Sunday, February 15, 2015

Coming Together: A Note from Tracy Hipps

We have seen great growth in our ministries and the impact we are having on the city as we align ourselves with God's agenda as ambassadors of holistic reconciliation. Our theology is strong, our relationships with the churches we serve is continually getting closer, and our ministries are reflecting reconciliation, or "coming together," as their top priority. 

This month we partnered with the City of Birmingham who collected over 6 tons of canned goods from the City Courts. This food will feed thousands of families and will give opportunities to share the love of Christ with so many. We also watched two churches come together to serve together in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. And this summer, we are bringing 10 organizations together to go to Kids Across America camp. Over 150 inner-city youth will experience this life-changing week. "Coming together" is on God's agenda and on ours. 

Martin Luther King, Jr. Day Brings Two Churches Together

In a collaborative effort between two pastors and members, Holy Trinity World Outreach Ministry and Ardent Church brought volunteers together to help us accomplish a variety of tasks. Together this group was able to help us organize over 1,000 donated canned goods, prepare our CSM garden for the growing season, sort and catalog warehouse items for distribution, and work to help clear the area in the back for projects. What better way to honor Dr. King than to join hands together, black and white, and work to better the community of Birmingham. Thank you Holy Trinity and Ardent Church for being an example of reconciliation to us all and for your help at Christian Service Mission!

Operation Feed My Friends, Forgive My Fines

Birmingham Municipal Court's new program "Operation Feed My Friends, Forgive My Fines,"collected over 6 tons of canned goods during the holidays. Participants could have their parking fines forgiven by bringing in canned goods to the courthouse and all the canned goods were donated to CSM! We are very excited about the opportunity to share this food with our communities in need. Thank you to all who brought in canned goods and to the court employees who worked so hard to make this program a great success!

A Non-Traditional Opportunity to Donate

Have you been looking for a non-traditional way to donate to Christian Service Mission? Here is your chance.

We are currently seeking donations of used cars (that still run preferably) for a few of our partners.  You will received a write-off on your taxes, and we take care of all the paperwork!

Please prayerfully consider supporting us in this way.

Volunteers from Redeemer Lutheran in Damascus, Maryland, Take a Home from Foundation to Shingles in a Week


At the beginning of January, our friends from Redeemer came back to see us. This group has been coming to partner with us twice a year for the last 4 years and continue to be faithful to our relationship with them. These wonderful people spent five days with us in Pratt City rebuilding a house. On Monday (day 1) there was nothing on the property other than a large concrete foundation slab. When they left to go on Friday (day 5) we were putting shingles onto a finished roof!

For the latter part of the week, we were also joined by our friends from the Care Center. Two of the guys from the Care Center Ministry, Chase and Aaron, came to help us put shingles on the roof and also blessed the group with some lunch time gospel music! It was such a blessing to have three partners working together on one site to make a difference in our community! Thank you Care Center and Redeemer for your long standing relationship and God bless you all!

Saturday, February 7, 2015

Canterbury UMC Serve Day

Canterbury United Methodist Church Serve Day

On February 7th we had the privilege of hosting a group from Canterbury United Methodist Church.  This group brought over 100 volunteers for their youth discovery weekend and they worked in the warehouse to help us organize our canned goods and dry goods, they worked to help inventory and set aside resources for our upcoming initiatives and they helped us to prepare our warehouse for the Spring season of gardening and serving the communities of Birmingham.  Thanks so much to the students of Canterbury UMC and their leaders for coming to help us out!