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Fair Trade Coffee,
Tea & Cocoa
Within
a few miles of Christ Church, in the Pigtown / Washington
Village neighborhood of Southwest Baltimore, Paul's Place
is an outreach center that feeds and clothes the poor each
day. According to the 2000 US Census, this neighborhood has
the 7th highest concentration of urban poverty in the United
States. 
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A GOOD AND FAITHFUL SERVANT As I write this article, our Deputy Director, Eileen Foreman is at Gilchrist Center for Hospice Care dying. I often share stories with you about the women we serve. Today I would like to share Eileen’s story, a story about a woman that has been at the core of our ministry for homeless women and children. I first met Eileen when I was teaching at Notre Dame College. The youngest of seven children, she went to work at Verizon right after high school and went to college later in life. In one of those classes, we were struggling with understanding a model about marriage from a Christian perspective. Eileen explained it clearly, “Well since you have a relationship with Jesus, you know that God has you and will take care of you. So you are free to pray for and focus on your spouse’s needs.” I never forgot those words. They give you an indication of the depth of her faith and trust in God. About four years ago, Eileen had retired from Verizon and as we were having dinner together, I told her I felt that God was calling her to the ministry that I was doing with homeless families. I needed a strong African-American woman to start a jobs program, and I asked her to pray about it. She helped me write the Weinberg Grant and came here to work in March 2005. Our strategic planning process was in progress and I really felt that we should take over the management of the shelter, that we could improve it. So Eileen worked tirelessly with me, interviewing and hiring staff, writing a personnel manual, obtaining employee benefits that were affordable so our employees would have health care and a pension system. Eileen was very skilled in training our staff, many of whom are former shelter residents. She always wore a suit to work every day and was very reserved and could be very intimidating. She held staff and clients accountable for their behavior. I can still remember her looking at residents sternly and saying, “What were you thinking?” We would often meet before or after she had to deal with someone she should put out of the shelter. She always said she was working on having more compassion or she was working from a grace model—so many people got a second chance and often they made good use of it. As we shared stories, we often laughed and she would say, “You just could not make this stuff up.” Underneath that reserved exterior was a woman who cared deeply and struggled with making the best decision for our residents and staff. She helped many of our women with resume writing, taught them how to interview and helped them find jobs. She obtained the GED software and stared our GED classes. On December 15, 2007 she was here for our seventh culinary arts graduation and that was the last day she worked. As I visited her through these last six months, she always hoped she would be able to come back and work some more. She often said, “I miss the work we do.” I miss sharing this work with her and I will always be grateful for the foundation she provided for BOS and the many lives she touched. Now one of our former shelter residents, Carla, someone Eileen mentored and trained is the new shelter director. She has many skills and she continues to learn. She shares the same compassion that Eileen had for our residents as well as her demand for accountability of their behavior. In contemporary worship, we sing the song, “Blessed is the name of the Lord. He gives and takes away and I rest in the Lord.” Right now Eileen is dying and our Development Director, Lisa Ghinger, is recovering from open heart surgery. In the middle of the chaos is a supportive and loving family, church staff and members. I have learned from Eileen that God has me and we must keep working to provide for the forty people living in our basement that have no home, as well as the next group that need to be served. Today, I received the estimates from the contractor for our transitional housing project. Phase I will provide three units of housing—three families will have a new home, a new beginning. We have raised $100,000 to purchase the homes and last month we received the deed for the first property, which will provide two units of housing. In July we will purchase the second home. We need $230,000 to renovate the homes. Every July I ask that each church family give, as you are able, to hope us reach that goal. If you are a Thrivent member, please fill in the matching gift form. Please give in the memory of Eileen, who has been a good and faithful servant. ~Karen Adkins, Director of Social Ministry [Eileen died last week. Our deepest sympathy and our prayers are with her family.] |
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701
South Charles St., Baltimore, MD 21230
Church Office: 410-752-7179 Fax: 410-752-7881 |