINUING EFFORT

Student assembly: Grand Rapids Christian Middle School students listen to Thurlow-Neptune’s presentation earlier this week.

C2 SATURDAY, JANUARY 15, 2011 THE GRAND RAPIDS PRESS

THE ARTS“Driving Miss Daisy” will be

presented by the Master Arts Theatre at 3 p.m. Jan. 22 at First United Methodist Church, 227 E. Fulton St. An offering will be taken. Details: www.grandrapidsfumc.org or 451-2879.

SPECIAL EVENTSSoups On For All, a fundraiser for

Catholic Charities West Michigan’s

food programs, will be held 6:30-9:30 p.m. Jan. 24 at The B.O.B. in downtown Grand Rapids. Tickets: $50 in advance, $60 at the door; available at www.soupsonforall.org, Schuler Books & Music and God’s Kitchen. Details: www.soupsonforall.org.

The Faith Life Calendar lists special events, guest speakers, visiting performers, seminars and

recognitions. Please submit in writing: the type of event, time, date, place, other details and sponsoring organizations. Include contact phone number. Items must be received by noon Tuesday of the week you wish them to appear. Mail to: Faith Life Calendar, Grand Rapids Press, 155 Michigan St. NW, Grand Rapids, MI 49503. Fax to 222-5409, or e-mail to [email protected].

FAITH LIFE CALENDAR

CONTINUED FROM C1

provoke the latest national soul-search as to how and why such things happen in a country so blessed in so many ways. The 22-year-old’s mental instability and free-fl oating hostility are all too familiar, as yet another unhinged guy with appallingly easy access to weaponry makes the rest of us pay for his rage.

Causes still unknownAs of this writing, it is

unclear what motivated Loughner apparently to target Giffords. His infamous YouTube rant about government currency and grammar control is baffl ing. Friends describe him as nihilistic and dream-obsessed. Pending further evidence, he appears more schizophrenic than political. It may be unrealistic to attribute “motive” to one apparently so deeply troubled.

That’s helpful to keep in mind while we soul-search about whether the increasing vitriol of political rhetoric contributed to Loughner’s rampage. Maybe we’ll never know. But you don’t need a sociology course to get that when you create a fl ammable atmosphere, an unstable young man with a gun is a lit match.

“No! I won’t trust in God!” Loughner defi antly declared on YouTube.

Christina-Taylor Green did. She sang in the choir at St. Odilia Catholic Church,

where she had just received First Communion. She was interested in politics, served on her student council and volunteered at a children’s charity.

Interestingly, she was born on Sept. 11, 2001. She was proud of her birthday because it lent a “grace note of hope to that terrible day,” The New York Times reported in an interview with her mother, Roxanna Green.

Christina-Taylor’s birth day, like her death, stunned the country with grief. But while 9/11 set off a national debate about how to respond to killers from abroad, the events of Jan. 8 touched off a much-needed conversation about our political war within.

A growing discordSadly, the war within has

grown more hateful these past 10 years. Our enemies in mountain caves must be pleased to see how we have turned on each other.

There need not be a direct line from gun sights on a political campaign map to Jared Lougher’s handgun to conclude that violent rhetoric makes real violence more likely. As Christina’s mother put it: “There’s been a lot of hatred going on, and it needs to stop.”

That boils it down well. Much is being said about how the radical right bears responsibility for the shooting, and how the left is exploiting it for political purposes.

Regardless of where you stand on that conversation, it’s a no-brainer that the hatred needs to stop.

I grew up in a time when we had dear family friends who were more conservative than we were, when Republicans and Democrats could argue politics, then say grace together. Where has that America gone?

Start with the Golden RulePeople of faith and moral

principle can — and must — push back against this rancor. They can begin with the Golden Rule, the teaching common to Christianity, Judaism and other faiths to do unto others what you would have them do to you. So well-known, so widely ignored.

They can pledge themselves to respectful ways of debating and regarding each other, such as Karen Armstrong’s Charter for Compassion or the Sojourners’ community Peace and Civility Pledge. They can take seriously the Apostle Paul’s statement that “love does not insist on its own way.”

As per Giffords’ Jewish faith, we need to repair the world, starting with ourselves. I don’t know about you, but when I see photos of that young congresswoman and the sweet smile of Christina-Taylor Green, I feel ashamed. We are so blessed in this country. What are we doing to each other?


HONEY WHEN WILL WE COOL THE RANCOR?

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“Unfortunately, it doesn’t happen as much as most pas-tors would like,” Van Harten said.

“You need feedback on your performance, and if there’s room for improvement, that benefits everyone involved. That’s true for pastors as well. If you preach sermons Sunday after Sunday, you may naturally assume everything is fi ne. If that’s not the case, how are you to know?”

The surveys revealed most ministers consider themselves “fairly healthy” and enjoyed “respectable levels” of spiri-tual formation and pastoral satisfaction.

They indicated they have gained through the years an improved understanding of the Reformed faith.

On the downside, “at least dozens” of pastors are dis-satisfied with their current

pastorate, frequently feel iso-lated in ministry and wouldn’t be pastors again if they could start their careers over.

Such insights should not be ignored, the report said.

“Sustaining excellence will continue to require attention both to helping struggling churches and to helping itin-erant pastors who may be carrying their pain and dis-satisfaction with them from church to church,” the report notes.

Highlights of the survey include:

One of the best paths to �boosting pastoral health is through elevating their lead-ership skills.The frequency of personal �prayer and meditation was stable across the three waves of the survey, with 46 percent reporting daily devotions in 2009.Calvin Theological Seminary �

graduates are “substantially less likely” than pastors to re-port daily devotions (43 per-cent of graduates compared with 55 percent of pastors).Pastors list praising God, �and listening and respond-ing to him as the top elements they engage in of five core elements listed in the CRC mission.Pastors’ satisfaction with �their present pastorate fell slightly (33 percent in 2005 to 30 percent in 2009).The proportion of churches

with a continuing education budget for their pastor fell to two-thirds, down from almost four-fi fths in 2007 and about three-fourths in 2005. The amount budgeted by those churches with continuing edu-cation budgets remained stable at an average of $1,421 in the U.S. and $1,471 in Canada.


CRC MANY PASTORS CONTENT, BUT SOME STRUGGLING

CONTINUED FROM C1

The country also suf-fers criminal and political aftershocks.

The number of women raped has skyrocketed since the Jan. 12, 2010, earthquake, Thurlow-Neptune said.

Children and mothers are malnourished, partly because of government corruption that prevents aid from reaching them. People sleep, eat and def-ecate in the same spot because the open spaces available are

occupied with makeshift tents, she said.

“Children would rather live in Dumpsters in the United States than a tent in Haiti,” Thurlow-Neptune said.

