Roseland

This morning Kendra and I went to Roseland Christian Ministries with some people from our church. I had been there before, but it was with a group of students for a class, and wasn't really a choice. This time, we went because we wanted to.

It wasn't really much work. We just went down and made breakfast for the women and children who are staying at the shelter, and our group was large enough that not everyone was working all the time. This allowed for time to get to know some of the mothers and their kids. This was what I really wanted to do, anyways. It was a lot of fun, and the kids were so funny...

I would really like to get back there soon. Apparently my church goes once a year...seems almost like something we do to get our "fix" of service, so that we can go back to wealthy Orland Park and feel better about ourselves for being so generous. Perhaps that sounds harsh, and I'm certainly not casting blanket judgements over everyone in that group. But...

When we were driving there, one of the ladies with us was telling us about how she used to live in Roseland up until she was in 3rd grade. But then the demographics started changing, and the (largely) Christian Reformed Community took flight (to Orland Park, Tinley Park, Palos Heights, etc.) And it wasn't just people--the Back to God Hour and CRWRC used to be there--and they up and left too! What a failure by the CRC.

I'm thankful to say that many in the CRC have seen the error of the church in this regard, and have devoted much time, money, and energy to Roseland. However, far too many remain ignorant about its history. Here's a short but good article if you'd like to know more:

http://www.roselandchristianministries.org/history.cfm