Wednesday was a busy day. We met with a series of people involved in the revitalization of Chattanooga. We lunched with a group of pastors who work to improve their city. We also met with the presidents of two large foundations who have been steering change in Chattanooga for decades. The reason for these meetings: to learn about coalition-building. A critical part of starting and maintaining a vital social-service ministry is being part of a larger group that shares the same vision.
Here at the Saint Andrews Center, Rev. Mike Feely has done just that. He has forged partnerships with all kinds of local agencies, churches, foundations, etc... to do the work that the SAC is doing. It's pretty impressive.
We dined at a local United Methodist Church that holds a Wednesday night supper and Bible study for the area's homeless population. There were about fifty homeless folks along with the eight seminarians enjoying a wonderful chicken dinner. I passed the night with my neighbors talking about the upcoming LSU/Notre Dame match-up in the Sugar Bowl (LSU pounded the Irish, it turned out). After eating we had a quick Bible study, working through a few verses of Philippians. The whole evening was wonderful.
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