“The birth rate has tripled in Haiti because of rapes. Dis-eases are running rampant. There’s not much help when it comes to long-term housing and solutions. So much money has been donated, and, here we are a year later, very little has made it to the people. It’s an

extremely corrupt government system.”

But she said she continues her efforts because she and others like her are the hands and feet of Christ.

“My faith is what brought me to Haiti in the fi rst place,” said Thurlow-Neptune, who plans to return to Haiti on Jan. 24.

“When there’s no hope to be found, we always have hope in Christ.”


Praying for Haiti: Lydia Lantinga, 10, and Ashley Bierling, right, pray following Mallery Thurlow-Neptune’s talk. The school raised $9,000 for the organization’s post-earthquake efforts and will be raising more to help the organization build a kitchen.

PRESS PHOTO/

AMANDA LOMAN

HAITI GOVERNMENT CORRUPTION STALLS RELIEF

CONTINUED FROM C1

Schuringa said too many children with imprisoned par-ents are growing up without positive role models. Too often, these children end up break-ing the law themselves. That doesn’t surprise Schuringa.

“Kids are growing up with not a clue what a normal family is,” said Schuringa.

“We’re trying to bring a sense of God’s love in their lives and basic life principles to help them to succeed, give them a moral foundation upon

which to make choices that are healthy to them rather than harmful.”

That’s a pretty heady mission to be part of, said CBI instruc-tor Rachael VanderWerf.

Each week, the Grand Rap-ids resident corrects complet-ed lessons she receives from children around the country and reads their prayer requests. VanderWerf said she is quick to reply to their messages with hand- or type-written notes of encouragement that usually includes Scripture verses they

can apply to their lives.“It’s a big responsibility we’re

participating in, the discipling of these kids,” said VanderWerf. “It’s really important knowing their home life isn’t the best. It’s really neat to think I can be a role model in their lives.”

Most of CBI’s contact with children is made through in-carcerated parents, who are enrolled in CBI studies them-selves, of which there are 40,000 in all 50 states and in over 50 countries. Other kids find their way to the Cross-road Kids program through Prison Fellowship’s Angel Tree ministry, which provides CBI enrollment forms to many par-ticipating parents, Schuringa said.

Those parents, in turn, ex-press an interest in having CBI contact their children. The pro-gram is provided at no cost.

About 500 children living in the U.S. are enrolled in the Crossroad Kids program, and many more around the world, said Schuringa.

The positive feedback kids receive from instructors mo-tivates them to live construc-tive, principled lives, said Schuringa.

“What we’re fi nding is when they get that personal letter from the instructors, that’s something that stimulates them,” said Schuringa. “They know somebody is praying for them and cares about their progress. We hope that will be motivation.”


CBI GROUP HELPS CHILDREN WITHOUT ROLE MODELS

BY FRITZ KLUG

JACKSON CITIZEN PATRIOT

JACKSON — Traynesha Fells fi rst came to the tutoring program at First Presbyterian Church in October to serve an after-school detention.

At the time, the Jackson High School sophomore said her grades were “iffy.” She started meeting with tutors and had fun working through the prob-lems. Fells has been coming ever since.

“Now I know I can do bet-ter,” she said.

Every Tuesday and Thurs-day after school, a group of volunteers from the church provide tutoring to students in a building next door at 739 W. Michigan Ave. They call it the Hive.

In 2005, the church bought the building, which formerly housed offi ces for the South Central Michigan Chapter of the American Red Cross and the United Way.

The hope is to have it be home to various groups to pro-vide more activities for Jackson youth, said John McLaughlin, one of the organizers.

“Bees run around doing a lot of things for the com-mon good,” McLaughlin said,

explaining the Hive’s name.Bethany Christian Services,

a Grand Rapids-based adoption agency, has offi ces in the build-ing, and every Thursday, a Shop Rats program is held, where students learn how to use pow-er tools and build projects. One drawback, however, is that the two-story building does not have an elevator. The church hopes it can secure funding to make the building accessible to those with disabilities.

The tutoring program start-ed in February 2010 as a way to help address the drop-out rate at Jackson High School.

Tutors work closely with the school — teachers refer stu-dents and provide textbooks and other course materials.

While the number of partici-pants varies, a good day can bring anywhere from 15 to 20 students, McLaughlin said. It

can be helpful to troubleshoot with someone else, he said.

Having the tutoring program outside of school gives students a change of pace. On a recent Thursday afternoon, Fells was reviewing information about dual-enrollment at the Jack-son Area Career Center. Her friend De’Markus Miles, 16, was studying 19th-century Ger-man history.

Dave Polson, a tutor, came into the room and had more information for Miles about a massage-therapy program at Baker College, something Miles wants to pursue after high school.

Polson, 50, said it is impor-tant to give back to the commu-nity — he had mentors while growing up who helped him develop.

“They challenged me to be better,” Polson said.

Church program tutors struggling students

Helping: De’Markus Miles, 16, and Dave Polson, right, talk during the First Presbyterian Church tutoring program.

AP PHOTO

3974098-01 3979052-01

“Speak Up For Those Who Cannot “Speak Up For Those Who Cannot Speak For Themselves’’Speak For Themselves’’

~Proverbs 31:8THE MICAH CENTER, a Christian organization

committed to Biblical action, is expanding. Here is the schedule for this coming Tues., Jan. 18:

Come join us as we struggle to help shape a more just society.

We meet at Hope Reformed Church (2010 Kalamazoo SE). ~ Admission is free.~

6:00 - 7:00 PM6:00 - 7:00 PM - - “Breaking Through the Poverty Subculture” with Believe to Become, Khary Bridgewater

and First Steps: Kids at Risk, Amy Turner-Thole

7:00 - 8:00 PM7:00 - 8:00 PM - - Six justice advocacy groups and a “Finding Justice In The Bible” study group meet.

5:40 - 6:00 PM5:40 - 6:00 PM - - A light meal


SECTION

SATURDAY, JUNE 19, 2010

ENVIRONMENTAL CONSULTANT SAYS BP OIL SPILL CAN BE A FAITH CONVERSATION STARTER, C3


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SPIRITUAL JOURNEY

Spiritual Journey is a regular feature on the faith lives of local people.

Deb Pieri

Age: 53

Work:Teacher at St. Thomas the Apostle School

Place of worship: St. James Catholic Church, 733 Bridge St. NW, and St. Thomas Catholic Church, 1449 Wilcox Park Drive SE

Inspirational books, aside from sacred texts: “When I was young, it was Kahlil Gibran. He just mesmerized me. I loved Eastern philosophy. I read it over and over and highlighted it. Now it’s Thomas Merton, the Dalai Lama, Gandhi, Mother Teresa. I’m eclectic.”

