Latest Newsletter - Mile High Ministries

U.S. Postage
PAID
Denver, CO
Permit No. 3956
913 N Wyandot St
Denver, Colorado 80204
MILE HIGH MISSION: We engage our communities and
equip leaders for God’s transformational work among the poor.
WE RECOMMEND...
“Tattoos on the Heart” is a favorite book of ours at Mile
High Ministries. Our Executive Director, Jeff Johnsen, can’t
count the number of copies he’s handed out over the years.
A memoir recommended for those interested in putting a
human face on the homeless, gangs, and the disenfranchised
by trusting in the slow work of God and seeking the spirit of
kinship with others in community.
Gregory Boyle is a Jesuit priest and the founder and
executive director of Homeboy Industries, started in 1986
and now a national model, serving 8,000 gang members
from 700 different gangs in Los Angeles. It offers mental
health counseling, free tattoo removal, a charter school,
job placement and training, and a curriculum offering
everything from anger management to parenting. They
run five businesses where rival gang members work side
by side.
Let us know what you thought of Father
Boyle’s book on our Facebook page!
Learn more about all aspects of
Mile High Ministries at milehighmin.org
Joshua Station | Issachar Center for Urban Leadership
JAMLAC | Denver Urban Semester | Mile High Workshop
ENGAGE
EQUIP
913 N Wyandot | Denver, CO 80204
303-839-5198 | [email protected]
milehighmin.org | Facebook.com/milehighmin
EMPOWER
NEWSLETTER • MAY 2016
milehighmin.org | [email protected] | Facebook.com/milehighmin
PRAYER
Being Presence in the City
PRESENCE
PEACEMAKING
By Jeff Johnsen, Executive Director
Breanna, a Victim Advocate in the Justice and Mercy Legal
Aid Clinic, is on the front lines of our legal advocacy.
Many times, she is the first person a new client meets. She
sits with them as they tell their story, many of which are
filled with pain and tragedy. Breanna does our intakes
and then hands the work of a case over to our paralegals
and attorneys.
Breanna has a unique ability to
create a safe space for our clients to
open up, share, and trust the process
of justice, which can sometimes
take years. Recently, Breanna
accompanied one of our longtime
clients to court as her case came to
a resolution. The client was anxious,
but Breanna’s presence with her
brought comfort and peace.
The Perspective From Below
Reality looks different at the bottom and edges of human
life than at the top or center of society. But seeing the world
“from below” does not come natural for me, as a person of
great privilege. So I am learning to be attentive to the lived
experiences and perspectives of those on the margins. I am
continually astonished by the depth of wisdom, goodness,
and grace that I encounter in people
who live much of their life in very hard
Kinship invites us to believe that there
places. They are slowly helping me
are no lives that matter less than others,
practice a spirituality of imperfection,
to recognize that the lines between the
to delight in the Spirit’s dance among
helpers and those who are helped are
disarray.
fuzzier than we once assumed.
We are using our newsletters in 2016 to introduce you
to three words that express deeply held values: prayer,
presence, and peacemaking. In February, we told a few
stories about how the practice of contemplative prayer –
quieting heart and mind in order to listen for the voice of
God – shapes our programs and our lives as leaders.
This month I want to introduce another word: Presence.
The story of God becoming human in order to express
divine love for all people and creation is central to our
message. It also suggests something important about our
method – about the way we are called to live. Like Jesus,
we are called to faithful presence with particular people,
in a particular place. “As the Father has sent me, so I am
sending you…” (John 20:21)
There are four ideas that help me understand what we
mean at Mile High Ministries by this word presence:
Kinship
Most of us have come to Mile High Ministries through the
desire to help others, particularly the poor or marginalized.
That’s a very good place to begin. In his book Tattoos on
the Heart, Greg Boyle invites us to a place beyond helping
people to an awareness of our oneness with them. Jesus,
he says was not just “a man for others; he was one with
them.” Boyle calls this practice of being connected and
identified with people whose dignity has been denied,
kinship.
There are no lives that matter less than others. The lines
between the helpers and those who are helped are fuzzier
than I once assumed. “Dismantling shame and disgrace,
coaxing out the truth in people who’ve grown comfortable
in believing the opposite” requires skill at one level. At
another level, kinship is as simple as enjoying people and
learning to celebrate the deep goodness of their lives. For
this kind of work, a sense of humor might be the best tool
God has given us.
Jeff’s article continues on the next page.
PROGRAM UPDATES
DENVER URBAN
SEMESTER will welcome
10 students for their
summer Christian cross
cultural leadership
development ministry. They
will learn the art of being
with people in hard places.
THE ISSACHAR
CENTER FOR URBAN
LEADERSHIP just
celebrated the graduation
of its 11th Apprentice
class. They are currently
preparing to welcome a
new class of apprentices
in the fall as they begin
their journey of discovering
how to be a leader in their
neighborhood.
Vulnerability
Like many others, I have begun to learn through the work of Brene’ Brown about the
experience of vulnerability. That’s Brown’s word for a combination of uncertainty, risk,
and emotional exposure. A certain amount of vulnerability is inevitable. Choosing to
be vulnerable, however, is the courageous step of showing up, of putting oneself “out
there,” of “telling the story of who you are with your whole heart.”
