Brent House » Thanks

Letter signing party

Stacy — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 17:12:41 +0000

Thanks to all those who signed and folded and stuffed on Monday. We had a great time!

Thanks from the Alan-Salinas family

Stacy — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 17:09:37 +0000

We are so grateful for the love and support we received upon the death of Casey, our canine ministers. Casey was a faithful, loving member of our community (even if she did steal food from untended plates), providing unconditional affection to all who wished to receive it. Her last day was spent as a dog should: outside (at our Labyrinth), surrounded by people who loved her and fed her whatever she wanted. Thanks to all who made this hard time very holy.

Thanks to our House Managers

Stacy — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 16:42:15 +0000

Ongoing thanks to our house managers, Mike and Yvana Mols and Lindsay Little, who faithfully keep the house clean and tidy, attend to drop-in and overnight guests, and are active members of our resident community. In a time of major transitions in our ministry programs, resident life and infrastructure, they have been patient, forward-thinking and hard-working. The chaplain is most grateful.

Mosaic Thanks

Stacy — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 16:35:09 +0000

Many thanks to all who helped to make last week’s Mosaic service such a success, particularly the planning team – David Newheiser, Alda Balthrop-Lewis, Sylvia Clark, Barnaby Reidel, Jeff Fowler, Margaret Farris, and Laura Eberly – and all who attended!

Musical thanks

Stacy — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 04:23:05 +0000

We want to thank Hannah Radner for her faithful and thoughtful work choosing hymns and playing for our Sunday services. We also want to thank, slightly in advance, Sarah Staudt, for gathering and directing the pick-up choir for tomorrow’s Evensong. She’ll also be officiating.

Strategic Thanks

Stacy — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 04:56:12 +0000

We are profoundly grateful to Deb Hagman Shannon for all that she’s done guiding us through our strategic planning process. Deb has generously given hours of her time, skillfully facilitated meetings, and thoughtfully shared her wisdom. We are close to having newly crafted mission and vision statements that reflect what we believe God is calling us to do and to be. None of this would be possible without Deb’s initiative and guidance!

Thanks to St. Gregory’s, Deerfield

Stacy — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 04:47:38 +0000

We are so grateful for the generous grant we received from St. Gregory’s, Deerfield to support our new administrative assistant. She has already proven to be worth her weight in gold! Here’s how Stacy described it to the Missions Board:

Jacqueline (Jack) Clark, our work-study intern whom you are funding through your grant, has been doing marvelous work with us. In a ministry with a highly transitional congregation― university students!― having good, easily maintained information systems is crucial. This may seem hard to connect with the work of proclaiming the Good News and sharing God’s love, but consider these ways she has already made a difference:

A new student wants to get involved. By getting his/her information set up well right away, we can track that student through his/her career at the University of Chicago and be able to stay in touch with that alumnus/a after graduation, encouraging that person’s support financially, as a member of our board, or as an advocate for these sorts of ministries. Jack has gone through our donor database, which is substantial but had been inconsistently maintained over the years, cleaned it up by tracking down missing names and information, and is coordinating information between the various online data and communication systems we use.
If we want to apply for a grant that allows us to broaden and deepen our ministry on campus, having a good overview of what information we have on file is essential. It allows us to gather the appropriate resources to show our previous work on such an issue, its prior success (or failure), who was involved and the continuity between past, present and future. Jack has gone through all of our files, reorganized them, and developed a list of what is there― and what isn’t, so we can track it down and include it.
A ministry like ours relies on donations and its tax-exempt status to keep costs low and to be able to keep the majority of its resources focused on the students and their programming. Soliciting in-kind donations and tracking the tax-exempt procedures for vendors is a time-consuming process and not the best use of the chaplain’s time. Jacqueline has already managed to procure a donated computer, replacing a machine that more than 10 years old and inadequate for our needs.
Most important, at a time when non-profits and congregations are facing financial uncertainty, having Jack allows the chaplain to be more present and effective with the students, which is the main thing, and to move the chaplaincy forward in our development and fundraising efforts, which will make us more stable for the future.

Work Day Thanks

Stacy — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 04:32:43 +0000

Thanks to all who helped on our work day today: Alda, Rafael, Krista, Olivia, Cate and Cio. We accomplished a lot! Our wireless system is now fully operational throughout the house (and more secure), the sacristy is clean, the downstairs fridge is no longer full of science experiments, the stove is cleaner and the chapel’s been refreshed.