New Haven 828

The Day I Fell in Love (again)

Like so many here in New Haven, I have been a great fan of Dr. Curtis and Elsie Cofield for years. What an example they have been for so many of us who seek to exemplify strong ministry in the context of strong family. What a loss we all felt when Dr. Cofield went home to be with the Lord in March of this year.

I’ve known of Mrs. Cofield and the great work that she has done with the AIDS Interfaith Network, but I can’t say that I ever really knew her as a person.  Over the years, she has always been the picture of cordiality, love, and Proverbs 31 virtue. It was always a pleasure to see her and exchange pleasantries in various settings but I was never close enough to feel her heartbeat.  I can’t begin to tell you how blessed my wife and I were to finally just sit and chat with this mighty woman of God a couple of weeks ago.  We both fell in love.

Mrs. Cofield was open and candid to us as fellow ministers of the gospel. The joys and the pain of ministry flowed among us as we chatted in her office. She didn’t hide the depth of pain she felt from the loss of her husband, best friend, and life partner of sixty one years. The pain is intense, and yet she presses on with the realization that her assignment from God must continue. Against a backdrop of personal pain and fiscal difficulties in these days of evaporating funding, the mighty woman with the mighty work unto the Lord perseveres.

 

Love genuinely and profusely flows at the AIDS Interfaith Network headquarters at 1303 Chapel Street. You can feel it in the air. As we arrived for our meeting, Mrs. Cofield was still bubbling, just having come out of one of the many group client sessions she sits in on.  Hands-on ministry is her passion and joy. She loves people and won’t allow the demands of leadership to stand between her and her burden to directly help hurting people.  The respect and love between Mrs. Cofield, her staff, and the clients of AIN is readily apparent.  There’s a real “God thing” going on!

Mrs. Cofield fondly recalled the days when the funds were flowing and the help was abundant. All kinds of assistance was available on a non-stop basis. Group sessions were held on the hour. Masseurs, chiropractors, artists, acupuncturists, as well as experts in many fields of personal development were regularly scheduled to come and share their skills and knowledge. Back in the proverbial “day” these were paid positions.  It was an exciting environment where personal growth and development were much easier to keep at the forefront.

 

Now, 21 years into this incredible community service to the downtrodden, Mrs. Cofield finds herself struggling to provide the two square meals a day and basic services for her clients.  Thank God for the faithful believers in the work of AIDS Interfaith who continue to keep the work functioning through the giving of their time, energy and talents. During our meeting, we got to meet one such individual, Joan Roberts-Simms. She is the crucial housing go-to person in the organization. Robert-Simms has a reputation here in the city as a strong and effective housing advocate and a hands-on connector of people to housing. Unfortunately, the grant that kept her employed, like so many other grants these days is simply no more. And while she voluntarily gives away as many hours as she is paid for, she too needs to eat and live. The loss of her services at the end of November is certainly being  felt.  It’s just one more sign of the unfortunate times in which we all find ourselves.

 

Funding, as many of you know, is a constant battle. The reality that we all face is that monies that were once available may never be available again. I asked Mrs. Cofield if she felt that any of the services once provided by funding dollars could ever be significantly filled by a stronger volunteer base. Among the services where she would love to see volunteers rise up are:

            - Grant Writers (first and foremost)

            - Experienced Group Facilitators

            - People who will “adopt” families in need

            - Health Care Workers

            - Anyone with skills or services that can be brought to the facility

 

To find out more how you (and/or your people, pastors) can personally rise to the occasion, call the AIDS Interfaith Network at (203) 624-4350‎.

Do Your Leaders See What You See?

If anyone in your organization ought to know your heart, vision and burdens, it should be those who have been entrusted with leadership. And yet, if they are not clear it's really not there fault, is it?

A friend of mine from Texarkana, TX. came and did a powerful leadership meeting for me. In it, he asked my leadership team to fill out a survey with the following questions:

1. What is the vision of your church/organization?

2. What are the church's/organization's top three priorities?

3. What is the greatest burden your pastor/director is carrying right now?

4. From your perspective, what is the greatest need in your church/organization today?

5. If I were the pastor/director of this church/organization for a day, I would....

Click here for word document with these questions. If you want honest answers, you'll allow them to do it anonymously. I was pleasantly surprised with the answers I got back, but it definitely generated some homework for me in the days ahead. Whatever comes back will be a blessing. You'll either 1) feel good about what you've already done to cast vision, 2) gain understanding on what yet needs to be done, or, 3) have some combination of both 1 and 2.

Urgent! Pray for India!