Inspirational art or artists: “I love my garden. I spend my summer in the garden. How can you not think of God when you see the intricacy of a petal?”

Faith role model: “The people you meet every day. Sometimes I’ll see a mother at school with a pack of kids and I see patience. My students teach me amazing things every day. You take little pieces and see the good in everybody.”

Favorite faith practice: “Running is deeply spiritual to me. I’ve learned so much about myself. It’s empowering. It gives me so much. I pray when I run. It carried me through cancer.”

What I’m working on in my faith life: “I feel like I’m a trusting person, and I trust God’s will in my life. I always want to be open to God. In my life, I want to qualify for (the) Boston (Marathon). I believe very much that the physical, mental and emotional is tied to the spiritual, so I strive for balance.”

BY HEIDI FENTON


I t’s been six months since a 7.2-magnitude earthquake ripped through the poverty-

stricken country of Haiti, tumbling hillside neighborhoods and reducing many homes around the nation’s capital of Port-au-Prince to rubble.

In the months since the destruc-tion unfolded on Jan. 12, disaster re-lief efforts have sprung up across the United States and worldwide in what has been described as one of the larg-est outpourings of aid to date.

Communities and churches have organized shipments of food and clothing and many others have trav-eled to help the Haitians pick up the pieces of a life that for months, has seemed only a shadow of what once existed.

Andrew Ryskamp saw evidence of that in a trip to Haiti at the end of May. As director of the Christian Reformed World Relief Committee, which has its U.S. headquarters in Grand Rapids, he had communicated regularly with workers who were stationed in Haiti before the quake, and has helped or-ganize fl oods of volunteers and goods in the months since.

But that was nothing, he said, com-pared to seeing the scene fi rsthand and experiencing it through conver-sations with those impacted most by the destruction.

His traveling partner, Wayne de

Jong, disaster response team leader for the CRWRC, recalled seeing rub-ble blocking storm sewers, pushing water out into the streets.

“Many of the main streets are just lined with rubble that has been carried out to the street by hand or wheelbarrow with the expectation that somebody, someday might come down and pick it up,” he said.

Ryskamp said he was most struck by the resilience of the people and their ability to bounce back against the odds.

“The expressions of hope and faith they have was inspirational,” Ryskamp recalled, as he fl ipped through pic-tures of men and women gathered in worship. “Just their ability to handle this level of destruction and be able to maintain a level of normalcy.”

Walking through some streets, Ryskamp saw evidence of how people have emerged from the pain and are beginning to turn the page in a new life, one fi lled with hope, but also with

hesitancy.Markets once again are fi lled with

people buying and selling goods. Clusters of tents — oftentimes, as many as 100 in one place — are signs of a livelihood, though one Ryskamp said brings reason for concern.

“You literally have to stop to let the pain in,” he said, recalling his initial reaction to the sight. “You say, ‘I have to be angry about this, that people are living this way.’”

But “that way” is one in which many have survived for quite some time, he said. The tents have become a safety net. And though the CRWRC is work-ing to construct new homes in Haiti, there are other issues that must be addressed.

Ryskamp said the previous way of living is one to which the people can-not simply return . In several commu-nities close to the capital city, homes rose up in rows along hillsides with-out proper roadways in between. Now,

SEE RELIEF, C2

In the beginning was the ball, and the ball was with a boy, and the

boy threw it to his father.And the father said, “Nice toss.”

And he threw it back to his son.Then he said, “Now, try holding it

with your fi rst two fi ngers along that seam. Yeah, just like that. Now when you throw it, try snapping your wrist a little, like so. To make it spin and curve.”

The son tried throwing it like that, but the ball did not curve. It hit the dirt and went bouncing past his father.

“That’s OK,” his dad said. “Try it again.”

So the boy tried it again and again, over many days. Until one day, the ball curved.

And the dad said, “Atta boy!” And the son felt perfectly proud.

That’s how my dad taught me the curve ball, more or less, in the yard. Over long summer afternoons, Dad also taught me the fastball and the changeup, passing along pitching mysteries he had learned as a child.

The curve was my favorite. I tried SEE HONEY, C2

CHARLESHONEY

COLUMNIST

Handling the many

curveballs life throws

Detroit Tigers pitcher sets example of how to respond

to mistakes with grace

BY ERIN ALBANESE


GRAND RAPIDS — Jeremiah Ham-let sees basketball as a unifi er: the dribbling ball, the squeak of sneak-ers on the court and the blow of the coach’s whistle creating a rhythm — an international language that tran-scends differences.

“It’s a way to basically combine dif-ferent cultures, races. When you’re

out on the court, it doesn’t mat-ter,” Hamlet said, standing on the sidelines while about 30 teenage boys

shot hoops in the gym at Oakdale Christian School.

Using basketball as a conduit to connect with young people and help them build relationships with Christ is Hamlet’s mission. The former Eu-ropean professional basketball player founded SportsPower four years ago after returning to Grand Rapids.

About 1,000 boys are now involved

in programs at 22 Grand Rapids area schools. Opportunities include an Amateur Athletic Union program, camps, individual training and com-munity service.

The program has partnerships

with Grand Rapids Public Schools’ after-school LOOP program, the Grand Rapids Parks and Recreation Department, South East Community Association and Baxter Community Center. It receives funding from the

city’s Parks and Recreation Depart-ment and Crossroads Bible Church, 1801 Three Mile Road NE.

Hamlet, a 1998 Jenison High School graduate who holds Northwood Uni-versity’s 3-point record in one game, was involved with after-school pro-grams while playing basketball in England and Holland until 2006. He realized there was an opportunity to run a local program that merged bas-ketball and character building.

“This has been a ministry since the beginning,” he said. “It was the only way to reach kids in a unique way. It’s us coming to them, where they’re at.”

Antonio McKinney, 18, spends three afternoons a week involved with SportsPower to stay on top of his game and to prepare for his future, he said.

McKinney, a recent graduate of Ottawa Hills High School, where he played basketball, is headed to Central Michigan University in the fall.

“Eventually you will be a better bas-ketball player,” he said of attending SportsPower. “It will also connect you

SEE SPORTSPOWER, C2

SportsPower offers spiritual mentorship to teens

PRESS PHOTO/JESSICA SCOTT

Heading it up: Christian Reformed World Relief Committee Director Andrew Ryskamp stands inside his Grand Rapids office in front of shelves containing items bought around the world, including in Haiti.

PRESS PHOTO/PAUL L. NEWBY II

Get pumped: SportsPower founder and director Jeremiah Hamlet rallies the players before a basketball game at Oakdale Christian High School.

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SIX MONTHS LATERCRWRC CONTINUES TO HELP WITH HAITI RELIEF, REBUILDING

BY AARON OGG


ALPINE TOWNSHIP — Kids gath-ered around an orange trailer, drawn by rap music and promises of hot dogs.

