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Threshold Ministry of Decatur Presbyterian Church

Threshold Ministry of Decatur Presbyterian Church. “Am I my brother’s keeper? The answer to that question is no, I’m my brother’s brother.” -- Rev. William Sloane Coffin, via Ken Hughes. Threshold Ministry, DPC. Welcome visitors to a safe and supportive place Listen, attentatively

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Threshold Ministry of Decatur Presbyterian Church

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  1. Threshold Ministry ofDecatur Presbyterian Church “Am I my brother’s keeper? The answer to that question is no, I’m my brother’s brother.” -- Rev. William Sloane Coffin, via Ken Hughes

  2. Threshold Ministry, DPC • Welcome visitors to a safe and supportive place • Listen, attentatively • As best we are able, help • Offer empathy, prayer, involvement in DPC activities (Threshold Prayer Cards) • Allow the members of DPC to experience new dimensions of God’s grace: Wow!

  3. Did you Know (T/F)? Most clients of Threshold Center are residents of zip code 30030. (False) Most clients of Threshold Center are men. (False) The percentages of couples and families with children needing assistance have increased recently. (True) Special skills are needed to help with Threshold Ministry. (True)

  4. Percentage Males below Poverty Level

  5. Percentage Females below Poverty Level

  6. Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King In 1967, in Atlanta, King proposed “Civil Disobedience” in response to characteristics and causes of racial tension, including unemployment, general discriminatory practices, and “features peculiar to big cities: crime, family problems, and intensive migration.”

  7. Development of Threshold Ministry • DPC Location • DPC Door Ministry • 2012 - Rev. Dr. Ken Hughes: “The persistence of poverty stands as a constant challenge to the Christian Church. Unlike any other institution in society, the Church is called by its foundational scripture and theological convictions to be brother and sister to those in need.”

  8. Operations of Threshold • 2 ¾ years in operation • Began with 3 mornings per week, now 2 • Staffed by volunteers with help from congregation and neighborhood Ty, aged 7

  9. 4320 Encounters! • Year 1: 1025 • Year 2: 1119 • Year 3: 2176 (to date – ¾ of year) • 3743 clients served

  10. Requests, by category

  11. Registered Referral Site, Furniture Bank of Atlanta

  12. We Love our Threshold Volunteers!

  13. Threshold Hopes and Dreams • Database for evaluation, grant application • DPC Hospitality Ministry • Internships: ASC, CTS • Collaboration with FBCD • Expansion?

  14. Want to Help? • Come visit, observe (Mon, Thurs 9-11:45 am) • Join us (see sign-up form available from Threshold page of DPC website) • Organize a Break Bread Group, Sunday School Class, school or neighborhood gathering to collect items for hygiene kits, lunches, winter kits • Include children in the discussion/activity! • Pray for us, our clients, and particularly those people who never make it over our threshold! dstroup@dpchurch.org

  15. Questions? The Poor make the Church Faithful to its vocation…. The Poor are given to the Church so that the Church, as the body of Christ, can be an remain a place of mutual concern, love, and peace. -- Henri Nouwen

  16. Threshold Prayer -1 We hold in our hearts all those who have lost homes and have no shelter from the storms of life. We hold in our hearts all those who do not have enough food to feed loved ones. We hold in our hearts the increasing number of children coming to soup kitchens and shelters.

  17. Threshold Prayer-2 We hold in our hearts all those who have no medical insurance and are at the mercy of illness and dread. We hold in our hearts all those making hard choices about which bills to pay in a constant battle against financial disaster. We hold in our hearts all those forced into bankruptcy and engulfed in feelings of failure and shame.

  18. Threshold Prayer-3 We hold in our hearts those who have lost jobs and feel useless and depressed. We hold in our hearts all low income families that, due to circumstances beyond their control, are one step away from life on the streets.

  19. Threshold Prayer-4 We hold in our hearts with esteem all those who defend the poor, stand by them, and plead their cause in the name of justice, freedom, peace, and hope. Amen

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