The persecution on India is real. I've heard directly from two of my ministry contacts there, and one of my own church members, an Indian native, confirmed the reports after coming back from a month long visit. Here is the report from Bishop M. Prakash, a personal acquaintance of mine:

September 25, 2008: Additional forces were deployed and curfew clamped in nine sensitive areas of Orissa's Kandhamal district on Thursday in the wake of fresh violence and arson in the region. More then 100 houses and a couple of churches and prayer houses were either set afire or damaged in about half-a-dozen places under Daringibadi, G Udaygiri and Tikabali police stations in the early hours on Thursday and late Wednesday night, our missionary reported. Road blockades took place at around 42 places in Tikabali and G Udaygiri areas, making it virtually impossible for security forces to proceed. Clashes broke out Wednesday night after police tried to prevent mobs from torching Christian homes. In a bid to check further flare up, curfew was clamped in nine places of the district where 42 companies of security forces including CRPF and Rapid Action Force (RAF) have been deployed. About 30 houses and a church were burnt and damaged at Sikacheta village under Badapanga gram panchayat in Daringibadi area by an unruly mob, police said. In a similar attack at Telenga village in G Udaygiri area, 20 houses were damaged, adding as many as 55 houses and a church were damaged at Beheragaon under Tikabali police station area. The situation turned worse as the telecommunication system virtually collapsed in the tribal dominated district since Tuesday. Vital road links including the one between Berhampur and Phulbani were snapped due to blockade, while the process to clear the roads was delayed in view of unavailability of adequate personnel of Orissa Disaster Rapid Action Force (ODRAF, sources said adding that many of them had been engaged in flood relief. Trouble had erupted on Tuesday after a brief gap when a mob had attacked the police station and securitymen at Raikia demanding release of some tribals held on rioting charge. SISWA requests prayers for the protection and safety of Christians even when the police seems inadequate to contain the situation in riot hit Orissa and despite Governments assurance the communal flare up is still going strong. With prayers, Bishop. Dr. M. Prakash,

TAX PREPARATION COORDINATOR SOUGHT

Volunteer Individual Tax Assistance (VITA) Program Coordinator

           

Job Description

The VITA Program Coordinator will be responsible for the overall coordination of information technology and function of the Volunteer Individual Tax Assistance (VITA) program.  The position provides overall coordination of the program, supports and assists the site coordinators in servicing clients seeking tax return assistance and reports to the Executive Director (ED) of the lead sponsoring organization (New Life Corporation).  He/she works with project volunteers and agency staff in order to assure a well planned and executed program.

Responsibilities:

ü      Coordinate overall program volunteer activity (e.g. recruitment process, orientations, trainings, tax season scheduling and yearly volunteer appreciation dinner).

ü      Assure the prompt opening, set-up, open and close closing of sites by the site coordinators of all VITA sites during days of operation.

ü      Coordinate local operational logistics and maintaining a good relationship with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).

ü      Coordinate the process of all volunteer sites preparing federal and state income tax returns using the TaxWise software program.

ü      Maintain contact with site coordinators and administrative assistant to insure adequate volunteer coverage for the site.

ü      Assure the standard implementation of client sign-in, volunteer sign-in, intake forms and client flow procedures to ensure the smooth operation of the sites.

ü      Manage and provide on-going computer technology assistance to all VITA site equipment.

ü      E-file/supervise the e-filing of client tax returns.

ü      Repair and re-submit rejected electronic returns.

ü      Maintain daily contact and submit applicable information to the sponsoring agency ED, including files (electronic and paper), site coordinator reports as well as all appropriate administrative reports.

ü      Work directly with the NTA data base software technician to assure proper documentation and extraction of client tax preparation data.

Qualifications:

ü      Strong interpersonal and management skills and ability to work with others.

ü      Strong computer experience.

ü      Professional and punctual working ethic with the ability to work independently.

ü      Bi-lingual English/Spanish encouraged.

Additional Information:

ü      The Program Coordinator must have a valid driver’s license and reliable transportation.

Tax Volunteers Needed: New Life Will Train

Help hard-working families

 

claim the Tax Credits

 

they’ve earned!

 

One hour of your time can boost a family's annual income by an average of $1700! We need Volunteers who are interested in:   - Learning how to prepare taxes and become certified by the IRS. - Interacting with individuals and families within our communities. - Giving back to this community by helping residents in need of this service

 

We will provide a FANTASTIC volunteer opportunity!

 

Ö                  No experience needed.

Ö                  Supervising tax professional on site at all times.

Ö                  No liability to the tax preparer (Sites are IRS approved & insured).

Ö                  Flexible hours.

Ö                  Great sense of personal satisfaction that you made a difference!

