fall 2002 transforming lives newsletter, gospel rescue ministries

8/8/2019 Fall 2002 Transforming Lives Newsletter, Gospel Rescue Ministries

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IIZZith a desire to express heanfeltlA/ appreciation to even moreorganizations that have parrnered ri'ithGR\l over man\- r-ears. GR\I helC rvoappreciarion baneuers rhrs vear ---one in\:iieinia at \f;Leen Bibie Church onOctober j and one in \farvland arInrmanuel's Church on Ocrob q tZ. At\lclean Bible, Senior Pastor LonSolomon provided words of welcome to

'arge group of friends and family of

GRM and encouraged the program menand women bv recounting hoiv God hadremoved drugs from his life u'hen hebecame a Christian. After a deliciousmeal. special recognirion and u'ords ofappreciation \\'ere expressed to three faith-rul parrners oi GRivl. First, CherrydaleBaptist \\'as recognized as a 50 year pluspartner of GRM. Then, Verizon was rec-ognized as a special corporate partner withrecent generous grants for GRM's Schoolof Tomorrori.. .{so. the \X/orld Bank[l:o:: \\'a-i re.ognized fbr irs "-\ Chance to"{,-';i program and irs ri'iilingness toemplor and train manv Gk\l graduaresover an extended period of time. Programreports were provided and several men andwomen gave powerful testimonies of howGod has changed their lives while atGRM. Special music was provided by

Brethren in Harmony, Ginger Griffin andthe men and women of GRivl.t Immanuel's Church, CecilBray, their Associate Pastor, pro-ided words of greeting and theopening prayer. Instrumental musicwas provided by Manna, a group head-ed by Derek Lloyd.

Several of the GRM men and womengave testinronies of how God haschansed their lives n'hile ar GRM. It\\'as a night of celebrarion and rejoicing.Immanuel's Church has been a faithfulpartner of GRM for several years andwe appreciated the opporrunin' ro usetheir facility for our first banquer inMaryland.\--A Time for Thanfts and a Time for Giving

he Thanksgiving season is a special time at Gospel Rescue Ministries as weplan to serve over 1,500 meals to homeless, hurting and hungrv men, womenand children at m'o special Thanksgiving celebrations. These meals willinclude turker'. ham. dressing. mashed poratoes and gran-. s\\-eer poraroes, r'egetables,rolls and all rhe trimmings. and. ot course. ri'har Thanksgiving feast u'ould be com-plete ri'irhout pumpkin pie. \\e rvant rhe.e events to be reminders of familvgather-ings in past \-ears .r'hen lo'ed ones gathered rogerher to give rhanks fbr good rela-tionships and other blessings of life. Most of all, we wanr ro express our rhanksgiv-Godtgog.{n99lr-q}grgy-qnd grace and for His provision of a new life in Jesus.

Our main Thanksgiving feast will take place on Saturday, Nov. 23 (noon to 4:00p.m.) ar rhe \ft. \'ernon Place Unired l\'{erhodist Church ac 9,h and Mass. Ave. N.Win \W'ashington, just a feu'block fiom GR\1. Besides a delicious hor meal, rhe men,women and children rvill be treated to special musical presentations and testimoniesof changed lives. Volunteers will sen'e the men and rvomen and rhere will be oppor-tuniry to share encouragement and Godt love rvith all of them. Each person will begiven a special booklet to take with them that will help them to understand andrespond to Godt love for them.

On Thanksgiving day, GRMt dining room at 810 5th Street N.\f. will be openfrom noon to 4:00 p.m. to serve another delicious hot meal to all who join with us.''s will be distributed in the neighborhood to invite the homeless and hurting.\ _ iere honored to have Lynne Cheney and her daughters with us lasr Thanksgiv-@to help serve and we look forward to a ,r.* gror'rp-of volunteers this year.

If you would like to assist financially, we esti-mate that we can serve one meal at a cost ofapproximately $1.75. This is possible sincemany food items are donated at Thanksgivingtime, but there are some food costs and otherexpenses associated with these evenrs. If youwould like to assist as a volunteer ar anv of theseevents, you can call GRM 202-842-1731 andask for Don Melvin, Gary Hines, or JohnJackson, Your gifts will help us serve the moret"5$ffi'mail3"thlt we expecr fo iirvii"between now and the end of the year.