The beat thumped throughout York Creek Apartments.

“Who you represent?” asks the song by Christian recording artist Richie Righteous.

“We represent God,” it answers.Pastor Jon Lewis, associate pastor

for Grandville-based Resurrection Life Church, recruited a few young people to pass out fl iers.

Soon, more curious onlook-ers joined the fold. They lis-tened to Lewis’ brief sermon centered on Ephesians 2:8-9: “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith — and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God.”

“How many of you, one day, would like to go to heaven?” Lewis asked.

Dozens of hands reached skyward.

“We gotta fi gure out: What is it that can take our sins away?”

Positive influence for communitiesLewis is director of Power House

Sidewalk Sunday School, a ministry of Resurrection Life that aims to spread the gospel to kids primarily in low-income areas.

The effort was founded in 1998, with its fi rst events held at Acts Gospel Ministry, 1255 Broadway Ave. NW. It since has expanded to fi ve year-round locations throughout Kent County, and two gatherings in the Lansing area tied to Resurrection Life in Ionia.

Weekly programs kicked off recent-ly at York Creek, 650 York Creek Drive SW, and Peppercorn Apartments, 3475 Woodward Ave. SW, and they will last throughout the summer. At the re-cent York Creek event, kids limboed, battled with foam “fun noodles” and drenched each other with water bal-loons before settling into a prop-fi lled discussion about Jesus.

Liz Kraley, York Creek’s assistant property manager, said the troupe entertains while offering a positive message.

“We’re constantly looking for ways we can involve kids in the commu-nity,” she said.

Lewis said Power House’s concept originated in Brooklyn, N.Y., with Metro Ministries, which serves inner-city kids throughout New York City’s fi ve boroughs. The model since has spread throughout America, he said.

SEE POWER HOUSE, C2

Power House kicks off summer

programs

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Ministry of Res Life Churchaims to reach youthsin low-income areas

COURTESY PHOTO

Former church: CRWRC Haiti consultant Ad de Blaeij stands by a destroyed church in Port-au-Prince that was famous for its murals.

C2 SATURDAY, JUNE 19, 2010 THE GRAND RAPIDS PRESS

CONTINUED FROM C1

with yourself so you can be a better person and stay out of trouble,” he said.

MarShon Peoples, who re-cently started a SportsPower AAU program, said he hopes to keep kids away from gangs and other dangerous activi-ties by giving them a better alternative.

“We are taking what they want and giving them what they need. That’s what they love: basketball,” said Peoples, a former Grand Rapids Boys and Girls Club staff member. “We give them what they need to excel.”

The boys spend time each week practicing and participat-ing in community service proj-ects. Saturdays at the Baxter Community Center incorporate Bible study with basketball.

Travis Holst, 15, has attended for three years.

“It’s really fun and really

helpful and you also learn about God,” he said. “It gives (teens) a chance to get active and make good decisions so you can have a better life down the road,” said Holst, of Lowell.

Gert Hopson, president of the South East Community Association, watched as her son, Trenton, 13, played. She is planning to lead the boys in beautifi cation projects around the area this summer.

“I think it’s great because it’s not just a basketball program. It builds the entire character of participants.”

“They’re going to be ready when we’re through with them. They are going to be positive, productive members of society wherever they are.”

SportsPower recently started a soccer program. Opportuni-ties for girls also are being planned.


SPEAKERS/CLASSESDivorce Support Group meets 7-8:30 p.m. Wednesdays from June 23 to Aug. 25 at the Catholic Information Center, 360 S. Division Ave. Suite 2A. Cost: $15, includes “Divorce and Beyond” by James Greteman, Leon Haverkamp and Elsie Radtke. Details: 459-7267 or catholicinformationcenter.org.

SPECIAL EVENTS“Manifesting Kingdom Greatness,” featuring Pastor Tim Dilena, of Highland Park, Bishop Jack Vaughn,

of Kansas City, and Pastor Tarence E. Lauchie, starts 7 p.m. June 24 and 25 at Grace for the Nations Church, 3333 Kraft Ave. SE in Cascade Township. Details: gftnc.org or 974-9128.

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Visit mlive.com/religion to see �complete Faith Life Calendar listings

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FAITH LIFE CALENDAR

PRESS PHOTO/PAUL L. NEWBY II

Play ball: Josh Vasicer dribbles past Antonio McKinney during a SportsPower basketball game at Oakdale Christian High School. SportsPower is a faith-based organization that aims to develop leadership skills, self-discipline, teamwork, sportsmanship and educational opportunities for youth, as well as present the gospel message.

SPORTSPOWERGOAL IS TO TRAIN BODY AND SPIRIT CONTINUED FROM C1

“It’s a very effective outreach ministry,” said Lewis, 30. “We want to be in as many loca-tions as possible. The need is so great.”

Locations are based on in-come and other factors, Lewis said. Free and reduced-price lunch ratios are a good indica-tor, he said.

Apartment complexes such as the sprawling, nearly 5,000-tenant York Creek, are ideal venues, he said.

“In lower-income areas, there tends to be kids just ev-erywhere,” Lewis said. “They’re

easier to gather together.”A volunteer staff of about 40

— some from Resurrection Life, others from different churches — assist with the events. The church covers hot dogs, gas and other expenses.

Power House volunteers move the lessons and games indoors when the weather gets cooler, Lewis said.

“We have some (apartment complexes) let us use their building,” Lewis said. “That’s worth more than them helping us out fi nancially.”


CONTINUED FROM C1

to perfect the pitch, a round arc that started toward the batter’s head and ended at the far lower reach of his bat. One dusty afternoon, I struck out many Little League batters with that curve.

But other afternoons I couldn’t get the ball over the plate. When I did, the batters hammered it beyond left fi eld. Such is the mystery of baseball — which is to say the puzzle of life.

One day everything goes well, and you look up at a perfect blue sky and say, “Thank you, God.” The next, everything you touch breaks, it’s unbearably muggy and you wonder just how it is you ticked off God.

This is one of the many things my dad taught me through baseball. You’ll have your good days and bad.

You’ll win some and lose a lot. And no matter how good you are, someone will always be better.

This helps explain the extraordinary drama surrounding the recent perfect-yet-not game pitched by Armando Galarraga of the Detroit Tigers. Mysteriously, this sometimes good but never great pitcher couldn’t miss the strike zone that day. He was just one out away from doing something done only 20 times in baseball history: retire all 27 batters.

Then, umpire Jim Joyce called the very last batter safe at fi rst, and the crowd gasped. A veteran ump who had made the right calls for years made Galarraga’s perfect game a mere one-hitter with one wrong call. The imperfection lay not with Galarraga, but with Joyce.

