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By Barbara Dunlap-Berg*
3:00 P.M. EST May 24, 2010 | CHICAGO (UMNS)
The church offers free after-school programs and summer camps for neighborhood children.
The United (Methodist) Church of Rogers Park—150 members strong—is everything but a Sundays-only congregation.
Since 2008, Andrew’s Answer, the church’s outreach ministry, has
provided free after-school and summer camps for neighborhood children,
as well as counseling services. It also serves as a mission trip center
for youth and adult volunteers from United Methodist churches to come to
Chicago and learn about justice and faith.
Andrew’s Answer is one of several global efforts benefiting from United
Methodist gifts on Peace with Justice Sunday, celebrated May 30 this
year. The ministry recently received a $2,500 grant from the United
Methodist Board of Church and Society.
The program’s name—Andrew’s Answer—came from the biblical story (John 6)
in which the disciple Andrew said, “There is a boy here who has five
barley loaves and two fish. But what are they among so many people?”
The congregation has struggled financially over the years, but, much
like the Gospel story of Jesus feeding the 5,000, members always seem to
find the resources to do innovative ministry with as many people as
they can.
Serving children
The after-school program, offered three days a week from October to May,
has a full menu of activities for 35 grade-schoolers. Along with
getting help with homework, participants enjoy art, choir, dance and
yoga.
The United Church of Rogers Park offers free after-school and summer camps for neighborhood children.
Now that school is out, summer camp is on the agenda. This year, six
groups—five youth and one adult—“are coming to learn, to explore and to
work in the camps,” said the Rev. Wesley P. Dorr, deacon and minister of
children and outreach.
During Dorr’s first year at the church, he decided to offer a summer
camp. He advertised, expecting about 15 responses. Sixty children showed
up.
Last year, 75 children registered for camp. “We didn’t even advertise,”
said Kate Setzer Kamphausen, church administrator. Kamphausen
anticipates a similar number this year.
Participants are diverse, with many immigrant families from Belize, Haiti, Jamaica, Mexico, Nigeria and Tanzania.
Four of the volunteer groups also will study a social justice
curriculum. They pay a fee to participate, and the money goes toward the
church’s outreach ministries. Participants focus on such issues as
homeless teens, refugee ministries and violence prevention.
Immersed in the community, Dorr explained, “They get an overview of a different culture.
“Often, the experience changes their point of reference so if someone
talks about immigration, refugees or homosexuality, they learn to
explore the issues with open minds.”
The Rev. Wesley Dorr
‘It’s good to be connectional’
Andrew’s Answer is not a one-church show, Dorr quickly points out. Other
congregations and community organizations, including many other United
Methodist churches, step in to help, usually for a week at a time.
This year he is looking forward to welcoming church groups from the
Chicago area as well as Colorado, Kansas and other states. Volunteers
from Kansas City’s Church of the Resurrection West Campus will plant a
vegetable garden in front of the church. The campers will study
gardening and eventually will be able to pick food to serve during snack
time.
“It’s good to be connectional,” Dorr said. “That’s why we're United Methodists. We’re a lot stronger together than on our own.”
*Dunlap-Berg is internal content editor for United Methodist Communications.
News media contact: Barbara Dunlap-Berg, Nashville, Tenn., (615) 742-5489 or newsdesk@umcom.org.
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