MeaI TicketYes! | would like tohelp with:

MealsMealsMealsMeals

J0nD102050

100

$17.50$35.00$87.50$75.m

Meals@$1.75=Please see enclosed response card


2/8

September Grad.uation: A Springboard to the Futurev^^. n Sept. 7, 2002, one of the most exciting graduation ProgramsI I .lr.r ^held at GRM took place. Expecting a large turn-out, w\-1z arranged ro use the church auditorium of Corinthian. B?p_,ttjChurch, our nexr-door neighbor. It is good that we did since we had 140p."ft. ir, "tt.r,dance! Faniily memberi and friends of GRM joined.withifr. ptogram members to celebrate the graduation of two women and two-.rr. If was a time of good testimony and rejorcing as to what God hasdone and is continuin"g to do in the lives of our men and women.Everyone enjoyed a sp.clal lunch after the ceremony.and-we aPPr:ciate th,eChristian lo,re'sho*r, .o ,rs by Corinthian Baptist Church. Another grad-uation is planned for Monday, Dec. 2 and we invite our GRM Partnersand friend, ,o join with us for a time.of inspiration and encourasement'You will be thiilled to hear and see what God is doing in the hearts andlives of our graduates. Fulton House of Hope graduate ConstanceMcDade uith Director tudY Asbburn

It, Annual FannieMae rffialh for the Homeless\IIf e appreciate the support that we received at four church sPon-W ,orld mini-walkr ""i three mini-walks sPonsored by District ofColumbia Elementary Schools. Mini-walks were held at \\i'e BibleChurch, calvary united Methodist chr-rrcl'r, Chern'dalc Baptist churchand Gospel Rescue Ministries. People of all ages participated in theseevents, which included presentations by GRM staff and Program menabout the servic., offer.d at GRM to homeless and hurting people' Insome cases, GRM brought food and snacks to the church locations forall to enjoy and walks took place out into the communiry'At the ,.hool sponsored mini-walks, GRM provided hot dogs and oth-er food and drinks for all of the school children. GRM Program menand women told about their experiences at GRM and how they werebeing helped to overcome drug addiction and other problems leading tohomelessness

Wheatley Elementary Sc hoo l's Mini'\Valh

vou were not able to particr1Pare ln one of tne cnurcn sPosored mini-walks on behalfGospel Rescue Ministries, Yocan sdll participate by ioiningon the walk and other festivitiesfinthe National Mall on Saturday, November 2starting at 9:00 a.m. By registering as a walkfor GJspel Rescue Ministries and paying t,egistration fee of $ 15 for ages 25 and under$il fot ages over 25, you will receive a T-shand will help to raise funds for GRM.

Please call David George or John Jackson at2O2-842-173t for full details on participatingBob 'lVeich of Caluary United Methodistrallies the troops for their Mini-'lYalhand coohout.The \Yye Bible Church Mini-\Y'alh ontbe eastern shore taas tntly a familyaffair!

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3/8

Life: Kenny Davis'L;'- j "-'-^-&3ii:i f.f ello all, my name ist I Kennv Davis. I had beenJusing drugs for many years. I

had become so depressed that Iactually seriously consideredsuicide. My job and my lifeheld no meaning for me.Throu- in the molestation ofmr- sir vear old daushter and it\\'as roo much to belr. I decid-ed one dav to quit my job, gohome and end the misery by;_- -

myself.rLM Grad Kennv Da'l'is A;i ,xlTi';i:lt.1.TfiT?had not seen in over a year drove up. I tried to say hellorvithout giving any indication of my intentions or any out-ward sign of my depression. He instantly said "You're suici-dal". I-denied it. He in turn said "the Spirit of the Lorddoesnt lie". I just cried like a baby because I knew God hadflis hand over me. I surrendered to God that day.tl

-y way to Gospel Rescue Ministries and did mylbest to be the man that God wanted me to be. It has tru-ly changed my life. I now have a clear mind, the demonsare gone. I earned my G.E.D. at GRM's School ofTomorrow and am now looking forward to college. Thankyou Jesus and thank you G.R.M.!

,^C

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Clayton Scott, President Coordinator. AllJSM graduates are encouraged to stay connect-'';hrough the Alumni fusociation and to takeof incentives and services that areoffered to them as part of GRM s Aftercare

TLM\ CMs Ckrh d" Cbris lr.

1^l ne very important pan of the recovery process is the\-t restorarion of family relationships. All program menand women are encouraged to invite their family membersto join together on the first Thursday of every month foran evening of delicious food, laughter and fun and goodfellowship and interaction. These gatherings continue tobe one of the most popular events for our men andwomen. 'We appreciate the hard work of Gail Thompsonin organizing these dinners and programs and of JamesJones and his kitchen crew in preparing gourmet meals. fua part of recovery at GRM, we want to see men and womenreunited with spouses, children, parents, brothers and sis-ters and other family members.'We look forward to meet-ing many more family members at our monthly dinners.

