Bike Shop has been running for over 20 years now, but we have never had a dedicated staff member to coordinate, serve, and develop the program — until now!
Chris Usner recently joined the South Street team as Bike Shop Director. After volunteering with his family at the Bike Shop and stepping into the South Street community, Chris is taking on the exciting opportunities of coordinating trail rides, developing a cohort of young bike mechanics, and expanding Bike Shop’s offerings to adults and the Reentry community, and more!
Chris shares his passion for bikes, and for Christ, here:
British actor and comedian Michael Palin once said, “One of the most important days of my life was when I learned to ride a bicycle.”
For myself, there couldn’t be any statement more factual.
From the moment I laid eyes on my first bicycle, it represented freedom, independence, and a means of self-measure. Fall? Get up. Can’t make it up a hill? Scribe the curb where you began walking and try again until you can. Triumph, resilience, and heartbreak are just some of the words I would use to describe my relationship with cycling.
That being said, I firmly believe that all of life’s greatest and most necessary lessons can be taught and learned from the saddle and two wheels of a bicycle.
For instance, look at an ordinary bicycle wheel and what it can teach us. A bicycle wheel consists of three main components: the rim, the spokes, and the hub.
The rim is circular in shape. No matter how big or small the circle; it starts and ends in the same place.
The spokes are thin metal rods that connect the rim and the hub. Their main purpose is to transfer the loads between the hub and rim — which is accomplished through tension. Under-tensioning or over-tensioning any one given spoke will result in a bent rim. And if you have a bent rim on your bicycle, you will experience a slight or significant wobble when riding.
And finally, the hub. The hub is at the CENTER of it all and is what allows the wheel to freely spin.
Like the rim, each and every one of our lives starts and ends in the same place — with our birth and our passing. Like the spokes, each and every one of our lives consists of multiple events, triumphs, heartbreaks, responsibilities, traumas, addictions, and uncertainties. Ideally, we are able to keep these tensions balanced. But when one tension becomes too great, like a bent rim, we experience a wobble. Depending on the severity of the tension in our life, the wobble may be slight or significant.
However, there is hope … because, like the hub, Christ is at the CENTER of it all — holding it all together for each and every one of us, allowing us to freely choose to be better tomorrow.
Your support for Bike Shop keeps us reaching out to the community and making connections that matter. Thank you!
The RICH Kids site at the Front Porch Fellowship during the first quarter of this year was refreshed with new bathrooms, new carpet, and a few new doors!
This was a much-needed upgrade to our site, and South Street Ministries is happy to partner with the church site to see these renovations turned into reality.
Here’s what our team, volunteers, and youth think about the new space:
- Kenzie, a volunteer, says, “It was a great reset for the kids to have a fresh place to be in! We have a reading corner now that we use every day to read with our K-2 kids!”
- Titynn, a fifth grader, says, “I like the new doors. We get to have the kids area just to ourselves!”
- Youth Director Bob remarks, “I appreciate that the Front Porch Fellowship site is becoming a safer and more welcoming place for our kids. The improvements are changing the atmosphere of the RICH Kids program!”
- Fourth-grader Zaria told us, “The bathroom is a lot bigger than last time, and they fixed the floor! I also like the new, blue carpet.”
For South Street’s youth ministries, renovating the RICH Kids space has been a priority for some time. We are deeply grateful you help make it possible. In fact, another of our 2023 goals is to increase our recurring monthly donations to better and fully compensate and empower the youth staff! This team works day-in and day-out transporting kids, reading with kids, doing homework help with kids, mentoring and discipling kids, and having fun with kids!
Consider becoming a Bridge Builder (monthly giver) with South Street Ministries to refresh the daily work of the South Street team and empower ministry in our community. Thank you for your generosity!
Thanks to the help of many hands onsite — and your faithful partnership and support — we are getting close to finishing Restoration House! While we have experienced delays with this project due to supply chain issues, limited lead-approved local contractors, and more, we are excited to have our flooring arrive, and soon our licensed lead contractor will be able to install it.
As you know, Restoration House will offer emergency and transitional housing for up to seven justice-involved women at a time who are housing-insecure and would benefit from supplementary support in their Reentry-and-Restoration journey.
The house will have a first-floor bedroom — for the House Manager who will oversee the home. Three bedrooms and a common room with a kitchen are on the second floor — all for women who stay in the home. One larger bedroom will be reserved to primarily serve mothers with children. The basement-level will operate as a drop-in center offering services like shower, laundry, and case management assistance — linking clients to other resources. The House Manager, Reentry Services case managers, and volunteers will provide residents with additional supportive programming.
As we near the completion of this special space, South Street wants to take the opportunity to express our sincere appreciation for every dollar and every volunteer hour donated to get us this far.
Your continued generosity will help us cross the finish line.
Click below for how you can help get what’s next on our list!
Amazon Wish List: https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/LZT0CHVL834I/ref=hz_ls_biz_ex
Or Walmart Purchases:
https://www.walmart.com/lists/shared/WL/fd99bb03-ea44-4d9a-8559-e435a8a682ad
May God bless you for investing in this Kingdom work for the sake of others!
We love those who serve with South Street Ministries!
We’re reflecting this month on your dedication and service … but we thank God for you every month of the year!
Shawn Bonner is South Street’s Ministries Director of Community Engagement and Service. Some recent volunteers engaged in service have been five men from the weekly Reentry program who help regularly at The Front Porch.
This core group of justice-involved individuals has been instrumental in helping further the renovation projects at 801 Grant St. (Restoration House), transforming the basement of The Front Porch into a secondary site for Bike Shop, and serving the local community through various projects.
In a two-month span of time these five have been with us, they have adopted the culture and value of South Street Ministries in giving back to the community. For Shawn, this is another “invisible paycheck” received as we enact ministry!
When asked their reflections on serving with South Street, the group responded:
“We love this place!” and “Volunteering here showed me how to walk with my head up.”
“They’re also learning accountability, responsibility, and new-found respect for themselves,” Shawn affirms. It’s beautiful and important that Reentry participants are themselves stepping toward community engagement — getting beyond their own journeys and serving the needs and opportunities of the community!
This spring and summer, there are lots of ways to get involved and serve regularly with South Street Ministries:
BIKE SHOP:
—Monday & Wednesday evenings from 6 to 8 starting May 1st at 130 W. South St.
—Sunday morning trail rides at 10
—Tuesdays at the Summit Lake Farmers Market from 4 pm to 7 pm beginning in June
Email Chris Usner at chris@southstreetministries.org to learn more and get involved!
RICH Kids — Monday through Thursday from 1 to 4 beginning June 20.
Email Riley Alchier at riley@southstreetministries.org to learn more and get involved!
Your prayerful support of South Street Ministries makes caring, compassionate Kingdom work possible.
It is your generous giving that keeps us walking alongside children, families, and neighbors who need hope. Together, we’re making an impact alongside you to renew our community for the sake of Jesus Christ.
Thank you, and God bless you!