Claim the Easter Promise: Join us at Reconciler

Christ’s message is one of love. And it is a message for all. There’s no mention of an entrance exam, income requirements, or dress code in the New Testament. You are loved and accepted by God because you are.

And you are accepted at Church of the Reconciler because you are loved by God.

Ours is a vision of a congregation that worships together on Sunday and works together during the week to live out God’s call for reconciliation.

We challenge members to follow Jesus in multicultural, interracial community; maintain a commitment to be inclusive, welcoming all people regardless of age, gender, race, economic status, ethnic background, mental or physical ability, or sexual orientation.

Our ministry of reconciliation is expressed through a positive view of our city. God’s work is the work of removing the injustices of the past that divide and limit us all.

Our church is a house of prayer for all people.

If you’re looking for a church with vision, a church that will accept you as you are and challenge you to be your best, join us this Easter Sunday at Church of the Reconciler. We worship every Sunday morning at 9:30 a.m.

Harvesting from a seed planted years ago

We had a special treat last Sunday at Church of the Reconciler...a visit from a founding member of the church. His visit had me remembering the early days of our church, when we were just planting a seed, a time when we were intent on hearing God's call for this unique church.

The Robert Cooke family was instrumental in the church in those early days. Robert helped prepare the storefront on 18th street, helped decide on our name, and served on several committees.

But even before those tasks, we met as a prayer-vision group to determine what kind of church we were being called to be. It was a critical time...you don't grow an oak tree from a marigold seed. We needed to be clear about God's call in order to set the tone for the future of our ministry.

Many people who know our ministry today may be surprised to hear that none of us foresaw a ministry to the homeless in our calling. At least, not in the way we serve the community today. Our calling was to be a social gospel church, a church that spoke truth to power. Our calling was to be a church that practiced radical hospitality. We were going to be a church that shared a faith in God, love for the city and hope for all the people. All of 'em...no footnotes or exclusionary riders. All the people.

We knew as a downtown church we would have homeless people walking by the storefront. Because we intended to practice radical hospitality, we were clear that we would invite those homeless folks into the church and welcome them with open arms. We shared the gospel with them. We shared the overwhelming, incomprehensible, unquestioning love of God with them. We shared our punch and cookies with them.

I'm embarrassed to admit to the depth of our ignorance about homelessness in Birmingham at that time. We had no idea what problems the homeless community faced. We simply wanted to be true to our call and welcome everyone to our church.

After we had been worshiping a few weeks, Beth Cooke commented that we were having more people join us from the homeless community, and she felt we should have more substantial food for them. So the Cooke family started bringing sandwiches with them to worship. The rest of us did too.

As the number of sandwiches increased, our Sunday morning attendance increased as well. When cooler weather arrived, cold sandwiches didn't seem to cut it, and we all began arriving with our crock pots. Since we were a one-room operation at that time, we had crock pots plugged in around the church during worship, bubbling away for the meal we would soon share together.

If you've ever visited us at Church of the Reconciler, you know the 'end' to this story. Now we serve nearly 300 hot, balanced meals every Sunday. Now we do understand the issues of the homeless community, and we are advocates with them. Who we are today is the harvest of a seed that was planted in 1991 by people--many of whom have moved away in the interim--to whom we owe a debt of gratitude.

We are still a social gospel church that practices radical hospitality. We continue to be responsive to God's call to respond to our world by following in the footsteps of the Prince of Peace.

And in that sense, we are not at the 'end' of the story. Our story continues to be written. We invite you to join us on this journey. We worship every Sunday morning at 9:30 a.m.

Claiming Bread in the Freezing Rain

A torrential down-pour met the morning, as I drove to an inner-city store-front church that ministers primarily to the homeless and near-homeless. On a "good day" at my church, practicing the social gospel is a hectic art. While we have plenty of salvation gospel to spare, the material needs of countless faces are greater than what can be provided. Today, however, was not a "good day". Freezing rain would turn into hail and, by nightfall, snow. This would make everyone more desperate.

Because of an always limited supply of food and clothing, and because we want to build community, compassion for the individual need is seasoned with "tough love" rules to ensure equal access. Everyone can be incredibly selfish and, if not regulated, some homeless individuals (like all of us) will take more than what they actually need and a few will even sell or exchange those items for sex, alcohol or illegal drugs.

Satan plays all kinds of games and, on this day of freezing rain, people were particularly selfish. In distributing a limited supply of military-quality rain ponchos, some schemed to find ways of getting more. The same was true for our supply of fresh sox and underwear, as well as small candles intended to be used later that evening to keep warm. It seemed like everyone wanted more than his share, thus reducing our ability to give others what they really needed just to survive the night on a concrete "bed" underneath a city bridge.