 

 

To volunteer call David Reyes (203) 777-0313 or email: David@newlifecorp.org

 

 

 

“You can help working families receive what belongs to them.  Plus, you get the satisfaction of seeing the smiles of relief when they hear how much money they are getting back from the IRS.”  

                                  - A volunteer tax preparer

Church Assimilation Seminar

New Haven 828 is pleased to present a...

CHURCH ASSIMILATION

SEMINAR 

November 13, 2008

"Not one person who comes through your door comes haphazardly. By sending that guest to you, God is giving you the privilege of cooperating with Him to move someone forward in their journey toward Jesus." -Nelson Searcy*

* Nelson Searcy is the lead pastor of The Journey Church, New York, New York and author of "Fusion- turning first-time guests into fully developing church members"

Every first-time guest who enters your doors will leave with impressions of you, your church, and the God you serve! Make them the BEST of impressions!

Seminar Content:

1. Why a church needs a Guest System in place

2. Preparing the house of God for Guest Arrivals

3. The power of the first 7 minutes of contact

4. Being sensitive to your Guest's experience

5. Making sure your Guests leave blessed!

6. What you need from Guests and how best to get it

7. Follow-up Communication with Guests

8. What to do when Guests come back a second and third time

9. How to keep score (i.e., track progress)

With Nelson Searcy's blessings, join two of his Pastoral Coaching Alumni, Todd Foster (Church on the Rock, New Haven) and Rick Rocco (Frontline Christian Church, Hamden), as they share from their knowledge and personal experiences.

ASSIMILATION SEMINAR

When: Thursday, November 13, 2008 6:30-8:30 PM

Where: Church on the Rock 95 Hamilton Street New Haven, CT. 06511

Cost: Free of Charge

Who is Invited? Pastors and/or their appointed representatives

RSVP to Todd Foster Phone: 203-498-2687, x12 Fax: 203-773-9033 E-mail: cotr@snet.net

 

Stop and look around the church

What Rick Warren had to share at the Christian Post is so true. We stop seeing the "little" things that visitors notice immediately:

From Rick Warren as a guest writer at the Christian Post: "

One of the problems we face in maintaining the church environment is that we tend to overlook defects after about four weeks. Once you become familiar with a building, you stop noticing what's wrong with it. The defects and disorder don't bother you as much as they did when you first noticed them. You become oblivious to the faded paint, the frayed carpet, the chipped pulpit, the outdated tract rack in the vestibule, the old bulletins left inside hymnals, the stack of stuff on the piano, and the burned-out light bulbs overhead."

"Unfortunately, these things stand out immediately to visitors. They notice details."

Here's the full article: http://www.christianpost.com/article/20070308/six-physical-factors-that-affect-your-worship-service.htm

Prayer This Week!

Monthly Prayer Meeting

Thursday, August 14, 10:00 A.M. - Prayer time for Senior Pastors and Para-church ministry directors. Join us for prayer at 10 sharp and fellowship/discussion and lunch at 11 A.M.  Please RSVP for lunch.

Location: Church on the Rock, 95 Hamilton street, New Haven, (203) 498-2687

 

This month's discussion will include:

 

1.  Teen Challenge New Haven is looking for teachers who will come in and share the Word with their residents.

2. There is a large Hispanic church looking for a place to meet at times that don't interfere with your own meetings.

3. Update on successful NH828 Summer Youth Initiative.

4. Mentoring: Solicit interest in the provision of mentoring training for churches.

5. Update on Tony Evans Adopt-a-school program

 

Please call or email me to discuss the possibility of adding something to the list. 

 

Hope to see you Thursday,

What to do when you've got the WRONG person on the job

We've all been there. They're great people, but in just on the wrong job...the proverbial square peg in the round hole. They might be paid staff or volunteers. As difficult as it might be, you know that you have to DO SOMETHING! It's not helping anyone (you, the individual, or your organization) to make "not hurting their feelings" the highest priority.

Pastor Craig Groeschel has some sage advice on his "SWERVE: blog, Click here.

Got Kids in the New Haven Area this Summer?

New Haven 828 is pleased to announce its third consecutive year for the Summer Youth Initiative. For four weeks during the summer, High School age kids are brought in to a central New Haven location (Church on the Rock) for motivation, inspiration, and instruction. We feed them lunch and then bus them to various work sites throughout the area. For their "trouble" we pay them a weekly stipend of $75. It's a summer job PLUS a whole lot more!!!

If you know of any kids who may be interested or desire further information, contact Pastor Leslie Foster at (203) 498-2687 or email her at pastorleslie.cotr@snet.net.