But it the end, the whole thing turned out to be perfect, after all.

In his tearful apologies for getting it wrong, Joyce was a heartbreaking fi gure of repentance. In Galarraga’s gracious handshake with Joyce the next day, and his teammates’ gentle pats on his shoulder, we saw forgiveness at its best. “Hey, we all make mistakes,” they were saying. “We’re all human. Don’t beat yourself up over it.” It was a perfect picture of grace.

“There’s no crying in baseball!” Tom Hanks declared in “A League of Their Own.” He was wrong. Jim Joyce’s tears quieted the angry shouts of outraged fans and fuming pundits. And every time I watch “Field of Dreams,” and see the fi gure of Kevin Costner’s father return from the great beyond

in catcher’s gear, I think of my father as a young baseball player, and I weep.

My father is not perfect, nor are all the other fathers who will get their due recognition tomorrow. But they pass along precious mysteries to their sons and daughters, be it a curve ball, how to bait a hook or cook a delicious breakfast.

And though I will always admire my father as the man I would like to be, he will never let me beat myself up for my imperfections. He will put his hand on my shoulder and say, “Hey, we all make mistakes. We’re all human.”

And even though neither one of us can throw it any longer, the curve ball fl ies between us, hitting the mitt with a pop as sweet as love.


POWER HOUSEMINISTRY IS SPREAD ACROSS AREA

HONEY DADS, BASEBALL TEACH US GRACE TRUMPS IMPERFECTION

BY SUSAN HARRISON WOLFFIS

PRESS NEWS SERVICE

MUSKEGON — Throughout the growing season, something always is in bloom in Gilana’s Garden — a beautiful green space planted outside Temple B’Nai Israel in celebration of the life of the late Gilana Alp-ert, the oldest child of Rabbi Alan and Anna Alpert.

“We hope this garden will keep Gilana’s memory alive in a positive, uplifting way,” Alan Alpert says. “We want it to bring a peacefulness people might not fi nd otherwise.”

Gilana’s Garden is meant not just for the temple’s congrega-tion, he said, but for the com-munity at large.

“We want this place to give people the comfort Gilana would have if she were here,” Anna Alpert says.

Gilana Alpert died in 2007 at age 26, sending waves of

shock and grief throughout the Muskegon community.

A graduate of Mona Shores High School and Indiana Uni-versity, Gilana was working in Chicago when she died after a series of strokes caused by what doctors believe was a rare reaction to medication she was taking for chronically severe migraine headaches.

After her death, the people of Temple B’Nai Israel established

two funds in her memory: the Gilana Shira Alpert Fund at the Communi-ty Foundation for Muskegon County to pro-v i d e s c h o l -arships, and another to build Gilana’s Garden

in what once had been called the Sunken Garden at Temple B’Nai Israel, 391 W. Webster, in downtown Muskegon.

Led by Joni Rosen, a member of the congregation and a mas-ter gardener, volunteers from Temple B’Nai Israel started working in the garden in the spring of 2008, planting fl ow-ers of meaning, and adding

what Anna Alpert describes as “whimsical touches” of Gi-lana’s personality.

The garden was designed by Sig Zielinski of Wonder-land Nursery in Muskegon — and for two years, the people of Temple B’Nai Israel and he have been at work.

“It’s a very spiritual place,” Rosen says, “and very signifi -cant of Gilana’s life.”

At 4 p.m. June 27, the gar-den will be dedicated with people from the congregation and community there. Gilana’s younger sister and brother — Aleza, 26, and David, 25, will fl y in from Chicago and New York City, respectively, for the ceremony. Plaques will be un-veiled. So will a statue, kept secret from most eyes until the dedication, a gift to the Alperts from the congregation.

This much Anna Alpert will share ahead of time: The statue is emblazoned with the words “Freed ... she dances eternally.”

“That’s Gilana,” Anna Alpert says.

There are reminders of Gi-lana Alpert everywhere in her garden. A wind chime from Israel sounds from a tree. A

gargoyle she picked up at Notre Dame in Paris is hidden among the plants. And then there are the garden beetles on display, an inside joke because Gilana loved The Beatles so much.

At one end of the garden, there is a bench in the shape of a butterfl y, signifi cant be-cause Gilana once starred in the play, “I Thought I’d Never See Another Butterfl y,” about the children imprisoned dur-ing the Holocaust. Later, she and her mother co-directed a new group of students in the

same play.At the other end, there is a

garden pergola, another place of peace and rest.

“Look up,” Anna Alpert says. “It looks like you’re looking through tree branches.”

Every place one looks in Gi-lana’s Garden, something is in bloom. Everything has mean-ing, from a water fountain to the stone pathway to the trees whose leaves will turn blaze-

orange in the fall — signifi cant because Gilana’s hair was a dis-tinctive, brilliant red.

“We hope this brings joy to people the way she did,” Alan Alpert says.

That joy was found even in her name: Gilana Shira Alpert. In Hebrew, it means “Joyous Song.”

“That’s what this place is,” Anna Alpert says. “It’s about Gilana.”

PRESS NEWS SERVICE PHOTO/KENDRA STANLEY-MILLS

Whimsical touches: Rabbi Alan and Anna Alpert sit in Gilana’s Garden, a beautiful green space planted outside Muskegon’s Temple B’Nai Israel in celebration of the life of their oldest child, Gilana Alpert. Gilana died in 2007 at age 26.

Former Sunken Garden to be dedicated

Green space retooled in memory of rabbi’s deceased daughter

Gilana Alpert

RELIEF EFFORT REQUIRES A CHANGE IN OLD WAYS OF OPERATINGCONTINUED FROM C1

that rubble is so unstable it is not safe for people to return.

Ryskamp said relief efforts will involve reconstructing communities in safer layouts and with more durable materi-als. He hopes to see the Haitian people become less dependent on agriculture as a means of in-come and branch into tourism, taking advantage of Haiti’s lo-cation surrounded by water. In that way, he said, people would be less dependent on interna-tional aid and have a higher quality of life.

“We’ll really emphasize that this needs to be done by the Haitian people,” he said. “The goal shouldn’t be to build hous-es as quickly as possible, but

to build up the capacity of a community.”

For now, the CRWRC is ad-dressing the Haitians’ emo-tional needs through trauma response in the town of Leo-gane, located at the quake’s epicenter. Several community members are being trained as leaders to handle the emo-tional needs of friends and neighbors.

“People go through the he-roic cycle of ‘Oh, we can do it,’ then get on to the depression cycle,” Ryskamp said of the reality sinking into the minds of many.

“You see sort of a range of quiet acceptance and depres-sion, to a level of anger.”

The CRWRC also will focus

on partnerships with other agencies working in the re-gion to share goods and ac-complish a common purpose of long-term viability, some-thing the Haitians have never experienced.