Tough love also applies to food distribution. Donations from parked vehicles are brought in by designated volunteers. If the homeless men in front of the church were permitted to bring in supplies without supervision, little of it would make its way to our kitchen and we could not serve the needs of the entire church community.

But, again, this was not a "good day." Freezing rain meant fewer volunteers on hand, and desperate people began to "game the system". I grew annoyed by some calling me ugly names for questioning whether they had already received supplies. I grew impatient with a spirit of selfishness that clouded my aim on the social gospel.

A truck pulled up with fresh bread, and I saw several men helping themselves while just one volunteer frantically tried to get the load off the street and into our kitchen. I quickly found myself standing in the freezing rain, trying to take a loaf of bread from a homeless man. I pulled, and he yanked. I shouted "let go!" He claimed, "this is my loaf!" Others watched on.

The tug of war lasted only 10 seconds, but the damage was complete. The look on that man’s frozen face told me he had just learned something about Christian hypocrisy that would remain with him for a long time. Chilling expressions on other homeless men came from my own action, not just the weather. My God, I thought, want am I doing? Would Jesus take a loaf of bread out of the hands of a rain-soaked homeless man? Would He take it out of my own hands?

Tough love? Maybe on a good day, but not on a bad day. Not in the freezing rain when someone is seeking bread. I released my grip on that loaf and apologized. I ran into the sanctuary that offers temporary repose to homeless people sleeping in the seats and on the alter. The odor of dirty wet clothing and unclean humanity – the smell of social gospel yet to be fulfilled – was potent as I laid prostrate on that same alter and asked for God’s forgiveness for placing my own selfish emotions and man-made laws in the way of His simple rule of love and compassion. I prayed that I would never again forget the intimacy of imago Dei standing in the freezing rain claiming nothing but bread.

When it comes down to it, we all stand in that freezing rain. We grasp for bread. It might be better wages or a better job. Or, the "bread" might be better relations with family and friends. It could be better health and the promise of a future. Or, it may "simply" be real bread and the hope of having no hunger. Standing in that freezing rain, we seek compassion and mercy about our own human condition.

Other people watch our behavior, especially when we claim to be practicing Christians. There is always an audience judging our actions. But the ultimate audience is God. Our Lord hears the righteous cry out for that loaf of bread and delivers them out of that freezing rain (Psalms 34:17). He judges us for that which we do not do for the least of His flock (Matthew 25:45-46), whether that "least" is found in our workplace, within our family, or in strangers on the street.

The loaf of bread is the Body of Christ, broken for all. And the Body of Christ is you and I, bound together with cords that should not be breakable. Satan wants us to forget these two facts of faith. He wants us to believe that it is "simply" bread that can be taken away because the man in the freezing rain belongs not to "our" Body of Christ.

Satan wants us all to stand alone in that freezing rain.


After praying on the altar, I remain uncertain about when the spirit of the rule surpasses the letter of the law. Regulations are important, especially those concerned with equity and fair play. But Jesus reduced all mosaic laws to just two Commandments - love God and love the person standing in the freezing rain because he is you. Man-made rules are OK on "good days," but we must remember that bad days require the right arm of God and we must be His instrument.

The next time someone cries out, I hope to listen a bit more intimately – not just for his this-world need for "bread," but also for his eternal need for the Bread of Life. As part of the Body of Christ, I am obligated to stand with him in that freezing rain and share that Bread of Life we call Christ. The Bread of Life each one of us claims standing in the freezing rain.

James D. Slack, Ph.D.

Why Are We the Church of the Reconciler?

Church

We are first and foremost a church. We are not a hand-out organization. We share what we have because that is what Jesus taught us God wants us to do. We are poor. We depend on the generosity of our companions in God, and we share the grace we receive with those in need. We all work together—poor, homeless, middle-class, wealthy—to spread the message that God loves us and wants us to love each other.

Reconciler

We follow the teachings of Jesus as the Reconciler. We work to reconcile the community of Birmingham with those who govern it. We pray for reconciliation among the warring nations of the world. We are actively reconciling our weak, erring selves with our companions in Christ. We also practice faith that we can reconcile ourselves with God. We recognize that we all fall short of the glory of God…regularly…daily. We each need mercy and forgiveness and grace. We must forgive ourselves and we must beg God’s forgiveness.