G.R.M. Alumni Return God's Love to OtherstTt h. AlumniI Assoclation con-tinues to meet thethird Thursdav of eachmonth at ' GRM.Clayton Scott wasrecently electedPresident of theAssociation. FrankDeTorie continues rowork with the gradu-ates as Alumni

IIff e are thankful forYY an- active GRMAlumni Association andthe desire of many gradu-ates to "give back" toGRM and others in thecommunity. Recently,several of the alumni,headed by JohnPendleton, organized awork day with the SecondPhase men of T.L.M. at\Wheatley Elementary School. The alumni and program men wenrto the school with rakes, clippers, shovels and other tools andcleared a large plot of school-ground that had become overgrownwith weeds, vines, poison ivy, thorns and other debris. School offi-cials praised the effort. Thanks, men, for a job well done!

Phase 2 Volunteers with TLM Alumni


4/8

\/Christmas is Coming! =Several special Christmas .o.Xts at GRM.Eo. the men and women in our one-yearl'recovery program, we wanr Christmas to be aspecial time when they experience the love ofGod in a warm and caring environment. Forthose who will not be able to join with their fam-ilies on Christmas day, we wanr to provide a spe-cial family environment at GRM with beautifulChristmas decorations, a special Christmas ser-vice in the chapel along u'ith eifts and a deliciousChrisrmas meal. \\e also plan ro ha.'e a sle,:-:.1Christmas Eve service in the chapel at which rimewe will provide gifts of clothing to our Samaritanmen who receive overnight shelter. Above all, wewant men and women to celebrate the birth ofJesus, our Lord and Savior, in a personal way.

ne of the highlights each yearis our special toys, games andclothing give-awav to hun-dreds of children living in our sur-rounding neighborhoods. This eventis scheduled for Tiresday, December 17at GRM and is possible due to the gen-erous and tireless efforts of our long-time partners, Tom and Janice Smith.A ll year long, they gather thou-/f sands of items from store mer-I .lchants and other sources andbring them to GRM to make sure thatchildren from low-income neighbor-hoods will have a happy Christmas.Before the gifts are handed out, eachchild and their parents will receive apresentation of the true meaning ofChristmas and will be given someChristian literature to take with them.

Decorating at the fiilton House of Hop

Church & IndividuolToyDrives for Areo Youth v\;| s paft of our community service at Christmas time, weA plan to reach out to some of the neediest children whoI L attend \Theatley Elemen tary School in N.E.\Tashington, our partner for the FannieMae \7alk-for-the-Homeless and other events. \7e supplied food and gifts to someof the children in the schoolduring the past year and weplan to do this again just priorto Christmas. \7e involve ourprogram men and women inthese community outreachactivities so they can learn theimponance of not only receiv-ing Godt best for their lives butalso being used of God to serveothers. They enjoy it as much

Please Designate Gospel Rescue Ministries This Year!It's that time of year when )ou can designate Gospel Rescue Minisu'ies as recipient of a periodic pay-roll deduction or one-dme gift under the CFC programs of the federal government and United\faprogr.rms of the private sector corporations and other organizarions. Your help in this way *ill beappreciated. Plelse shar-e our number (#4919) and our ministry with your fellow workers. Thissimple act can be a Christmas present that will last throughout the year! Thank you very muchl


5/8

Y'artner Spotlighu Veri zonA long with out loyal base of individual financial support-A ers and faithful church partners, we are indebted to many

I I Fo,t.tdation and Corporate partners for their ongoingsupport and encouragement. One loyal partner over several yearshas been Verizon and the Verizor-r Foundation. Generous giftshave been received from Verizon,'Washington D.C. covering pro-gram expenses, and more recentlr', the Verizon Foundarion hasprovided sizable grants for GRM's School of Tomorrow. But thesupport goes much deeper than funding. Key Verizon executiveshave invited GRM program men and women to join with themat various events at the MCI Center and Camden Yards. Lasting-ftiendshipsrvitlilbm T.iukt, lr4arie Johns and Bill Roberrs, topVerizon executives in Washington and Baltimore. have beenestablished as part of these entertainment e\-ents. Thank i'ou,Verizon, for maliins a diflerence in rhe lives oi GR\I men andwomen. Church Partnerso o.GRIUI" Lift Blood

3.{e continue to thanh God for our faithfitl churcb partnns uho-mah" n commitntent to support GR-NI in a uaiety of taays,Cherndale Baptist ChurchFor over 50 r'ears, Cherrydale has pro-vided strong financial support, 'noi.ttt-reer sen'ices, large quantities of gifts-in-kind, chapel participation andmuch prayer support. This supportwas recognized at the recent McleanBible appreciation banquet and a spe-cial plaque has been presented to Cher-rydale commemorating this partner-ship.