Ryskamp is thankful for the support that has poured in to fund CRWRC’s Haiti relief ef-fort — more than $10 million. He also realizes the six-month point is when it becomes easier to let go. The quake becomes a memory, while the need re-mains a reality — especially when it comes to harder tasks such as helping reshape gov-ernment policy and methods for law and order.

“It’s going to take some time. We know what needs to

be done at a community level. We need to have some patience in the process.”


interdenominational

Rev. J.B. Stutts361-1701

1739 Providence, N.E.(Plainfield to Hunsburger to Providence)

10:30 AMMorning Worship

6:00 PM

Evening Worship

3728685-0

1

Wood Brook Cathedral

TraditionalWorship Services

Sunday June 20th

GUEST MINISTER:Rev. Tom Elenbaas

Fair Haven Ministries

MESSAGE:“The Father’s Heart”

MINISTRY IN MUSIC JOHN GOOTERS

3731291-01

3745867-01


SECTION

SATURDAY, AUGUST 28, 2010

WORLD RELIEF ACTIVIST SPEAKS TO CHURCHES ABOUT IMMIGRATION, C3


C

CHARLESHONEY

COLUMNIST

Obama’s religion: Why do we care?

Debate over whether he is Muslim or Christianis mostly about politics



HOWARD CITY — Thirty years ago, members of Pine Grove Community

Church conceived a way to ward off waning summertime attendance: pitch a tent. A real big tent.

It’s still working today.Church attendance for many con-

gregations ebbs as vacationers leave town. Pine Grove is an exception.

Morning worship services held un-der canvas from Memorial Day to La-bor Day swell the Christian Reformed Church-affi liated congregation’s at-tendance from a yearly average of 250 to around 800. The July 4 service brought in more than 1,800 people.

The church will mark its 30th an-niversary of hosting tent services at a 10 a.m. Sunday service . The tent — the

church’s third — is pitched adjacent to Pine Grove at 8775 E. 88th St. in Howard City.

Booklets recounting worshippers’

memories of the outdoor services will be distributed, and an ice cream social will follow the service.

From its inaugural service in 1981

that attracted 350 people, the outdoor services draws an infl ux of members and those who rent cottages near the church, said Pine Grove’s pastor, the Rev. Bill Vis.

But it takes more horsepower than a highly visible tent to keep the outdoor service fi res burning, Vis said. Pine Grove’s brass-heavy band, an array of guest ministers with an eclectic style of preaching, four evening confer-ences and the outdoor ambience see many of the same vacationers return-ing each summer.

SEE TENT, C2

IF YOU GO

Church under the big top

What: 30th anniversary of Pine Grove Community Church’s tent servicesWhen: 10 a.m. Sunday Where: Tent is adjacent to the church at 8775 E. 88th St. in Howard City.

I think it’s time for a photo op of President Obama praying in

church.Sure, it would be tacky, but since

when is that a reason not to put something on TV? If it would fi nally convince most Americans that their president is a Christian, it would be worth it.

But that wouldn’t necessarily prove it. Obama could secretly be praying to the Allah of Islam, not the God of Christianity. He could even be praying to the pagan god Baal for all we know.

Truly, there is no way to know what goes on in a person’s soul. A man could belong to a United Church of Christ for 20 years, as Obama did in Chicago, and use that as a cover for his true Muslim faith. In this age of conspiracy theory, anything is possible.

For that matter, how can we know for sure the true faith of any president? George W. Bush claimed he was a born-again United Methodist, but he could have been a closet Episcopalian, the church in which he was raised.

Obama, of course, has the added issue of Islam, which has something of an image problem. So does Obama, judging from a recent Pew poll that found 18 percent of Americans believe he is a Muslim — an increase from 11 percent who thought so last year. The number of

SEE HONEY, C2

PRESS PHOTOS/JON M. BROUWER

Summer attendees: Churchgoers sit under the tent at Pine Grove Community Church during a recent Sunday service. The idea to hold Pine Grove’s summer services under a tent was born in 1980.

Families welcome: Jessica Dozeman shares a moment with her 9-month-old daughter, Lucy, in the tent at Pine Grove Community Church in Howard City.

A TENT TRADITIONHOWARD CITY CHURCH CELEBRATES 30 YEARS OF OUTDOOR SERVICES

BY MORGAN JAREMA


HOLLAND — Brian Vander Hulst took a challenge from his pastor to see how much good he could squeeze out of $50.

The result: Dozens of volunteers from Bentheim Reformed Church in Hamilton helped grill hamburgers at an Aug. 20 cookout for more than 300 people served by Kandu Inc. at the organization’s annual summer picnic.

The lesson: It feels good to give, Vander Hulst said. And it tends to catch on.

The Rev. Larry Le-Poire, interim pastor at Bentheim, preached a sermon in June based on Matthew 25, a parable about three people who were given different

“talents,” — in this case, amounts of money — and told to invest it.

LePoire took the parable a step further and issued the congregation a similar challenge. Three $50 bills, money LePoire had earned offi ciatingat weddings, were handed out to three people who agreed to take his mes-sage to heart.

Vander Hulst knows about Kandu through his job as a bus driver for Macatawa Area Transportation, or MAX, used by Kandu workers.

Helping disabled workersKandu is a 57-year-old nonprofi t

Grand Haven organization that pro-vides light-industrial job training and coaching to about 1,200 people a year in West Michigan with barriers to em-ployment, such as physical or mental disabilities.

“I thought how they’re such a bless-ing to me, and I know how they talk for months about their picnics and Christmas parties,” he said. “They’re just so fun, so friendly, so happy.”

Vander Hulst is aware of the chal-lenges of those with disabilities. The 49-year-old married father of two adult children has two nephews who use wheelchairs: one with muscu-lar dystrophy and another who was

paralyzed in an auto accident.“One of the Kandu workers who

rides my bus told me (work) gives them a purpose for life, and that’s very true, because so many of them, that’s what they look forward to, getting up and going to work every day.”

Vander Hulst said he was impressed by how many people helped with the hamburger effort.

Fellow church member Mary Gibbs enlisted dozens of volunteers, and four businesses donated half the meat needed. Donations more than took care of the rest, he said.

“All of this is just building up a lot of

good, solid fellowship in the church,” LePoire said. “They’re having fun and coming together, and that’s exactly what I was hoping would happen.”

Besides Vander Hulst, one woman used her $50 to dish out ice cream at community events and asked for donations. A group of college-age congregants built an outhouse, which they drop off in other Bentheim mem-bers’ yards and charge a $10 fee to have removed.

Both plan to donate proceeds to the church, LePoire said.


