I recently celebrated the one-year birthday of my youngest child and first daughter. She shares her birthday with her cousin (one year apart).
Jesus also shares a proximate birthdate with his cousin! Before the Immaculate Conception of Mary, there was another angel, and another pronouncement — to Zechariah. In Luke 1, Zechariah is randomly chosen to serve in the temple. During his service, he is visited by an angel who proclaims an upcoming pregnancy through Zechariah and Elizabeth — John (the Baptist), Jesus’ cousin.
Zechariah had all the credentials to receive this announcement. He was a priest, he lived a good and right life, he came from a good family …
But Zechariah couldn’t receive the message. He doubted, he questioned — and for the next nine months, he (miraculously) couldn’t speak, which may have actually helped him throughout the duration of the pregnancy.
Mary receives a similar pronouncement, but she responds in faith: “May it be as you have said.”
It is Elizabeth and Mary who are the heroes of Luke 1. Mary is faithful, where Zechariah is doubtful. While pregnant together, Mary and Elizabeth worship — their very bodies celebrating a coming hope; Zechariah is on mute. Mary declares the Magnificat, and, eventually, Zechariah’s voice is returned (after his son is born), and he also praises God.
So what can we reflect on from this pre-Christmas story?
- As a male leader, I read Luke 1 and reflect on the deep value of listening to and learning from women. Sometimes, like Zechariah, I just need to stop talking and listen for a season!
- We are reminded that the divine comes from unlikely places — it was the low-income, working-class family of Mary and Joseph that gave birth to Jesus, not the more traditional option of Zechariah and Elizabeth. Serving with South Street Ministries reminds me of this regularly: God often moves in the places and people where we least expect the divine!
- Northeast Ohio has one of the highest rates of infant mortality among black infants. The City of Akron and Summit County Public Health have celebrated full-term first birthdays (and other initiatives) to help foster maternal health. Through Restoration House and Reentry meetings, South Street has supported more and more female participants. The simple lessons learned and leadership exhibited by Mary and Elizabeth from Luke 1 help inform and direct our theology of service, empowerment, and leadership at South Street.
As you celebrate Christmas this season and the birth of Jesus, remember the women who celebrated first. Remember the many families in need and in hardship in and around Akron. And remember that God moves and ministers in the people and places we often overlook.
Merry Christmas!
As we approach the end of one year and the beginning of another, our team took time to make a Top Ten List of things we’re grateful for and things we’re celebrating together with partners like you!
In no particular order:
- Youth staff cohesion and the addition of Kenzie this year for RICH Kids — as well as new experiences and field trips with the kids.
- Luch providing 74 beds and lots of shoes for youth in need.
- New experiences with Bike Shop, new partnerships, new trips — like going to the Blue Door with the Bike Shop kids!
- Celebrating our board — thankful for Hilary’s term and Steve stepping on.
- Reentry — Monica and Jeremy choosing to be in leadership positions after just a short time of being Reentry participants; through Jeremy, we now have connections and can better equip and empower addiction recovery.
- Discipleship House Year One is done! Growth, and integration of the ministry into the community, like our year one fellow, Carol, moving into the neighborhood.
- Striving toward team growth, wellness, wholeness, and unity — in staff meetings, trainings, programs, sabbaticals, and more.
- Restoration House being able to serve and empower women.
- South Akron and Summit Lake engagement through projects like Morgan Park; Akron Parks Collaborative bringing beauty and nature to our kids; and even new and safer steps leading up to our building.
- Open Gym youth maturing and stepping up to lead! And speaking of leaders — our incredible volunteers!
Thank you for journeying with South Street and alongside the neighbors we’re privileged to serve!
South Street Ministries is excited about expanding our Bike Shop program through our Small Things with Great Love initiative.
As a valued partner in our community- and Kingdom-minded outreaches like this one, we invite you to make a difference yourself through small acts of great love.
