The word ministry is a powerful word. It is defined as service to God and to others, representing an active and loving response to spiritual, physical and emotional needs. A shorter definition would simply be Christianity in action. Ministry is not limited to within church walls, but includes every aspect of daily life including home, work and relationships.
Three years ago, WRJZ launched a weekly program called Monday’s Ministry Corner. The motivation behind it was – and is, to introduce ministries to our listening audience; ministries that are serving as the heart, hands and feet of Jesus Christ in and around our community.
Recently, we interviewed Beverly Holland and Michael Johnson, two outstanding staff members of Wesley House Community Center. Wesley House Community Center is 119 years old, started by a church group to help working mothers who needed after school care for their children. Wesley House is located at 1719 Reynolds Street in the former Laura Cansler elementary school building.
They provide after school care for some 80 children from 8 different schools. And by after school care I mean educational assistance, cooking classes by Little Chef’s, music classes by the Joy School of Music, art classes by Catty Wampus, books by For the Love of Reading, nutritional education, Girl Scouts, and of course play time and snacks.
The Wesley House Community Center is affordable, accessible and available; three barriers that child care faces in many communities across our country. In addition to after school care, they have a food pantry open 6 days a week that provides food resources for some 8,000 people/month, a clothes closet and a Friday lunch and activities for a bunch of women lovingly referred to as “the Granny’s.”
I was impressed with the depth and breadth of their after-school program, so I did some research on after school care. In the U.S. there are some 30 million children eligible for after school care but according to the National After School Association, only about 10 million actually have after school care. The 60%+ that do not have after school care are because of affordability [average cost of $150-$750/month], accessibility [a safe way to and from] and availability [not available in their neighborhoods]. This childcare gap costs the US economy between $216-$329 billion over a 10-year period through lost income, reduced productivity and forgone tax revenue.
According to the After School Alliance, parents’ top concerns addressed by after school care are keeping their kids safe, helping develop life skills, engaged in learning, improved school attendance and behavior and reduced screen time. That’s why 9 out of 10 parents favor public funding so that after school care is more affordable, accessible and available in their communities.
We are thankful for Wesley House Community Center for providing a much needed “ministry” in and to our community. Porschia Pickett is their outstanding executive director. To learn more about the Wesley House Community Center, call them at 865-524-5494.
These photos offer a glimpse into the impact and daily activities of Wesley House as they serve children in the community.
Archive of the weekly featured ministries on The Ministry Corner.
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Archive of the weekly featured ministries on The Ministry Corner.
Archive of the weekly featured ministries on The Ministry Corner.
Archive of the weekly featured ministries on The Ministry Corner.