Picnic comes from $50BY HEIDI FENTON


CALEDONIA — As Bonnie Ander-son prepared for her husband’s August homecoming from his deployment in Iraq, she considered several ways to mark the special occasion.

A surprise party at fi rst sounded like the perfect fi t. But then, Anderson thought about the many other families struggling with a loved one overseas. It didn’t seem right to honor just her husband.

As the director of groups at Corner-stone Church in Caledonia, Anderson began to look for ways to incorporate the larger community. What started as a small surprise party has turned into a huge celebration slated for Sunday.

“We understand a lot of military families have someone overseas right now, or have before, and we just wanted to understand and appreci-ate them and let them know Corner-stone cares about them,” said Tracy Bowers, director of outreach for the church. “We just thought it was a way to bless them.”

On Sunday, from 4-7 p.m., the church SEE MILITARY, C2

Church to host event

to honor service

members

PRESS PHOTO/KATY BATDORFF

Free food: Grand Haven-based Kandu Inc. employees eat a lunch provided by Brian Vander Hulst and volunteers from Bentheim Church.

Man uses seed money to offer free lunch as part of a churchwide challenge

Celebration is open to any military family

Brian Vander Hulst

C2 SATURDAY, AUGUST 28, 2010 THE GRAND RAPIDS PRESS

BY JIM LARKIN


HOLLAND — They call it “couch surfi ng” — going from one friend’s family couch to another to get a night’s sleep — and it’s no longer a novelty.

“The kids don’t ask each other where they live anymore,” said Steve Turrell, Cornerstone Youth Minis-tries’ director. “They ask each other where they stay.”

So Cornerstone Youth Ministries is taking a step toward addressing youth homelessness in the Holland area. It purchased a lot just north of its ministry on Central Avenue, had the house on it demolished and will offer supervised outdoor recreation use for children and youth on the vacant lot. It also will be offering a Homeless Youth Resource Center at its 407 Cen-tral Ave. location, addressing the basic needs of homeless children.

The center will be offering laun-dry services, meals and connecting homeless youth with safe, temporary housing and counseling. An $8,000 grant from the Holland/Zeeland Com-munity Foundation will help fi nance the services.

The center is part of a multi-pronged approach being taken by the Homeless Youth Committee of the Ottawa County Housing Coalition to address the rising issue of homeless youth.

“The committee felt strongly that this is an ideal location for a resource center,” Turrell said. “Because we are centrally located, it’s the perfect place to provide a fi rst contact with home-less youth.”

Other members of the committee, which includes churches and human service organizations, will be offering other service, such as counseling and temporary housing.

Barnabas Ministries, for examples, hopes to break ground on a homeless youth shelter in 2011. This fall, Arbor Circle and Webster House shelters will be recruiting Ottawa County fam-ilies who are interesting in providing temporary shelter for runaways and homeless youth.

“We’re really excited about the di-rection we’re moving,” said Lyn Ray-mond of the Ottawa County Housing Coalition.

Statistics indicate there is a growing need for homeless youth services. A recent survey by the Michigan State Housing Development Authority

indicated the number of homeless youth in Michigan jumped 22 per-cent in the last two years. In the West Michigan region, which includes Otta-wa, Allegan, Kent and fi ve other coun-ties, there were 2,847 children without stable housing at some point in 2009, according to the MSHDA survey.

Pinpointing the number in Holland is somewhat more diffi cult. The Hol-land Police Department reported that between 2007-09, it averaged 63 com-plaints about homeless youth fi led each year. And because youth tend to stay for short periods of time with friends and parents who will tempo-rarily help — thus the term “couch surfi ng” — fi nding and helping such a transient group is diffi cult.

“The need is not as visible as home-less young people being out on the street,” Turrell said. “Thankfully a lot

of people are helping by offering a bed or couch, but the reality is that is not an ideal situation for youth.”

So Turrell and others hope home-less youth make contact at the new Homeless Youth Resource Center within Cornerstone’s Youth Activity Center, where they can be referred to other agencies for help .

The Cornerstone Youth Activity Center is open 3:30-5 p.m. Monday through Friday, 6:30-8 p.m. Mondays and Wednesdays and 1-3 p.m. Satur-days during the school year. It offers a variety of indoor activities, such as pool and foosball. The new outdoor lot will provide space for wiffl eball, fl ag football and basketball.

For more information, go to cornerstoneyouthministries.org.


THE ARTSThe Hark-Up Horns will perform a concert, sponsored by Christ Memorial Church, at 7 p.m. Sunday at Kollen Park, at East 10th Street and VanRaalte Avenue in Holland. If it rains, the concert moves to the church, 595 Graafschap Road in Holland. Details: 616-796-3370 or www.christmemorial.org.

Jeremy Simpson performs 7:30 p.m. Sunday at Waterfront Stadium, 1 N. Harbor Drive in Grand Haven. An offering will be taken. Details: www.worshiponthewaterfront.org or 616-842-6600.

SPEAKERS/CLASSES“Transform Secular Life in Sacred Life,” a presentation by Swami Chidananda, starts 11:30 a.m. Sunday at Vivekananda Monastery & Retreat, 6723 122nd Ave. in Ganges. Details: 269-543-4545.

SPECIAL EVENTSTaize service starts 7 p.m. Wednesday at First United Methodist Church, 227 E. Fulton St. Details: www.grandrapidsfumc.org

or 451-2879.

3-on-3 basketball tournament, with male and female divisions for ages 9 and older, will be held 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sept. 4 at Grace for the Nations Church, 3333 Kraft Ave. SE in Cascade Township. To register: gftnc.org. Details: 974-9128.

Car show, including games and a garden tractor pull, runs 3-8 p.m. Sunday at Rosewood Reformed Church, 2795 Rosewood St. in Georgetown Township. Details: 669-6690.

The Faith Life calendar lists special events, guest speakers, visiting performers, seminars and recognitions. Please submit in writing: the type of event, time, date, place, other details and sponsoring organizations. Include contact phone number. Items must be received by noon Tuesday of the week you wish them to appear. Mail to: Faith Life calendar, Grand Rapids Press, 155 Michigan St. NW, Grand Rapids, MI 49503. E-mail to [email protected], or fax to 222-5409.

FAITH LIFE CALENDAR

CONTINUED FROM C1

those who think he’s a Christian has declined to 34 percent, while 43 percent just don’t know what he is.

For what it’s worth, I don’t think Obama is a Muslim. For one thing, he drinks Bud Light (remember the “beer summit”?) and Islam forbids alcohol. For another, Muslims are required to fast during this month of Ramadan. Do you really think he and Michelle have been letting their stomachs growl out there at Martha’s Vineyard?

It’s strange that people understand Obama’s religion less the longer he’s in offi ce. No matter how many times Obama says he’s a Christian — and his prayer pastors Joel Hunter and Kirbyjon Caldwell confi rm this — a lot of people just don’t believe it.