Your year-end donation to South Street — by cash, check, or credit card; through your Donor Advised Fund; with a distribution from your IRA; or with a gift of appreciated securities — will connect more children and families in South Akron and Summit Lake to Christ’s great love!
As we close 2023, we are laboring to raise the final $100,000 of support to empower the South Street team in ministry and community impact — as well as to empower the women and men of the South Street team in pay-equity and just wages!
Please prayerfully consider a gift to South Street Ministries to empower our work going forward.
Don’t hesitate to contact your financial advisor — or Joe Tucker at joe@southstreetministries.org — if you have any interest in any of the strategic giving options mentioned here. Thank you for your prayers, your partnership, and your generosity!
South Street means different things to different people — but it’s all under the umbrella of living out God’s love for the sake of our communities. We are in close proximity to the children and families involved in our programs, but also close in that we are available when they need us.
We love hearing from our neighbors, and we know you will too.
As we celebrate this year of loving through reconciliation, connection, and growth, we wanted to share some of the text exchanges we’ve had with our youth and Reentry neighbors.
A recent book called The Scarcity Brain talks about how gambling focuses our minds: “An action needs a clear risk associated with a potential reward to be a gamble. A predictable reward without risk leads to boredom. Uncertainty and unpredictability are critical to hold the gambler’s attention. As the slot machine’s spinning wheels slow and eventually stop, awareness is sharpened to a single point, ‘Did I win or lose?’ Even a near miss is exciting.”
Twenty-seven years ago, Lisa and I took a gamble. We called it “acting in faith” to move into the high-crime, poverty-ridden Summit Lake neighborhood with our four young children. It was an act of faith … and foolishness. Foolishness because we could be wrong. We took following Jesus seriously enough in 1997 to believe we were led to make this risky decision. But who really knew?
The uncertainty of our decision made us pay attention to our lives in new ways. How do you acknowledge drug-dealing youth feet away from your car without indicating you are a customer? How did we raise our kids as minorities? What do we teach them about race and how early? How did we own our middle-class norms in a neighborhood that was transient and harsh? What middle-class values did we learn to hold lightly, like being ruled by the clock or being polite and proper rather than real and honest?
Being minorities and middle class in a neighborhood ruled by poverty was a gamble that had us paying attention to our lives in new ways.
“We saw through a glass darkly,” as the Apostle Paul said. Our very real battle between doubt and faith kept us paying attention … seeking first the Kingdom of God, knocking and asking, praying and listening, walking by faith and not by sight. All these are great biblical metaphors that are lived into awkwardly.
Can Jesus be trusted to protect and guide us in the real world? What were the odds that living in a drug-saturated, high-crime, violent neighborhood was going to catch up to us or our kids? Should we put a fence around our yard to reduce all the foot traffic or let our well-lit backyard continue to be the cut-through for our neighbors on Bachtel? What would Jesus have us do?
If God is not guiding us, our decision could be costly. And if something tragic happened to us that did not mean God was still not leading us. Although that would have been a bitter pill to swallow. Many faithful people have lost children to tragedy. True faith is costly. Something must be at stake for faith to be truly transformative.
This ministry transformed us and our children. Lisa and I never dreamed that South Street Ministries would become what it has become. Under Joe’s faithful stewardship, it has become so much more than we could have imagined. Donovan, LaMarr, Shawn, Monica, Jeremy, and Riley are making Reentry work for thousands of returning citizens … Chris, with his love of biking, has the Bike Shop growing and blessing hundreds … Bob, Kenzie, Riley, Chris, and the volunteers make after-school a joy for dozens of neighborhood kids … David, Terri, and over 30 young adults’ lives have been changed through living as disciples of Jesus for at least a year at the Long Street house … Toni Code, who came through the ministry 17 years ago, now has the women’s house serving vulnerable women and children every day.
If we had it to do all over again, we would bet it all on South Street Ministries. Your donation toward our outreaches is still an act of faith, and you will not regret taking a risk to bet on this amazing group of people who are taking shared risks to renew our community for the sake of Christ!
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!