National Presbyterian ChurchJohn Jaclaon and Judy fuhburn recently attend-ed a luncheon of rhe Business & Professional'W'omen's Guild of rhe NPC to present a pro-gram on "women's issues" in the recovery pro-gram at the Fulton House of Hope. Two of theFulton women gave testimonies of how theirlives had been changed while at the Fulton. The.Y/omen's Guild pledged their ongoing supportt- the woment ministry at the Fulton and thisLlSiritds on the .o.rtirrrri supporr that GRM hasreceived from NPC over the years.

WISH LISTAs we near the Thanksgiving andChristmas seasons. there are a number ofholidav related items that are on our wishlist. You can help by providing one ormore of the following items:o Socks, underwear

(all sizes for men)I Glowes, spa{Wg, hatsToiletry articles(men and u'omen)Metro passeso New toys, games andbooks for children

Sweatshirts, sweaters, shirts(all sizes for men)

Hecht Company gift ceftificates($25 or less)

OruEn Irnus oN oun'Wsu LrsrARE ES FOTTOTVS:Fax machine

plitt,, CutleryCarpet cleaning with cleaner and

suppliesHeavy dr'rry stapler andhole-punchSoap and Toothpaste

'W'e can also use volunteer help with touch-up painting and carpentry worh filing anddata entry in the accounting office, tutorsand instructors for our school, minor elec,trical and plumbing repair work.

Copier Paper


6/8

Welcome: Clay Gatewoodlayretha Gatewood, betterknown as Clay, recently joinedour staffas full-time Controller

of GRM. She had worked part-time inthe Finance Dept. for about fivemonths and we wish her well as sheassumes her new duties. Clay is a nativeof North Carolina and graduated fromBowie State College with a degree inBusiness Information Systems. She has

worked in the accounting and financial fields for a number ofyears and brings a wide range of background and experietrce tothis position. Clay also brings a great personalin' to CRII: \\iwant to thank Doris McNutt for her faithful and dedicated ser-vice as Controller for.the past year.

inger GriFfin, a native ofRichmond, VA and a currentresident in the'Washington, DC

area, recently joined the GRM Staff asthe Administrative Assistant to theDepury Executive Director (DonMelvin). Ginger has been serving asAdministrative fusistant for approxi-mately six months. Ginger has aBachelor's degree in Music from HowardUniversiry fWashington, DC). She wish-

es to further her education by pursuing amaster's degree, in the not so distant

future. Ginger loves to sing for the glory of God and she has lent hermusical gift to several evening GRM functions. fu a coloraturasoprano, Ginger's specialties are art songs, hvmns, and spirituals.Her favorite song is the hymn, "Great Is Thy Faithfirlness."

Staff Spotlight: Ginger Grffin Staff Spotlight: Donald Briscoe

M.O.V.E. Mighty Men of ValorUn the fourth Saturday of every monthfrom 8:30 to 10:30 a.m., the GRM pro-gram men meet in the chapel with menfrom our partner churches to establish lasting

friendships and to interact with men who wantto build into their lives and share love, compas-sion and new life in Jesus. This is a time of funand fellowship, including some good breakfastrefreshments. It also includes some one-on-oneinteraction for the purpose of establishing trustand mentoring opportunities. Many churcheshave been represented at these events and weencouraqe even more men to take one Saturdavmorning each month to be a friend to one ofour men.

onald F. Briscoe came towork with the School ofTomorrow (SOT) inFebruary 2002 as an administra-tive assistant. A graduate of SOTand the tansforming LivesMinistry (TLM), Donald receivedhis GED in early 2002. He has aheart of service and a gift ofadministration. Donald alsobrings a level of order and organi-zation. Since coming on board hehas streamlined several of theadministrative functions, der.eloped a wonderful rapporwith students, and served as a teachine aide. SOT igrateful For his contribLruo:r ::lC r,,!i. ierru.lrC ro ;t longterm relationship u'ith him.