We at the Church of the Reconciler understand that reconciliation is an active noun. Reconcilation is accomplished when we actively care for the poor, when we feed the hungry, when we provide clothing for those in need. Reconciliation is an act of faith, an act of grace, an act of mercy.

We are the Church of the Reconciler.

Who we are at Church of the Reconciler

At Church of the Reconciler, we know that God is love. We are grateful for the overwhelming, incomprehensible, unwavering, and unconditional love that God has for every one of us...rich or poor...black, white, brown, Asian...young or old...gay or straight...Republicans or Democrats...sinners all.

And when anything gets in the way of us feeling that love, or gets in the way of us sharing that love with others — whether it's a lust for power or greed or addiction or hunger or injustice — we are called upon to address it, speak out against it, and change it. We must tear down the walls and build the bridges that keep us from knowing God's love and sharing it with those we meet. And yes, this means we lay claim to being a social gospel church.

Come worship with us one Sunday morning at 9:30. You will feel the love of God. You will have opportunities to share the love of God with others. You will be blessed by the experience.

Helping High School Seniors and the Homeless

A workshop for high school seniors, "How to be Successful in a College Classroom," is scheduled for SUNDAY December 19, from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. on the UAB campus. The program, led by UAB professor Jim Slack, helps seniors prepare for college while serving as a fundraiser for the homeless who come to Church of the Reconciler for support.

Seniors from throughout the state attend this workshop; some plan to go to Ivy League and private schools, some to state universities and others to community colleges. Based on responses from students AND parents, the workshop is of great benefit in preparing for college AND increasing the GPA the final year in high school.

Seating is limited and based on a first-registered-first-reserved basis.

Pre-registration is $50, same-day registration is $75, and all the money goes to help the homeless through the Church of the Reconciler. (The previous workshop in August raised nearly $2,500 for the homeless!)

If you know a high school senior, or if you know the parents/grandparents of a high school senior, please forward this information.

Please also forward this to your pastor and youth minister.

Consider this a pre-Christmas "stocking stuffer" for both the high school senior AND the homeless in Birmingham.

Details below. For registration forms, contact Jim Slack.
James D. Slack, Ph.D., Professor office 205.934.9020

Department of Government fax 205.975.5712
The University of Alabama at Birmingham cell 205.908.4872
Birmingham, Al 35294

How to be Successful in a College Classroom:

Guidance from a Professor with 30 Years Experience in

Passing and Flunking Students

Two great myths: (1) “My daughter’s high school GPA means success at college.”

(2) “My son’s ACT score means success at college.”

What: A workshop designed for the high school senior planning on attending

college. The purpose is to provide the student with very useful tips on

how to be successful in the college classroom. (These tips can also

help improve performance in the senior year of high school!)

Format: Offered in an actual college classroom, consisting of four 50-minute

sessions. With ten-minute breaks between sessions, it replicates what

might be a typical day in the life of a college freshman.

Session 1: “The Classroom”

Session 2: “The Lecture”*

Session 3: “Preparation”

Session 4: “The Term Paper: using a PERT Strategy”

* Session 2 includes a college-level lecture. Students’ notes are reviewed/analyzed from

the perspective of success with college test-taking.

When: Three dates left with seats still available:

Sunday, DECEMBER 19, 2010 – 2:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.

Sunday, JANUARY 16, 2011 – 2:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.

Sunday, JUNE 5, 2011 – 2:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.

LIMIT: 50 students per workshop date

(acceptance based on order of completed registrations received)

Housing the Homeless at Church of the Reconciler

Sunday, November 14 was Housing Sunday at Church of the Reconciler, and we celebrated the 60 formerly homeless people who have been placed in housing through the church this past year. We presented certificates to members of the Jefferson County Housing Authority who joined us in worship. “Y’all gave us keys to housing,” member Michael Brown told them in appreciation, “but we gave you the keys to our hearts.”

Richard Irving was one of six Housing Shepherds commissioned to help others travel the highway out of homelessness. The key to progress? Faith, he says. There are two parts to the faith equation: “The first part is to do something,” he explained. Fill out and submit the applications; get the necessary IDs. The second part of the equation is to “speak as if you have already received what you are seeking. I was already thanking God for the key before I got it. I prayed my way into that apartment.

“It wasn’t about me getting the apartment,” he continued. “It was about God using me to help get others off the street.”

Henry Spells, a veteran who was also commissioned during the service, agreed. “If someone reaches out and gives you a hand, reach back and give someone else a hand.”

While we took time to look back during this special service, it is clear that when it comes to housing the homeless, we are looking ahead to building the highway out of homelessness for more and more people in the future. This was a day of new beginnings for people who need housing.