My unofficial mentor in this virtue is Carmen, a single mom who has a very difficult life,
filled with suffering and unrelenting poverty. She just keeps showing up, day in and day
out, loving her kids and facing whatever comes next. She has no problem putting it all
out there, not trying to make her life look prettier in order to make me comfortable. And
yet she is also grateful and able to laugh at herself. Each time I leave Carmen’s home I
wonder if I could have such grace in the face of such pain.
Generosity
Generosity—as a practice, a virtue, and a lifestyle—is woven all through our lives at
Mile High Ministries. We are able to do the work that we do because so many people
are generous with their time and resources, and willing to blur the lines between those
who give and those who receive.
In the following pages, you will hear the voices of
our staff and program participants as they respond
to what this value of Presence looks like in their lives,
their work, and their communities. I hope you will
take some time to reflect on the ways in which you
give and receive the gift of presence.
THE LIFE-GIVING CIRCLE OF PRESENCE
The JUSTICE AND
MERCY LEGAL AID
CLINIC’S 10th Anniversary
Derby Party was a huge
success. Over 230 people
came out to celebrate and
they gave over $74,000
for transformational legal
aid. Generosity is an
often overlooked form of
presence.
BY PENNY SALAZAR-PHILLIPS, DIRECTOR OF LIFE PROGRAM
The Leaders and Interns Formation Experience (LIFE) Program is the culmination of my work
as a leader here. I hope to help the next generation of leaders and social workers grow
personally and professionally. In this work, I get to be present to those who desire to serve
in our city. This story comes from my work with a social work intern.
She sat in my office visibly wrestling with emotions and seeking guidance about how to be
present in a difficult situation with one of her clients. Her questions spoke of the struggle to
stay present to this wounded young man. She wondered if her work and presence in his life
had been a part of building a healthy relationship. She was left with a host of questions:
Why was he lashing out? Had all their hard work together been for nothing? What was she
to do with her pain about the things he was saying and the destructive choices he was now
making? How was she to stay present to him, to his long and difficult journey, to share the
struggles, to be a witness, a friend and the presence of God?
In our prayers we ask God to be present with us, for us and in us. Following Jesus, we are in
turn asked to be present to one another. As we reach out to others in our work our presence
becomes that life giving circle—giving to others while at the same moment receiving from
them. As we grow in the deep knowing of them we see ourselves more clearly.
THE MILEHIGH
WORKSHOP is hiring!
More information
about positions is at
milehighworkshop.org.
In this recognition of others and of self—this
presence in our work—we reap the joys of
healing relationships… Being with someone
you are delighted to see…
Creating
sacred space for a child to just be loved…
Holding another’s story as gift…Moving in
the transforming flow of self- awareness and
acceptance…
Behold how good and pleasant it is when
brothers and sisters dwell together...
for there the Lord has commanded the
blessing, “Life forever more. ~Psalm 133
While my intern may not have have come to any resolution in the short term, I’m convinced
that her availability changed her client’s life. Her willingness to walk with him left an indelible
mark that will bear fruit in due season. That is both the gift and challenge of practicing
presence.
PRESENCE IN ACTION
UPCOMING EVENTS
SARAH’S STORY (WORKSHOP)
Sarah began sewing during her stay at Joshua Station.
After she moved on from Mile High Ministries she had a
difficult time maintaining the stability that she had created
for herself and her daughter, but she continued sewing
and eventually found herself employed by the Mile High
WorkShop. Working in the supportive environment of the
sewing shop, she was able to continue developing her
technical skills while receiving additional supports for her
recovery. Sarah transitioned into a great new job with
another sewing company recently and is excelling at work
as well as at home, where she is an excellent mother.
STUDENTS PRACTICING PRESENCE (DUS)
I applied for DUS because I wanted experience
working with people on the margins. Teaching
in Denver allowed me to work with a diverse
population, and through my experience I
have seen both immeasurable brokenness
and incredible strength. DUS has given me a
broader perspective on the world and on my role as a teacher and servant.
God creates beauty from the struggle. DUS helped me see that I can serve
by working as support and encouragement to those who struggle the most.
~Brianna Darling, DUS Student
Come out to the Joshua
Station car washes this
summer!
June 24th
July 30th
August 6th
JOSHUA STATION
VOLUNTEER
APPRECIATION BBQ
August 19th
Check out THE DELVE DENVER
PODCAST hosted by Jeff Johnsen as
we explore the soul of Denver.
www.delvedenver.org
PRESENCE AT THE FRONT DESK (JOSHUA STATION)
There is a deep vulnerability in truly being present with someone; you’re choosing to enter into the depths
of hurt and shame...as well as joy and celebration. We have the privilege to experience God in the tears
and laughter as we seek to be a consistent presence in the lives of our residents. -Nicole Rice
God has empowered us at the front desk to be listening ears and loving arms for our families and develop
real and authentic relationships with them. God’s presence is very real in our presence with all of our
residents because we are able to engage them with love, grace, and peace. -Kelsey-Anne Randel
Being present is the part I love most about my role here at Joshua Station; I get to be present with our
residents and our community in their everyday lives. Sometimes that looks like holding a crying baby
so Momma can make supper, or talking to one of the kids having a hard day at school, celebrating
with a mom that just got a promotion, or getting the “biggest hug ever” from one of our little ones!
-Heather Krause
milehighmin.org | [email protected] | Facebook.com/milehighmin