One reason could be that he and Michelle haven’t joined a church, says Corwin Smidt, director of the Paul B. Henry Institute for the Study of Christianity and Politics at Calvin College.

“That allows this (misconception) to linger a little longer than had been anticipated,” said Smidt, lead author of “The Disappearing God Gap? Religion in the 2008 Presidential Election.”

Not that lack of regular church-going hurt Ronald Reagan’s reputation with the religious right. But then Reagan was the Great Communicator, whereas Obama comes off as a law professor trying to sound like Joe Sixpack.

Maybe Obama just needs to wear his religion on his sleeve or crosses on his lapel. If he would work Matthew and Micah quotes into his economic policy speeches, more people would get the picture.

Surely this can’t be about religious prejudice. Americans believe in religious freedom and want their presidents to be of strong faith, right? Well, sort of.

A 2007 Pew survey found 45 percent of respondents would be less likely to vote for a Muslim candidate. Only atheists fared

worse.“Americans want their president

to be religious, but it does matter what kind of religion you are,” Smidt says.

It defi nitely matters to Franklin Graham, who has called Islam a “wicked” religion. While acknowledging the president’s claim of accepting Christ, Graham said Obama was “born a Muslim” because “the seed of Islam” came through his father.

Said father was an atheist by the time Barack came along, and left him and his mom when Obama was 2. If that was a seed, I’m a tree.

Certainly all this fuss can’t be because he’s our fi rst black president, because Americans believe all people are created equal and reject racism. So we can just take that one right off the table.

Could politics be the cause? It’s a shocking idea, but plausible. Or perhaps it’s a coincidence that 31 percent of Republicans think he’s a Muslim, compared to only 10 percent of Democrats.

“I don’t see any reason for arguing about this if politics wasn’t involved,” Smidt says.

Come to think of it, I don’t see any reason for arguing about this at all. As Colin Powell once said, so what if Obama were a Muslim? Why shouldn’t any Muslim kid in America dream of being president, or any Jewish or Buddhist kid?

We have better things to think about and better dreams ahead.


CONTINUED FROM C1

will open its doors for a free event to honor those with family or friends overseas, or who have experienced a deployment and want to share in a time of recognition and celebration. The church is at 1675 84th St. SE in Caledonia.

Several guests will speak, includ-ing Army Command Sgt. Major Jean-nie Holt-Hammond, state Sen. Mark Jansen and Jocelyn Green, author of the book “Faith Deployed.”

The church will offer free food, and those who attend may browse a vari-ety of educational booths.

Children may enjoy miniature horse rides, an exotic animal display and a

storyteller.Gift bags will be given to each mili-

tary family until they run out. A group of Patriot Guard Riders and a color guard unit out of Caledonia also will be present.

Planning for the event began in May and has expanded to include the in-put of the National Guard and several military support groups.

The church is collecting 12-inch-sized teddy bears and cards to be packaged and given away as gifts. Those bears can be brought to Sunday night’s event. For more information, contact Bowers at 698-3170, ext. 1011.


MILITARYGIFTS, FOOD WILL BE GIVEN AWAY

HONEYWHAT IS ALL THE FUSS ABOUT?

CONTINUED FROM C1

“We call them our tent member-ship,” Vis. said “We work very hard to be hospitable and treat them as hon-ored guests rather than a burden.”

Such a legacy may not ever have seen the light of day if not for Henry Geers and Clayton Brummel, Vis said.

Geers, his wife Gertrude, and others still were members of Grant Christian Reformed Church when they founded Pine Grove as a Sunday school in the early 1950s inside a one-room school at 104th Street, two miles south of Pine Grove’s present site.

Fast forward to 1980. Pine Grove still was holding services in the one-room school. Geers pitched the idea of launching tent services to Grant

CRC’s consistory. Pine Grove was under that church’s auspices at the time.

The council initially nixed the idea, recalled Geers, now 95.

“They didn’t feel Pine Grove was ready to start a tent service,” said Geers.

That’s when Clayton Brummel, the now-deceased owner of Brummel’s Home Furnishings in Wyoming, of-fered to use his tent.

That cleared the way for Pine Grove’s fi rst tent services in 1981, said Geers. “That opened a lot of doors,” he said.

Eventually, Pine Grove added a morning worship service and then made a series of expansions to the one-room schoolhouse before

constructing a new building in the early 1990s.


TENTSERVICES GOING STRONG FOR 30 YEARS

PRESS PHOTOS/JON M. BROUWER

Intro music: The Pine Grove Brass band plays as churchgoers fill the tent at Pine Grove Community Church during a recent service. Below right, the Rev. Bill Vis preaches.

BY THE NUMBERS

Homeless youth in Ottawa County

The 2009 Ottawa County Youth Assessment survey, which questioned about 2,300 eighth-, 10th- and 12th-graders in the county on a variety of subjects, revealed the following about homeless youth:

Of those reporting to be homeless, �19 percent indicated they had run away, 37 percent had been kicked out by their parents, and 8 percent indicated their family was without a place to stay. The remaining 36 percent reported other reasons.

The homeless youth were �predominantly male — 65 percent male and 35 percent female.Most of the homeless youths �(60 percent) were white, followed by 21 percent black and 19 percent Hispanic.A much higher percentage of �homeless youth than nonhomeless youth experience problems such as feeling unsafe (19 percent to 2 percent), being threatened (39 percent to 7 percent), having property damaged or stolen (68 percent to 26 percent), having been in a physical fight (75 percent to 25 percent) and attempted suicide (28 percent to 5 percent).

SOURCE: Ottawa County Housing Coalition

Cornerstone Youth Ministries to build Holland homeless center

PRESS PHOTO/MARK COPIER

Reaching out: Cornerstone Youth Ministries director Steve Turrell said the organization’s board has decided to build a homeless resource center in Holland that will include laundry services and meals.

Services to include connecting youths to counseling, housing

BY PATRICK CONDON

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

MINNEAPOLIS — A year to the week after the country’s largest Lu-theran denomination opened its ranks to noncelibate gay pastors, critics of the new policy are launching a brand new denomination.

Former members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America held a convention this week in Columbus, Ohio.

On Friday, the Lutheran Coalition for Renewal group was expected to launch the North American Lutheran Church. Its 18 charter members are Lutheran churches from around the country whose congregations voted to split from the ELCA over what pastors and members say is a clear break from scriptural teaching.

In all, 199 congregations have voted to leave the ELCA. Another 136 could leave if their congregations pass a second vote to do so.

New denomination rises from Lutherans’ discord over gays

“Americans want their president to be

religious, but it does matter what kind of

religion you are.”— Corwin Smidt, local scholar and author

GRP-CharleyHoney

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