In this issue...

• Resident Testimonial: Stepping Out of the "Comfort Zone"

• Kathwood's Calling
• The Phenomenal Women of St. Lawrence Place
• How can you help SLP?
• Five families will graduate in August!

Stepping Out of the “Comfort Zone”
The summer of 2006 was the hardest time in my life. I was a single mother of three young children, struggling to make ends meet with a $10 an hour job and bills and debt that never seemed to subside. I knew I was going to lose my home and that it would take something drastic to be able to salvage my car and my job. That is when I stepped out of my comfort zone, set aside my pride, and asked for help. St. Lawrence Place has been the source of that help for the past two years.

St. Lawrence Place has helped me more than I could ever put into words. The services and resources available are tremendous: school supplies, household supplies, Christmas meals and gifts, free counseling for children and adults, and after school and summer camp for children. I know through St. Lawrence Place I have become a better person and a better parent.

I would like to thank all of the SLP supporters, church members, volunteers and staff for their time, prayers, and donations. With your help, St. Lawrence Place is helping residents like me change our lives and enrich the lives of our children. Editor’s Note: Kimberly is one of five residents who will graduate from the St. Lawrence Place program this summer.

Kathwood’s Calling
by Kevin Robertson, Pastor of Kathwood Baptist Church
The tour of the unit took all of five minutes. There was not much to see: an uninhabitable apartment with a broken window, rolls of carpet stored in the living room, and a kitchen in name only.
I asked Lila Anna, “How long has this unit been like this?”
“Ten years,” she replied.

Then God yelled, or, rather, the burning bush exploded in front of us, and I wondered out loud, “how many churches are in this zip code?” And while many of us have been doing church quite well, our Christianity might have suffered a bit.

In the ten years that this unit has co-existed with homeless families on a waiting list at St. Lawrence Place, how many worship services or bible studies or pot luck suppers have local congregations involved themselves in? Church people are some of the best people in the world. Church people give mountains of time and money in the name of the Gospel. Church people understand what it means to give a cup of water. And, it’s quite possible, good church people can become blinded to the needs that exist within the shadows of our steeples especially when we spend an inordinate amount of time devoted to the needs of the institution rather than the needs of those who need the cup.

So, given the Divine Nudge received that morning on our tour, Kathwood Baptist was led to start three teams. A construction team to restore the unit to livable conditions, a clean up team to make the unit move in ready, and a hospitality team to transform the unit into a home.

As the pastor of Kathwood, I can say it has been a joy to witness this restoration. We have been opened to the communal aspect of life in our city. The Holy Spirit has moved people in our congregation from the margins to the critical mass. New relationships have been forged, and quite simply, working toward this goal has caused our congregation to feel God’s pleasure. Yep. We have been restored.
The apartment looks pretty good too.

The Phenomenal Women of St. Lawrence Place
By Lila Anna Sauls, Executive Director

The story that we’ve all grown to love about St. Lawrence Place is being told in a new way by two of our SLP teens—as they perform the poem “Phenomenal Woman” by Maya Angelou. These two girls have found the ability to stun crowds as they celebrate themselves—where they have come from, what they are, and what they hope to be.

St. Lawrence Place is bursting with Phenomenal Women. Take a look around—there are mothers, wives, widows, daughters, students, teachers, cancer survivors, and friends. They all share one common bond—they are survivors.

The women of St. Lawrence Place have overcome tremendous obstacles. They have chosen to change their lives. They have chosen to belong to a St. Lawrence Place Family that provides the support, education and guidance they need to become independent. Some will have the help of husbands and extended family, others will not. They will all do their best to succeed.

As we celebrate Mother’s Day, let’s be thankful for all of the Phenomenal Women in our lives— and especially thankful for St. Lawrence Place.

PHENOMENAL WOMAN
by Maya Angelou
Pretty women wonder where my secret lies
I'm not cute or built to suit a model's fashion size
But when I start to tell them
They think I'm telling lies.
I say
It's in the reach of my arms
The span of my hips
The stride of my steps
The curl of my lips.
I'm a woman
Phenomenally
Phenomenal woman
That's me.
I walk into a room
Just as cool as you please
And to a man
The fellows stand or
Fall down on their knees
Then they swarm around me
A hive of honey bees.
I say
It's the fire in my eyes
And the flash of my teeth
The swing of my waist
And the joy in my feet.
I'm a woman
Phenomenally
Phenomenal woman
That's me.
Men themselves have wondered
What they see in me
They try so much
But they can't touch
My inner mystery.
When I try to show them
They say they still can't see.
I say
It's in the arch of my back
The sun of my smile
The ride of my breasts
The grace of my style.
I'm a woman
Phenomenally
Phenomenal woman
That's me.
Now you understand
Just why my head's not bowed
I don't shout or jump about
Or have to talk real loud
When you see me passing
It ought to make you proud.
I say
It's in the click of my heels
The bend of my hair
The palm of my hand
The need for my care.
'Cause I'm a woman
Phenomenally
Phenomenal woman
That's me.

How can you help SLP?
The families of St. Lawrence Place are preparing for summer! As the days grow longer and summer begins, the SLP Family is preparing for full-day Summer Camp for the children, and assessing and updating programs for the adults of SLP.

Here are a few ways that you can help support the mission of St. Lawrence Place:

Donate your time: The families of St. Lawrence Place need friends! There are 14 teenagers on campus who desperately need mentors to guide them towards college, good career choices, or just a shoulder to lean on! The adults need someone to give them much-needed encouragement. And the children love to have special friends read to them or lead them in a game of kick-ball!

Donate your talent: Are you an artist who could spend a few hours teaching the children of St. Lawrence Place how to create their own works of art? A carpenter who could assist in the renovation of an apartment? A designer who could help re-design SLP brochures? Please let us know—we are always in need of special talents!

Donate your treasure: The financial needs of St. Lawrence Place are sometimes forgotten as families ready for a busy summer. Because of this, the summer months are typically the “tightest” for the SLP budget. Please remember St. Lawrence Place as the temperatures rise and you make your family vacation plans!

Five families will graduate from St. Lawrence Place in August!
As families successfully complete the SLP Program, they are able to take the furnishings of their SLP apartment. This helps defray the cost of furniture that comes with moving to your own permanent home. In order to renovate and furnish those apartments quickly for the next five families, St. Lawrence Place will have an immediate need for the following items:

Small chest of drawers
Small end tables
Twin beds (frames and mattresses)
Double beds (frames and mattresses)
Coffee tables
Small sofas
Small kitchen tables and chairs
Silverware and other kitchen utensils
Pots and pans
Towels and linens, throw rugs
Other miscellaneous items such as microwaves, televisions, toasters, coffee makers.

SLP would welcome groups that would be willing to “adopt” an apartment and help ready it for a new family. The group would be responsible for any light renovations (paint and cleaning) and furnishing of the unit.

For more detailed information on adopting an apartment or to schedule
a donation drop-off or pick-up, please call 256.3999.