You’ve no doubt seen local coverage of the recent death of the civil rights hero, the Rev. Fred Shuttlesworth. He was a great man, and a great Christian, worthy of honor.

But ultimately, the greatest honor we can pay Rev. Shuttlesworth is to continue his effort to “be the church” so that we might “save the world.”

Perhaps you think that saving the world is a daunting goal. Rev. Shuttlesworth’s mission was to serve God. To preach the gospel, to heal, and to relieve the poor. And he reminded us that this should be our mission as well.

"All" that Rev. Shuttlesworth did was to follow God’s call to serve. We can do that, you and I. In fact, at Urban Ministry, we already do this every day, thanks to the support of people like you.

• We follow God’s call every time we offer after-school tutoring, summer day camp, and other enrichment activities to West End youth through our Urban Kids program.
• We see Jesus in the faces of those we serve in the Community Kitchen every Monday through Friday, when we offer them a hot noon meal, or when we meet the needs of others with emergency assistance or a box of food through Emergency Care and the Food Pantry.

For the people we help through these programs, we are helping to save their world. And one by one, we are making a difference in the world beyond.

The support of generous donors over the years has enabled us to continue growing our programs in the face of the growing need in our community.

But the need continues to grow. Recent census data shows that 40% of people in our community live in poverty. We do not ask for your help to buy fancy furniture for our offices or for raises for our staff, as hard-working as they may be. We seek money for those who are truly counted as the least of these.

People are hurting.

Despite the pain and desperation we see daily, good news still carries the day. God sent Jesus to walk among us as a living, breathing example of God’s perfect love. It is a love so great that once we’re touched by it, we’re called to share that love with others.

• I see our supporters and those we serve living out that good news every day. 
• I see it in the volunteers who come to work and to serve with us.
• I see it in the financial support that continues to arrive in the mail. 
• I see it in the youth from Family Court who are assigned to do community service by working in WE Community Gardens.

I see it in you, and in the support you give to us.

I’m asking you to make a financial contribution now so that together, we can continue to serve, to relieve the poor, to change the lives of those who come through our doors, and to change the world, one person, one family, at a time.

Times are hard, and this has been a hard year for us to raise the necessary funds to support our programs and the people we serve.  I hope you will consider making a year-end contribution and help us reach our goal of $250,000 by December 31.  This is an ambitious goal, but it’s absolutely necessary in order for us to meet our budget and help those in need. 

Your support makes our ministry possible.

The Rev. Fred Shuttlesworth answered God’s call to serve, and the world is a better place for us all. You can make a difference in the world of someone who is hurting, hungry, and feeling alone.

Please give prayerful consideration to our request.

Yours in Christ,

Melissa