Ginger Grffin

Community Food Outreach Throughout the CityRM continues to share its food surplus with familiesin our immediate communiry who are in need. Inpartnership with VAVA and Central Union Mission,

GRM participated rwice this year in the Feed the Children pro-gram where truckloads of food and other supplies are broughtinto'W'ashington, D.C. and distributed to needy families. Aspart of GRMI monthly communiry food bank program, GRMhas picked up and distributed a portion of the food and sup-plies off-loaded at Central Union. \We are committed to a con-tinuing communiry service program.

l.uit trNt\,tl{ttlili\l,;r t'\t I i:.\!r0\t\{ lI {hl,\. iJllll


7/8

A special concert was held on Sept. 6 at FourthA Presbyterian Church in Bethesda, Md. in memoryI I of Lisa Raines and others who died on September1 1. Pastor Rob Norris, Senior Pastor of Fourth Presbyterian,gave welcoming remarks and led in prayer. \7e are thankfulfor the wonderful support provided by this church overmany years. There were many touching video and musicalpresentations at the concert, including vocal performancesby Karrina Rae, Angela Knight, Brethren in Harmony,Claude Bennett and Janice Nairn, Ginger Griffin and theGR\1 Praise and \\brship Group. Instrumental perfor-mances were provided by the Washington SaxophoneQuarter, Dan Thomas and Donna Alexander. Also, the col-ors were presented by the Montgomery Counry FireOeparrrnerrrColor Gtard with a moving bagpipe presentation of Amazing Grace by RobertWallace. Lisas husband, Sreve Push, was present and gave some words of appreciation and

encouragemenr for the n'ork beine done at GRN{. It rvas a memorable evening and we plan tokeep Lisas nremon'alive at GR\1. Special kudos to N{an'Clark and Marjorie Bukema for their

Admiral Gallo Eaeryone sings "God Bless Ameica" Ckude


8/8

A Messagefrom Johh [acksonExecutiue Director+

@I+*Dear Friends and Faithful Supporters of GRM:

Dear Friends and Faithftrl Supporters of GRM:As we near the Thanksgivins season, we have much to be thankful for at Gospel Res-

cue Ministries. Manv faithful church and individual partners continue to hold us up inpraver and financial sirpport. \\'e ,rlso value highlv or-,ifour,dation and busin.r, prr,n.rr.'We are privileged ro pror ide Iiti-chaneing help to manv men and women.

-Just as God is not u'illing that,rnr.shoul.l perish,rnd rhat rll should conr- i11 r;i-ir-,-rance, we would like each man and woman at GRlvl to find new life in Jesus and to securepermanent freedom from drugs and other abuses. Yet, we realize that the results are inbod r hands and we are only .""ll.d to sow the seeds of God's truth and to be faithful andobedient in serving God.

A recent setback at GRM's Fulton House of Hope points up the fragile balanceberweer-r staying on the road to recovery and the obstacles that can cause temptation andrelapse. One of our firsr phase women at the Fulton, who entered the program on Sep-tember 7,left rhe house in mid-October and made some bad choices. She relapsed anddied on October 18 at the voung age of 26. The rveight of her past life was apparentlyvery hear.y.

Although grief and sadness have been experienced by all at GRM, there is reason torejoice because she made a decision to receive Jesus into her liFe shortly before she died.She had started attending the Corinthian Baptist Church, adjacent to GRM, andresponded to an invitation to accept Christ. On October 6, she was baptized. I sharedthese decisions with her mother at a funeral service, and tears filled her mother's eyes aswe hugged.

\We had a beautiFul memorial service at Corinthian Church. The Fulton women wereencouraged to draw on Godt grace to help them through this tragedy and to experienceGodt blessing For their lives. I reminded those gathered that God has promised, to thosewho believe, a new heaven where He will wipe away every tear fronr our e\-es, s'irh r-romore death, mourning, crying or pain. This is the great hope of the believer.

Despite the periodic heartache and pain, we will continue to faithfully serve the menand women brought to us by God. Ve will seek the increase that God has promised.Although there are relapses from time to time, there are many more who turn their backson drugs and become new creatures in Christ.As we welcome a new group of men and women in our

recovery programs in early December and serve many othersduring the Thanksgiving and Christmas seasons, please keepus in your prayers and, as God leads you, we welcome yourfinancial support and volunteer help.

Gospnr REscu MnusrrunsofWahingnn, D.C.810 5ru Srnrer, N.W . VasHrNGToN, D.C.20001

(202) 842-1731 , (202) 898-028i (FAX)vrx.\i.ctu\t.oRc . olntcfoR@cR\.t.oRc

Volume 3, Issue 4 -FaLl2002Executive DirectorJohn Jackson

Board ofTiusteesDavid Van Duzer (Ch a i rm a n)Jane Bond William HarperJohnJackson Albert ManolaRudolph Pruden Charles Robinson

Donald Melvin

Deputy Executive DirectoL l Don Melvin

$,fllcAt coUN?-fECFHE="rrffi

Al LawrenceClaude BennettMA'40)l

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t|1 In His Service.fuL- /^.16"-,///

fall 2002 transforming lives newsletter, gospel rescue ministries

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